Initial Impressions

Walk into any Alden store, and assuming you have the money to spend, it’s easy to walk out with almost anything in Color 8 or Black shell. You can find the leisure hand sewn in stock all the time. That being said, not everyone wants a pair of eggplant or black loafers. If that sounds like you, and you want to stick with the Alden brand, you need to get into the wild world of rare shells. Among the rarest is this, the Color 4 Leisure Hand Sewn.

The Air Jordan 12 has a lot of great stories behind it. We all know the story about the flu game 12s – or, more accurately the food poisoning 12s – but there is a lot more to them than that. The 12 is actually the first Jordan to be released as part of its own brand. Many also consider the 12 to be the first “modern” basketball shoe. In fact, there are plenty of people who still feel they can play in it today, more than 25 years since it first released.

When does a footwear company go from start up to established brand? Oak Street Bootmakers has only been around since 2010. I bet there are people reading this page who have socks older than this brand. However, when taking a look at the market, there are now countless brands trying to do to Oak Street Bootmakers what they did to Alden and Allen Edmonds. Truman, Grant Stone, Parkhurst, and more all followed the path set forward by Oak Street Bootmakers. I thought it might be worth going back to the genesis of Oak Street Bootmakers, one of their first models – the Trench Boot.

I’ll be the first to admit, as someone old enough to remember the hype around the Air Yeezy One dropping, I’m probably not G-Dragon’s target audience. In fact, I can’t say I know much about K-Pop in general. However, while I’m no expert in K-Pop, I do know a little bit about sneakers, and a little bit about wingtips. When Nike announced they were going to be making a combination of the two, I knew I had to pick up a pair. Today we are looking at the Nike Kwondo1.

I know what you’re saying – a Clarks Desert Boot review? What is this, 2015? However, I think that joke might ring a little bit too close to home over at the folks at Clark’s. After becoming the defacto choice for a guy looking to dress well during the rapid increase in #menswear (it’s still the symbol for r/malefashionadvice), the popularity of the silhouette has dropped significantly.

The Adidas Stan Smith has a long and storied history. I won’t belabor it since we already went into it in our Stan Smith Recon review from a little while back, but in short, this sneaker has been everything from the top of the line in athletic wear, a streetwear icon, a J. Crew staple, and even presidential footwear. However, what are you going to do when everyone already has a pair? Look into a collaboration like this one with Senakers N Stuff. By the way, if you didn’t know, Adidas calls their collabs the Consortium line, meaning this sneaker is the Stan Smith Consortium X SNS.

For such a young company, Grant Stone has made quite a name for themselves. In fact, if you’re into nicer footwear, you almost certainly own a pair of shoes that are older than the company. Founded in 2016, Grant Stone went from making a small number of models – mostly focused on loafers and bluchers – to offering 12 different make ups in countless leathers. Their most famous might just be this, the Grant Stone Edward.

The Converse All Star, also known as the Chuck Taylor, is an absolutely classic design. In fact, you probably don’t need me to tell you. Odds are you’ve probably owned a pair. In a study done in 2012, more than 60% of all Americans either own or had owned at least one pair.

If you’ve never heard of Edward Green before, you’re missing out. Considered by many to be the best ready-to-wear shoes available at any price, the company is known for being a no-compromise option for those with more than a little spare cash. On many forums, if someone asks for a shoe without giving a price, people offer the Edward Green option as a bit of a joke – if price is so unimportant you don’t mention it, get Edward Green.

I’ve always felt like the Jordan 13 has gotten the short end of the stick. It doesn’t get the love that the early retros get in the eyes of hype beasts, and after carrying Jordan through almost the entire 97-98 season, Jordan swapped in the 14 for the famous “Last Shot.” In fact, the most memorable moment for the Jordan 13 in the 1990’s wasn’t even on the court. Instead, the 13 is probably best known for a cameo in the movie “He Got Game.”