Alden

Why r/BuyItForLife recommends Alden

21 mentions from real owners

• #1Dec 19, 2025

  If you started your wardrobe over from scratch, what would you buy? (US)

  1. Shoes: Blundstones, Alden cordovan loafers, NoBull trainers 2. Pants: Bill Khakis, Kuhl 5-pocket pants, wool slacks 3. Underwear: Ibex merino wool 4. Shirts: cotton tee's and polo, Brooks Bros OCBD, REI merino sweater, Champion sweatshirt, Barbour down vest 5. Coats: Barbour, Peter Millar zip up jacket, Brooks blue blazer

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• #2Dec 1, 2025

  Recommendations for Derby/Oxford style dress shoes?

  Alden. Arrogant east coast small business but damn they make a good shoe.

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• #3Nov 8, 2025

  Vagabond shoes are of horrible quality.

  A quick look at their website shows they are basically a mall brand discount shoe at a slight cost premium, definitely not anywhere near BIFL tier. Check out r/Goodyearwelt - you’ll find plenty of “investment” shoes such as Alden, Allen Edmonds, Vibergs, etc.

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• #4Nov 5, 2025

  My 10 year old boots are still better than anything new I have bought

  I have multiple pairs of 10 year old shoes. My Alden Indys are 10-11 years old, I have a pair of Allen Edmonds brogues that are at least 5-6 years older than those. I recently offloaded some other shoes that were 10-15 years old that I just don't wear anymore. Shoes are arguably one of the easier things to BIFL if you are willing to pay for them and maintain them.

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• #5Nov 3, 2025

  Men's Penny loafers?

  Viberg has some but they are kinda expensive. I was gonna suggest Alden.

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• #6Oct 9, 2025

  Good quality boots that will last me a decade?

  Ah I see. Yeah I love the idea of a nicks boot but the way id wear them they’d take 2 years to break in. That’s why something like Alden has a place even if they aren’t built like other boots at their price, they’re comfortable as hell. (And they could also do better)

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• #7Oct 7, 2025

  I’ve started caring less about new and more about enough

  Alden

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• #8Jun 6, 2025

  Best wide shoes for heavy folks (8+ hours standing)

  Measure your feet with [brannock](https://brannock.com/pages/instructions-fitting-tips) device. Then you know your perfect size, go true to size. The leather will mold after your feet and give you the best support. Look for good year welted shoes or boots, they will last you a lifetime if you take care of them. Best thing is to have two or more pairs, so they can rest 2 days on and off. Recommend Red Wing for boots and Alden for Oxfords, or any other private own producers, not that many left so support the quality they offer. Sneakers are made of plastic in south asia by people with lousy work conditions, the production cost is 5 dollars for the expensive ones. They charge you 150 or more, so they can use insane amounts to hype their shit. Buy less, but better. You will feel better too

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• #9May 10, 2025

  Brands you swear by that have Buy It For Life quality products

  I’ll play: Barbour and belstaff waxed jackets Japanese made denim: [raw denim brands](https://www.reddit.com/r/rawdenim/s/Ph7zRs5H6M) Shoes: Goodyear welted and high quality leather/suede(I nerd out here): Alden, Edward Green, Rancourt from Maine, . Learn to care for them: clean, wax and, protect them they’ll last a lifetime. Put on a record, pour a scotch and put a coat of wax on your fav boots. It’s pretty chill and satisfying. Knives: Wustoff, ZWILLING: learn to sharpen at home with a whetstone: it’s a game changer for lifelong sharp knives! Kitchenaid mixer is a tank Technivorm Mokka coffee maker: has a brass boiler. It lasts a long time. Sebo Vacuum : incredible machine. My carpet was never as clean and it will last 20+ years. Cast iron pan: I have a budget Lodge and use it 3-6x a week now for over 10 years. Maintain it as well and it will last. Cheers all.

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• #10May 1, 2025

  Thorogood’s BFL? Even though I found them in the dumpster?

  > There are no buy it for life shoes, My shell cordovan Alden oxfords would disagree. If they can be professionally resoled / recrafted, and are made of quality materials, they will absolutely outlive you. I've seen some Alden shoes that were 80+ years old, passed down to grandchildren, that were worn regularly for an entire career and still look great for the next career.

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• #11Apr 12, 2025

  Looking for a brand similar to Grant Stone

  Tough to beat Grant Stone in that price range, but Allen Edmonds are close. Alden would be the next step up (similar quality to Grant Stone) but more expensive than your price range.

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• #12Apr 9, 2025

  Boots of this style that aren’t made in China ?

  Viberg and oak Street boot makers are both good well known brands. Hmm osb (oak Street) Are made foreign I'm not sure where, but the 3 pair I have are super well made and I've had 2 for over a decade. Viberg is canadian Allen Edmond and wolverine make the boot, not sure where Alden also makes great boots similar in Massachusetts, I have a pair of their shell Cordovan that are fantastic

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• #13Apr 9, 2025

  What is your current BIFL item you recommend to everyone?

  Alden boots

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• #14Apr 8, 2025

  Looking for some quality, american made womens boots

  Find your men's size is step 0 for you as that opens up the aperture much wider. Maybe you'll find some men's brands with sizing for you. Allen Edmonds, Alden, Red Wing and Frye are ones that jump to mind. BIFL means goodyear welt construction as the only brand mentioned that is 100% goodyear is Alden, so you have to look carefully to the others for country of origin and construction method.

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• #15Mar 10, 2025

  I wear through shoes way faster than anybody I’ve ever heard of.

  Alden and Red Wing my good person and get them re-soled once you wear through.

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• #16Mar 4, 2025

  BIFL, but also BISecondhand. What are some things that everyone should keep an eye out for, but can commonly be found for cheap when preowned.

  This is the answer. Older Allen Edmonds, Alden for dressier shoes or boots. PNW brands like Whites or Nicks for more serious work style boots. Vintage cowboy boots before things went to crap in the 90’s.

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• #17Feb 7, 2025

  What brands do you trust to always deliver a high quality product?

  Iron Heart, Maui Jim, All Clad, Filson, Chris Reeve Knives, Rolex, Glock, Saddleback, Lexus, Alden shoes, Wolf

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• #18Feb 1, 2025

  Going to Europe, suggestions for comfortable, not-ugly walking shoes that will last?

  Alden All Weather Walkers are what I wear on such trips. They are leather derbies with a comfortable crepe sole. You can walk around the city all day, take them out to the country too, but still wear them to dinner at a nice restaurant. The leather is pebbled, so they are on the casual end of the shoe spectrum. They are expensive but resolable and should last a long time with minimal care. You can occasionally find seconds at Shoe Mart to bring the price down.

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• #19Jan 10, 2025

  Comfortable boots that'll last?

  Alden Roy boots are probably the most comfortable long lasting boot. ALTHOUGH they are significantly over $200 and the cost to resole is rather expensive.

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• #20Jan 9, 2025

  I have Tourette’s Syndrome. Help me find a BIFL shoe or boot?

  look into shoe taps, can be for the heel or for the tip of your shoe, essentially when the sole wears down in that area you can replace that part with plastic or metal, and now that piece will wear down rather than the sole. It is primarily used in extending the life of leather soles, which are quite expensive to replace. Here is an example: [https://theshoesnobblog.com/the-importance-of-toe-taps/](https://theshoesnobblog.com/the-importance-of-toe-taps/) Any good cobbler should be able to do it for you, combine that with a good goodyear-welted shoe or boot (r/goodyearwelt is the better sub for this, my favorites are red wing, alden, and R. M. Williams) and you can replace the soles when needed. Take good care of the leather upper and it will last a lifetime. So in summary, buy a good goodyearwelted boot with replaceable soles, wear it as you would until the tip & heel wear away, ask a local cobbler to add in taps on the heel and/or tip, and once every few years replace the sole itself if needed.

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• #21Jan 1, 2025

  Looking for good dress shoe with removable insoles and repairable sole

  Depending on the size of your insole you may be able to fit it in some shoes without removable insoles if you size up half a size. Allen Edmonds can be a good place to start since they offer a range of widths and have a lot of physical stores where you could go to try on shoes without removable insoles your insole. Another possibility is having a custom dress shoe orthotic made. I also use custom orthotics in many shoes and have one pair that is rigid and very thin that I use with dress shoes/boots that don’t have removable insoles. Also, many dress shoes (especially slip ons) only have a sock liner (insole) at the heel that is glued down and could be torn out if necessary. For Venetian loafers, you could also take a look at some of the Maine moccasin makers like Quoddy and Rancourt. For expensive but well made lace up shoes, you could check out some of the removable insoles your insole options from Alden shoes. There should be some shown on the official Alsennstore site and at Moulded Shoe. Finally, I’ve seen a lot of posts raving about the comfort of San Antonio Shoes (SAS) but I’ve never tried them as I don’t like the look. And if you want to go down the shoe rabbit hole check out r/goodyearwelt. I hope this helps!

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