Alden Black Shell Semi-Brogue Balmoral

I have always found myself attracted to the elegance and formality of the Semi-Brogue Balmoral pattern. The clean lines of a balmoral combined with a nice brogue pattern and the medallion cap toe has always epitomized beautiful footwear to me. I first discovered the Semi-Brogue pattern via Allen Edmonds in what they call “The Strand”, it is in their Timeless Collection and for good reason. My first Shell Cordovan shoe was “The Strand” in Walnut Shell Cordovan, which most closely maps to Alden’s lovely Ravello Shell Cordovan color.

I recently had the absolutely stunning Semi-Brogue Balmoral in Black Shell Cordovan from LeatherSoul. That is an absolutely fantastic model as it is made around the sleek Plaza Last. Unfortunately, the shoe just was not the best fit for my foot and so I had to part with it. When I went to visit Alden Madison last summer, I noticed this model on their shelf. The Madison shoe is made on the Hampton Last, vice the Plaza Last. Unfortunately, I require an 11B on the Hampton Last, which is not a stock size, so I could not walk out with a pair that day and had to wait for their next run. They were definitely worth the wait.

The lines of the Hampton Last play very nicely into the Semi-Brogue pattern, which frankly makes sense, as the Hampton Last was largely design and is used for Alden’s formal Cap Toe and Perforated Tip Balmorals. The shoes came out fantastic and is a great shoe to pair with a nice suit for the days in which you need to dress up and look like the ultimate business man.

Enough talk, time for pictures.