Source
r/goodyearwelt•
mamimumemoh

Alden Chukka Color 8 Shell Antique Commando Sole (6 months)

Album: https://imgur.com/a/qFzOH

First post to r/goodyearwelt, so here goes...

These are my first pair of shells. I picked them up while on a trip to New York at the Alden of Madison store. I live in Tokyo so these retail for over 1400 USD over here, and so while I usually wait for sales & deals, I had already decided I didn't care about paying full price for a pair of shells while in the US.

There was a little bit of irregularity on the toe (I don’t even remember which one any more), so Anthony threw in a discount (20% off) and a free pair of shoe trees. This is a 7.5 D on the Barrie last, and right now my most comfortable pair. The commando soles make them ultra comfortable, although in combination with the antique sole, I can’t really wear them (no matter how much I would like) with my semi-formal/business wardrobes.

For reference, my other pairs include C&J Savile 7E (337 last, very comfortable) and a Church's Measham 7.5 F (a bit too snug on my left pinky toe, the larger of my two feet). I wear all my shoes with the cheapest thin Uniqlo socks (3 pairs for 980 jpy or something like that), and personally prefer slightly roomy fits due to an upbringing where my parents always bought me shoes that I would "grow in to", as well as regularly having to take my shoes on-and-off, Asian-style.

I've been wearing these at least 2 times a week for the past 6 months or so, and I am very very happy with them. I brush them down regularly, have put some renovateur on them 3 times (every 2 months or so), and had them conditioned and polished at Shoeshine Tokyo under Shinbashi station (business district in Tokyo) for about 2300 JPY after I came back from a trip to Scandinavia where I stomped around some snowy streets for 10 days.

I don’t think I’ll be going back to any shoe shiners for a while, as I want to see how the colour will develop by just brushing and cleaning these babies off with the occasional renovateur.

Posted Apr 8, 2018, 2:46 AM UTC · edited

4421
MonsieurLeDudeHorween Junkie•

Awesome chukkas, they look great and commando soles rock the house!

6
mamimumemohOP•

don't think i'm gonna be able to go back to leather soles...

3
dagdstyle•

Oh my that's pretty nice. I usually think chukkas need to look more textured but these are beautiful.

3
mamimumemohOP•

Thanks! I had a pair of (cheap) brown suedes that fell apart on me. Best replacement ever

1
dagdstyle•

That's quite an upgrade!

1
darbykp•

Fantastic! They look great. I love shell on a plain toe.

2
mamimumemohOP•

Thanks! I do feel that the plain toes definitely show off the characteristics of the material than some of the other builds with more layers, stitching, brogueing etc.

1
M635_Guyaddicted to NST•

That's a great build of the Alden chukka - look terrific and really versatile. Congrats on a great pair of chukkas and for using them well!

2
mamimumemohOP•

Thanks! My goal is to make these last 10 years before I send them in to get resoled (I hope Alden still offers the same service in 2028)

1
M635_Guyaddicted to NST•

If you wear them enough, I doubt the soles will go 10 years, but I've got no doubts Alden will be around. They've been here since 1884... :)

1
Obcdmeme•

Every time I see shell, I feel like I need to pull the trigger. Ugh. How stiff are these?

1
mamimumemohOP•

super soft!

It took about 2 weeks of relatively hard/long wears for them to start softening up. They really don't feel that stiff, and its probably to do with the construction of the chukka as well.

I really wanted to get the long-wing blucher, but it was very stiff and digging into my outside ankle. The salesman told me I would just have to tough it out until the shell softened up. I also tried on the wing-tip boot, which felt stiff as well. The chukka felt snug but not stiff, almost perfect - I had to pull the trigger.

they are also super low-maintenance...I can't recommend these enough!

1
letitflamePlaza 9.5 Hiro 9•

Just saying but a lot of Japanese go to Hong Kong for Alden and other quality shoes. Or you can get one in Taiwan but size might be rather limited compare to Hong Kong.

1
mamimumemohOP•

sweet, good to know. Isn't the markup still pretty hefty for HK?

1
letitflamePlaza 9.5 Hiro 9•

I would say it's around the same price. But there will be fluctuations due to exchange rates

1
Mauser_7x57•

There is a guy on my instagram who has a shop in Tokyo stocked with US & European shoes & clothing etc. Whistler_Chart

1
M635_Guyaddicted to NST•

That kind of stuff is generally very expensive in Tokyo

1
mochotim560•

These look far darker than traditional color 8 - are you sure these aren't cigar?

1
mamimumemohOP•

yup they're colour 8 alright. They are a lot darker than most of the pictures I've seen on the sub, but on a really bright day they give off a little bit of the purplish hue. When I rub them down with reonvateur some colour comes off so I'm hoping they'll brighten up a little bit to add some more patina...although the dark colour does make them extremely versatile. The antique sole also brightens them up overall

2
Washableaxe•

how did you break them in so nicely? I have a pair as well and I am not getting the several levels of creases that you are.

1
mamimumemohOP•

I would say I wore them very hard for the first 2-3 months, even got them quite wet on a couple occasions. I took them on a couple weekend trips and didn't even rest them between wears, and wore them at least 3 times a week otherwise...maybe I just got lucky? Hopefully yours will start to crease nicely in time!

1