My latest pair are these Alden split toe derbies made back in 1977, still unused in their original box. It was part of their Foot Balance range made on the orthotic TruBalance last with a very long heel stiffener, which fits me really well. Here’s a closer look with lots of photos of this lovely pair.
Last week I was on my yearly trip to Japan, and one of the stops was the great vintage shoe store Super 8 Shoes in Tokyo. Run by the charismatic owner Takashi “Gucci” Horiguchi (who will be part of an upcoming Shoegazing Podcast episode), it’s a store that has a high level on their selection of vintage classic shoes, with a lot of it being New Old Stock, NOS, meaning they’ve never been worn, and of the rest most are in really good condition.
They had one pair in my size (UK11 G-width is my standard), and luckily, it was a great pair that also fit me superbly. They are made by Alden, nowadays one of the big players when it comes to men’s quality footwear, but in the 1970’s when these were made, they were just one of many other big American manufacturers. Back then, Alden had one part of the business producing shoes for large luxury fashion companies like Brooks Brothers, one part producing their own range of classic shoe styles, and one part making fine orthotic shoes.
Interestingly, most of the bigger and/or famous American brands like Florsheim, Johnston & Murphy, Cole Haan, Bostonian and so on was eventually taken over by other companies turning them into something completely different. Only one who sort of has survived being both big, taken over by big money focused companies and continue to produce proper welted footwear is Allen Edmonds, even if they also have declined in quality in general and moved a lot of production out of the US, compared to the high times.
Alden chose a different path. They are still family owned, and even if they’ve done some controversial decisions like switching to leather board heel stacks instead of real leather, they still produce shoes largely the same way as back in the days, largely the same styles and the same leathers, and without a doubt they are the most respected American classic shoe manufacturer today.
The 84 model is a split toe derby made between the 1970’s and the 1990’s. The marking inside tells it’s made in year x7, “Gucci” wasn’t fully sure which decade, 70’s or 80’s, but when I researched it a bit further it’s most likely from 1977 (among other things box and logo inside points to this). The 84 model was part of their FootBalance range, which was solely focused on orthotic lasts and make, with the classic big asymmetric heel, a large shank, long heel stiffeners that goes all the way under the arch, and so on (read more about FootBalance in this catalogue from the 1980’s that Stitchdown has shared).
The shoes are lined with leather in the back half, while front have the “100% cotton duck toe lining”, which I know some find cool but I’d much preferred ful leather since it both breaths better and lasts longer. They are built on the TruBalance last (same last as the Indy Boots), which is one of their, a very assymmetric last, with a roomy forefoot and a narrow inside arch. For me, they fit super in the 12D these are made in.
The embossed grain leather is still nice and supple, especially after I’ve conditioned and polished them. Even if they evidently had been tested a few times through the years, they never actually had been worn for real, so it felt a bit special to take a pair of shoes that were seven years older than myself for a walk outside the first time.
