Today's Shoes

Alden half-brogue bluchers in dark brown suede with commando soles and antique tan edge and heel trim (Barrie last). Like the boots yesterday, these shoes were special orders, although these were from Adam Knott at Alden of Carmel instead of Alan White at the Alden Shop in San Francisco. Also like the boots yesterday, the suede used on these has a longer nap than the standard suede that Alden uses on their shoes. I don't understand why the shops that make up special runs of Alden shoes don't use these suedes more often -- they're so much more visually appealing and tactilely impressive than the standard Alden suede.

Within a week of receiving these (after maybe six or seven months of waiting for them -- when Alden did one-off special orders, they weren't exactly zippy about it), I was in a grocery store sampling some olive oil on bread, and wouldn't you know that I of course dripped it on my new suede shoes. The standard advice for such crises is to use white vinegar on the oil spot, and that's what I did. It helped; but if you look closely, you can still see the spot, about the size of a dime. Alas, alas. Don't sample olive oil when wearing non-waterproof suede shoes.