Current state of the shoe collection

[Vicious49]

It's hard for me to make deals like that with my wife because she doesn't like spending money at all, not even on herself.

[fey]

here's a group shot of an assortment of mid-to-higher end shoe makers.

top to bottom: alden, carmina, alfred sargent, crockett & jones






my random thoughts... in terms of quality and finishing, carmina and alfred sergeant are at the top and about the same. the c&j is part of their main collection (not hand grade) and is a bit behind those two. its leather also does not seem as nice. alden is lacking in qc/finishing. i like the carmina last the most (simpson), alfred sargent's 99 last is also very nice. barrie last is clearly the odd duck in these photos

[fey]

closer up:

[lifeinabox]

Impressive collection. I visited the Carmina store in Madrid last fall. I was just getting into quality shoes and had only a slight notion that I was in presence of shoe greatness. Looking back I missed a great opportunity but just an excuse to go back.

[90Shilling]

Very nice. My next two pairs will be Carmina (split toe derby and string tie loafer). I own Alden and C&J (including those same pair of calf Tetburys), and I agree with your assessment. Have not tried Alfred Sargent yet. Are your AS a black wholecut? And is the Carmina pair a punch cap balmoral in dark brown? Can't tell the colors definitively from the photos.

[fey]

Impressive collection. I visited the Carmina store in Madrid last fall. I was just getting into quality shoes and had only a slight notion that I was in presence of shoe greatness. Looking back I missed a great opportunity but just an excuse to go back.

I got these in Madrid from their gran via store. They had lots of shoes on sale for like 200eur which would be a steal, but I limited myself to carrying back one pair

Very nice. My next two pairs will be Carmina (split toe derby and string tie loafer). I own Alden and C&J (including those same pair of calf Tetburys), and I agree with your assessment. Have not tried Alfred Sargent yet. Are your AS a black wholecut? And is the Carmina pair a punch cap balmoral in dark brown? Can't tell the colors definitively from the photos.

The AS is a special make up, black plain toe balmoral. The carmina is the punch cap toe bal, a dark brown 80105.

I enjoy trying multiple shoemakers, as opposed to raiding the AE Shoebank over and over again. It's an expensive habit tho!

[LCDR]

I like the shapes of the Alden and AS. The other two are on the verge of going into angular/pointy territory, but then again I am not accustomed to European shoes. They also have a very formal look. I would be afraid of having too few occasions to wear them.

Anyway, they are all great shoes! Thanks for the pics.

(Let us see your boots next )

[fey]

I like the shapes of the Alden and AS. The other two are on the verge of going into angular/pointy territory, but then again I am not accustomed to European shoes. They also have a very formal look. I would be afraid of having too few occasions to wear them.

Anyway, they are all great shoes! Thanks for the pics.

(Let us see your boots next )

I'll group shot my boots when the vibergs arrive very excited about those

[lifeinabox]

I got these in Madrid from their gran via store. They had lots of shoes on sale for like 200eur which would be a steal, but I limited myself to carrying back one pair

That's quite some self control. I visited the store on Serrano.

[movoblast]

closer up:

Nice shoes fey! I must say that my favorite are the Alden 975s. I never liked the sleeker/european looking shoes on myself because I'm only 5'10'' with thicker thighs, so narrower shoes look too dainty/small relative to my thigh size. I get jealous of the lean and longer legged fellows who are able to sport them. They are beautiful shoes and I bet you can sport them well though! I would love to see them in the WIWT section one day.

[Lemmy127]

Since this popped up, I figured I'd share my collection.

I recently purged 7 pairs of AEs from my collection and am acquiring some black Park Aves (courtesy of wsupjs), a MTO brown shell MacNeil that should arrive anytime now, and a ravello shell Alden 975 in December. Since I no longer have a brown calf captoe, I'll be looking into either Park Aves at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale in a few weeks or a MTO with Meermin to get some in their brown museum calf.

[LosRockets]

[MENTION=6367]fey[/MENTION]: wantttttt those Carminas. If I had positive cash flow I'd sell my AEs for Carminas right now. I really need to try a few pairs on and get sized - I'm actually near DC at the moment and am tempted to visit Sky Valet as they've got things in Rain, Forest, and Uetam lasts but it's 25 miles away so it's not really a walk down the block for me

The Tetbury's are also nice. You said you went an extra 0.5 down to account for the extra length. So you went down a total of 1.0 or 1.5?

[movoblast]

Since this popped up, I figured I'd share my collection.

I recently purged 7 pairs of AEs from my collection and am acquiring some black Park Aves (courtesy of wsupjs), a MTO brown shell MacNeil that should arrive anytime now, and a ravello shell Alden 975 in December. Since I no longer have a brown calf captoe, I'll be looking into either Park Aves at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale in a few weeks or a MTO with Meermin to get some in their brown museum calf.

Did you catch the Alden of Carmel pre-order too? Can't wait for December to come! I also have the ravello captoe boots (leffot daytrippers) coming around that time too!

[MENTION=6367]fey[/MENTION], I'm still jealous of how cheap you were able to get your black AS shoes. Those were an absolute steal! You got the CJ tetburys for quite a deal as well! If I had a smaller frame, I would TOTALLY be all over those boots. Skyfall!

[fey]

[MENTION=6367]fey[/MENTION]: wantttttt those Carminas. If I had positive cash flow I'd sell my AEs for Carminas right now. I really need to try a few pairs on and get sized - I'm actually near DC at the moment and am tempted to visit Sky Valet as they've got things in Rain, Forest, and Uetam lasts but it's 25 miles away so it's not really a walk down the block for me

The Tetbury's are also nice. You said you went an extra 0.5 down to account for the extra length. So you went down a total of 1.0 or 1.5?

It would be size down 1.5 if you consider us -> uk sizing. These are labelled in us sizing oddly enough, so they are labelled the same size as my Barrie last shoes

[MENTION=6367]fey[/MENTION], I'm still jealous of how cheap you were able to get your black AS shoes. Those were an absolute steal! You got the CJ tetburys for quite a deal as well! If I had a smaller frame, I would TOTALLY be all over those boots. Skyfall!

I buy all these shoes that are good deals but without the need for them, so they end up being unworn for quite a while lol

[wsupjs]

Since this popped up, I figured I'd share my collection.

I recently purged 7 pairs of AEs from my collection and am acquiring some black Park Aves (courtesy of wsupjs), a MTO brown shell MacNeil that should arrive anytime now, and a ravello shell Alden 975 in December. Since I no longer have a brown calf captoe, I'll be looking into either Park Aves at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale in a few weeks or a MTO with Meermin to get some in their brown museum calf.

Great collection [MENTION=11521]Lemmy127[/MENTION]. The Park Aves will fit in great when they get there this week.

What shell boots are those (third pair on the top row)? I want first shot at them if you ever sell... hah.