# who's our favorite online alden retailer?



## tomchicago (Jan 24, 2009)

who's our favorite online alden retailer? shoes, belts, trees, polish. any bad experiences? thanks in advance.


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## hsw (Dec 23, 2009)

Recently ordered bunch of stuff from shoemart; online seems reasonably efficient process in terms of sales tx, shipping, etc

But underwhelmed by Alden quality and shoemart QC of Alden inventory (had never bought Alden stuff prior)
Ordered 3 pr SC full-strap loafers: one pr has a strong odor of cigarette smoke that won't go away despite shoe trees and extended storage in closet
Ordered a SC belt: has a loose thread easily seen

Value my time too much to bother wasting more time/money trying to return the low-quality stuff: relegated them to rain-day wear until can toss them...and took Alden off my list of possible quality shoe/belt vendors offering good value


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## Ethologist (Sep 30, 2008)

I had a great experience ordering from Alden of Carmel.
The only down side is that there is no customer service over the phone and everything is done via email. However, the email worked great.

Winn perry is also good, but not sure if they qualify as online retailer.


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## Salvatore123 (Jan 11, 2009)

*Alden (of course - not the one in Carmel) and Leather Soul*

Leather Soul of Hawaii has the most unusual selection of Alden footwear I have ever seen.

They often have a "special order" where a sufficient number of members "sign up" for a particular style, the order is placed, and Alden apparently makes a batch of shoes in that style.

One I missed out on and desperately wanted to take part (but was too late) in was their Alden spectator wingtip. The shoe was gorgeous and not overpowering in the least. It was NOT your typical spectator where you had medium brown on the "outside" with white kid on the "inside". It was, instead, a variation of different browns/leathers. I think it sold out in record time.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Having purchased a fair number of Alden's from both LeatherSoul and The Shoemart, I have never had a bad experience with either vendor. While customer focus at LeatherSoul seems a bit more personalized, both vendors offer outstanding customer service!


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## gnatty8 (Nov 7, 2006)

I buy 75% of my Alden from Shoemart, and the other 25% in retail stores because I see a shoe and have to bring it home right then. I've always been pleased with Shoemart, and their prices are competitive with retailers. Never bought from Leather Soul because they always seem to sell out of the shoes I want..


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## 127.72 MHz (Feb 16, 2007)

If you *really* want a pair of shoes from Leather Soul I'd get in *on the front end* by letting Tom Park know you're interested. He will put you on a list and you will be offered a reserved pair before the order is ever placed.

Then they'll never be sold out because the shoes will actually have been made just for you.

The real reason to purchase from Tom at Leather Soul is is top notch service and his extensive knowledge of both Aldens as well as shoe styling in general. His experience is invaluable and I will be a customer for life.

I've purchased Alden seconds from ShoeMart with prompt shipping and no issues.

Winn Perry is a charming eclectic little haberdashery about ten blocks from my home in Portland, Oregon. I'll be attending an Alden Trunk show at Jordan's shop tomorrow with the Alden west coast repersenative Nate Humble. I'm looking forward to it.

As I've already mentioned I was ready to purchase three pairs of shell cordovan shoes from Adam at Alden of Carmel but because he refused to talk to me for five minutes over the phone to finalize a few details I did not and never will, purchase *anything* from him. Since he refused to talk to me and I went elsewhere I have purchased between ten and twleve thousand dollars worth of Alden shoes. It really is a shame he's this way.


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## theshoemart.com (Jan 9, 2009)

*Thank you!*

As always, thank you all for your comments :icon_smile:


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## peterc (Oct 25, 2007)

I own no Aldens, but a good friend has bought from leathersolehawaii and swears by them. Plus, they (and ShoeMart too) offer Alden models not available thru Alden directly.

I believe that leathersolehawaii is opening a store in Bev. Hills.


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## Baywulf (Nov 5, 2008)

+1 for the Shoemart. Terrific customer service, now if they could only improve their website!


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## be_nac (Feb 5, 2010)

I would have to say The Alden Shop is my favorite direct retailer; only because I live 30 minutes away from San Francisco. An alternative would be TheShoeMart. :icon_smile:


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## MoosicPa (Jan 30, 2008)

Leathersoul is my favourite Alden provider.


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## Tonyp (May 8, 2007)

i havr purchased Alden shoes from all over the US. The shoemart as well as Citishoes. Aldens are great shoes for what they are. A classic comfortable shoe. Nothing fancy, but good looking and good quality. It isn't the online sellers responsiblity to make sure that each shoe is perfectly made. There are going to be some things that may not be perfect. That is the Alden trademark. I have never had an Alden shoe that wasn't acceptable.


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## Brooksfan (Jan 25, 2005)

I'm with you, TonyP. But then what do I know? I've only worn them for 20 years plus and never had a problem with fit or quality, and now own about 20 pairs across the entire calf product range. Then again, not having the resources to swap out $125K cars every six months I have probably set the bar pretty low.


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## knezz (Nov 28, 2009)

Salvatore123 said:


> Leather Soul of Hawaii has the most unusual selection of Alden footwear I have ever seen.
> 
> They often have a "special order" where a sufficient number of members "sign up" for a particular style, the order is placed, and Alden apparently makes a batch of shoes in that style.
> 
> One I missed out on and desperately wanted to take part (but was too late) in was their Alden spectator wingtip. The shoe was gorgeous and not overpowering in the least. It was NOT your typical spectator where you had medium brown on the "outside" with white kid on the "inside". It was, instead, a variation of different browns/leathers. I think it sold out in record time.


For $1,200.00 they better include the mahogany shoe trees and throw in an ice cream cone to boot...


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## gnatty8 (Nov 7, 2006)

127.72 MHz said:


> If you *really* want a pair of shoes from Leather Soul I'd get in *on the front end* by letting Tom Park know you're interested. He will put you on a list and you will be offered a reserved pair before the order is ever placed.
> 
> Then they'll never be sold out because the shoes will actually have been made just for you.
> 
> ...


Say hello to Jordan, I just pre-ordered a pair of the Alden longwings from him over the weekend.. lol


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## Ross (Dec 4, 2009)

Back in December I posted on this forum, asking if anyone else had run into problems contacting Adam at Alden of Carmel. Well, it turns out that the problem was on my end: my company's overactive spam filter was blocking Adam's responses. The problem has been fixed; a beautiful pair of dark brown chalf Chukkas w/ commando sole arrived last week and fit perfectly; and a pair in black shell cordovan is on its way. Yes, that Adam is accessible only via email is quirky. But he is very responsive and, judging from my initial order, his shoes are really, really nice.


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## cmacey (May 3, 2009)

Ethologist said:


> I had a great experience ordering from Alden of Carmel.
> The only down side is that there is no customer service over the phone and everything is done via email. However, the email worked great.
> 
> Winn perry is also good, but not sure if they qualify as online retailer.


Although I agree that Alden of Carmel is, IMHO, the best Alden shop, I will go ahead and respectfully disagree about the customer service comment. I have used both E-mail and phone to get customer service and support and find them to be outstanding. I have found no downside to using this company.


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## CPal (Dec 28, 2003)

Alden of Carmel / ShoeMart / LeatherSoulHawaii - it's a three way tie for me!


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## gman-17 (Jan 29, 2009)

Generally speaking I keep my negative comments about retailers and such to myself, but I have to say I found any attempt at working with Alden of Carmel immpossible. They do not want to send you shoes to try on--not even with a credit card to ensure good return. As previously noted, they only work by e-mail. Very difficult to deal with. I have purchased fromm the Shoe Mart and they have been easy to work with. I have not purcased from Leather Soul but have had extensive e-mail conversations with Tom and I am sure it is just a matter of time. If it were me, I would use one of those two online retailers.


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## Commander Caractacus Pott (Oct 9, 2009)

I have always had good service from ShoeMart.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

hsw said:


> Recently ordered bunch of stuff from shoemart; online seems reasonably efficient process in terms of sales tx, shipping, etc
> 
> But underwhelmed by Alden quality and shoemart QC of Alden inventory (had never bought Alden stuff prior)
> Ordered 3 pr SC full-strap loafers: one pr has a strong odor of cigarette smoke that won't go away despite shoe trees and extended storage in closet
> ...


I am consistently in awe at how high and mighty you are.


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## 127.72 MHz (Feb 16, 2007)

gnatty8 said:


> Say hello to Jordan, I just pre-ordered a pair of the Alden longwings from him over the weekend.. lol


 Jordan is a great guy. Jordan, his wife, and some other members of his family put on a wonderful Alden trunk show at their quaint little haberdashery this past Friday the 12th. (Their shop is called "Winn Perry")

They were careful to limit the number of attendees allowing all to interact with Nate Humble, Alden's west coast representative. Local micro brewed beer, wine, and soft drinks, along with hors d'oeuvres were served.
The event was well thought out and the atmosphere was classy, supportive, non-pressured, and above all professional.

I'm very pleased that Jordan Sayler's shop Winn Perry is so close to my home here in Portland, Oregon. I can't wait to see some of the finalized designs for Alden Special make ups he comes up with.

Regards,


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## srivats (Jul 29, 2008)

For me, it has been Alden SF (on sutter street), Tom @ LeatherSoul and The Shoemart. It is very hard to decide on an order for these three retailers, they are all fantastic.


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## Brooksfan (Jan 25, 2005)

Jovan said:


> I am consistently in awe at how high and mighty you are.


I thought it was just me. I went back and reviewed the posts since this gentleman joined and I think we should consider ourselves fortunate that he deigns to grace us with his presence. Only recently have I learned how I've wasted my money on Alden shoes all these years when if only we'd had this insight earlier we probably would have saved enough to be able to pop for a new Bugatti two or three times a year.


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## gnatty8 (Nov 7, 2006)

127.72 MHz said:


> Jordan is a great guy. Jordan, his wife, and some other members of his family put on a wonderful Alden trunk show at their quaint little haberdashery this past Friday the 12th. (Their shop is called "Winn Perry")
> 
> They were careful to limit the number of attendees allowing all to interact with Nate Humble, Alden's west coast representative. Local micro brewed beer, wine, and soft drinks, along with hors d'oeuvres were served.
> The event was well thought out and the atmosphere was classy, supportive, non-pressured, and above all professional.
> ...


Yeah, he was great to deal with, and I'll probably order from their blog again..


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