What's happening to my new Cordovan shoes? Finish flaking off

[grantmm]

First things first. I called up the Allen Edmonds store that put in the order for the custom Rutledge shoes about this right away. They immediately said they are going to put in a rush order for new shoes to be made for me. INCREDIBLE customer service!

I noticed a faded splotch on my new shoes today. I have 3 wears on them now, no polishes, not yet brushed and never worn in any wet or rough conditions. I reached down to rub it and see if it went away with my thumb, but it didnt' change. When I looked down at my thumb I noticed flakes of something dark floating around and attached to my thumb. My first thought was that it was something with the edge of the sole, but that looked fine and then I noticed that the finish on the shoe itself was coming off!

The AE manager said he had never heard of anything like it before, so I drove in to show him. Turns out he had already submitted the re-craft order before I arrived! No complaining, no questioning, no suspicion... Just stood 100% behind his product and wanted to make it right.

When I picked the up in the store on Monday, everybody agreed that they were among the best looking Codovan shoes they had seen come from AE (just humoring me?) Absolutely beautiful, and they were extremely disappointed and sorry that this happened... But what is IT... What happened? Is this normal? A finish that should have been removed at the factory? Something didn't set long enough? This is my first pair of shell shoes, so maybe it is natural?

 

[August West]

Something flakey is going on.

 

[Sluggo]

Never seen anything like that either, and it is not normal. The beauty of shell is that the color (normally) goes very deep into the leather (as opposed to just sitting on the surface). That's why a bit of heat and rubbing will remove most scuffs, etc. I saw this article on AAAC, but it did not explain things very well:

http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/...-Alden-s-shell-cordovan-8-Removing-the-finish

 

[Toothpick]

Looks like the dye is coming off. Or perhaps a thin layer of the leather itself. Perhaps they were exposed to extreme heat or cold.

I've seen really old leather jackets flake that were very dried out. Never shoes though.

 

[mistercitizen]

Strange. Definitely a defect in the leather. Glad to hear the customer service at AE is coming through for you though.

Ben

 

[grantmm]

The replacement for the replacement of this shoe showed up today. The first replacement didn't come with the Horween JR soles.

It is amazing to see the color transformation that just 4 months gave.

The store was nice enough to give me the opportunity to buy the original pair at a decent discount, so I had to take them up on the offer!

 

[tvad]

Those two shoes are 4 month old & new versions of the same model/color shoes? That's incredible. I can't wrap my head around how a shoe could change color that drastically...even after years.

AE customer service is exceptional. I purchased via mail order a pair of shoes in the Walnut color. The leather was different on the left and right shoes. The left shoe had some interesting striations in the color, whereas the right shoe was even in color. I sent AE a photo and asked if the shoes should be better matched, and they said it was in spec, but that they could craft another pair if I described what I wanted. Sure enough, the replacement pair matched perfectly with the striations I found interesting.

 

[grantmm]

Yeah. I compared them to the version that showed up as the first replacement also because the change was so stark that I was sure it was a different color. Both unworn versions were the same color and looking at the first post you can see the darkness finish.

I'm looking forward to seeing these as they settled in. I only spritzed, wiped and brushed the original pair, never polished with the AE cordovan polish.

Either this means the cordovan isn't that top quality, or it shows how much of a personality they develop after a few months of high wear. I wore them as often as possible and put over 40 miles on them with heavy use because I knew the replacement pair was coming. That let me see how much abuse they could take. Every scratch, nick and scar has wiped right off without a trace remaining.

 

[grantmm]

As a better reference I found a photo of the cordovans when they were new next to brown burnished calf (left) and walnut(right):

And the shoes a week ago:

 

[Isaac]

I had something similar happen to a pair of Aldens. I did a good deal of buffing, and it seemed to tame the flaking. They didn't give you an explanation at AE?

 

[graysonhenryrussell]

This is another prime example of A&E going downhill after 2006 when they were purchased. I keep pointing this as I have used their shoes since the late 60s. They are not going to get better, only worse.