Club Obi Wan

Today I received my Magnoli Clothiers Adventure boots (Alden/Indy clones), which I had ordered during his recent $220 a pair sale. I ordered on May 12th, so it was only a three-week turnaround. As a made-to-measure shoe, I followed the measuring instructions as provided on Magnoli's site, and had no problems with any of it (Although I must admit feeling foolish making a tracing of my foot and emailing it to him).

I already had a pair of Aldens which I purchased about 6 years ago, during their "pumpkin orange" phase (Which have darkened to a more acceptable color by the use of Pecard's brown-tinted leather dressing), so I was confident knowing what type of shoe I would be getting. Since I already had the Aldens, I passed on getting the "saddle" color, which would otherwise have been my first choice, and got the "mahogany" ones.

Out of the box, the shoes I got are the color I expected, and they match up well to the color as shown on his site. They have a slight purple hue to them, but you have to be right on top of them to see it. My photos below don't show this purple hue at all.

The leather is very soft and comfortable, and is much softer than the leather on my Aldens. I actually prefer the softer leather - but then, I intend to wear these more as dress or casual boots, not as work or hiking boots. FYI, my Aldens are 1 lb 14.5 oz, while the Magnoli's are slightly lighter at 1 lb, 11.25 oz.

I was very apprehensive putting them on, as I was afraid how well these made-to-measure shoes would fit, but I am very happy with them - they definitely do fit me like a glove! There's plenty of wiggle-room for the toes, and as I said before, very soft leather. But what I appreciate most of all is the fit over my instep. As you can see in the photos below, my Aldens are laced tight over my instep, yet there's still a large gap between the eyelets. But on the Magnoli boots, the eyelets are right next too each other, yet the laces aren't very tight, so there's less pressure on the instep, thus a more comfortable fit (This close lacing should also help the sliding tongue problem which I had on my Aldens. You can see the fix I had to make on one of my shoes to prevent the tongue from moving to the side). It's clear to me that made-to-measure shoes are the way to go.

The bottom line: I am *very* happy with these boots, and I'm looking forward to wearing them out and putting them through their paces. And I have no doubt that I'll be ordering some more Adventure Boots from Indy Magnoli sometime down the line. And thanks, Indy Magnoli, for offering these boots in the first place; it's very much appreciated!

Here are the photos:

1) Alden & Magnoli, taken outside:


2) Alden & Magnoli, taken outside:


3) Alden & Magnoli, taken inside:


4) Alden, taken inside. Note width between leather/eyelets, as well as poor-man's fix to tongue problem to shoe on left:


5) Magnoli, taken inside. Leather/eyelets close together, fitting perfectly over my instep:

Awesome pics, Jojo! Thanks! I've been wanting to see this comparison! The Mags look great, but there is just a subtle little something that makes them look not quite right compared to the Aldens. But I just can't put my finger on it?? Maybe the rear curvature of the heal cup and the narrowing ankle that is on the Aldens. I dunno. I also see some odd "crinkling" in that leather in these and the website pics. How is the finish on the leather compared to the Aldens? Does it seem like it will last?

TR

AHA! I think is see what is different. If you look at the last two pics, have them both on your computer and click back and forth, you'll notice that the upper lacing structure of the Magnoli's are just a bit too long, extending too far down into the toe section, making the toe appear too short. This is what is making them look a bit odd. This is probably what is aiding you in the feel good instep, as those are lacing and actually 'wrapping' around your foot more, making them feel better. Is this a fix that would be easy, Magnoli? Can you see to what I am referring? Just a little more constructive critisizm.

I seem to be your worst critic, Anthony believe me, it's only out of respect for your awesome work and detail, not because I'm a nit-picker! (well, o.k., I'm a nit-picker too. But that's beside the point)...

TR

Actually, TR, I think that's just the particular fit of IJoJo's Aldens. Have a look at my old Aldens version my boots:



The laces seem to extend into the toe equally... or perhaps even the Aldens look a bit closer in this example.

Kind regards,
Magnoli

Great looking boots JoJo! It looks like Magnoli has given us another great product!

Argh!! I'm having a really hard time deciding which of these boots I want...! Magnoli - I think that you did an excellent job on these boots. The only problem I have, and it's not big, and I could probably fix it for a low price - is that I don't like the big fat laces that they have. I'm sure though, if I talk to the Aldens people, I could get a pair of laces from them for a low price.

Maybe I'll just get 1 Alden for my left foot and 1 Magnoli for my right foot.

Thanks for the review!

In Christ,
Shane

Hmmm, I gotta be honest, I'm still not sure what Texas Raider is refering to regarding the lacing, so I really can't comment on this. Spinning both boots side by side in my hands, the only real difference I see is that the toe of the Magnoli boot (The part of the leather below the toe stitching) is a bit more blunt than the Alden boot, which is more streamlined. You can see this in the first pic above.

Now remember, these are made to measure boots, so don't be surprised if you see slight differences, as the pics of these shoes are going to reflect the shape of my mutant feet, and not the standard shape of Aldens.

Regarding the leather, yes, there is some slight "crinkling", but it's around the ankle area that would be hidden by your pants leg; the rest of the leather appears smooth, with very slight pebbling.

Also, I should point out that the leather might not actually be softer than the Aldens, but that the construction of the Magnoli boot led me to perceive is as such. If you look at the first 3 pictures, you see that the Aldens have additional strips of leather around the inside part of the boot that covers the ankle area, while the Magnoli boot does not. This makes the Alden boot stiffer in this area. I actually prefer the Magnoli approach, as I like to have easier movement in this area. When laced up, the boots still provide support to the ankle, but just aren't as stiff as the Aldens.

O.K. Anthony, those look a bit better, closer. I think I see the difference now that you have them side by side. It's very subtle, so bear with me here. The flaps of the lacing structure on the Aldens are slightly tapered from bottom to top, meaning the line goes slightly rearward. The lacing structure on yours goes basically straight, so if you look at the pic, the space between the very bottom of that leather lace structure and the very bottom eyelet is actually thinner on the Aldens. Do you see what I mean?(hope I'm describing it good). From the bottom eyelet to the bottom seam of the lacing structure is more on yours, so it goes straight across instead of angling rearward, like the Aldens.

Once again, this is a small detail. I had my girlfriend look at the pic, and she picked it out too. This should be a really easy fix(if you are really even worried about it) The boot still looks great, I'm just being my regular picky self

TR