The Alden Shoe Company is an American shoe company founded in 1884 by Charles H. Alden in Middleborough, Massachusetts. Alden specializes in handcrafted men's leather

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is cle ...

s and dress shoes, such as

Oxfords An Oxford shoe is characterized by shoelace eyelets tabs that are attached under the vamp, a feature termed "closed lacing". This contrasts with Derbys, or bluchers, which have shoelace eyelets attached to the top of the vamp. Originally, Oxf ...

, Blüchers, loafers, and Chukka boots.

History

In the 19th century, there were once hundreds of shoemakers in New England, but now Alden is one of only a few factories. Alden is considered a heritage, family-owned brand. Many of the company's roughly 100 workers at its factory in Middleborough are second or third generation, and it sources its leathers mostly from small

tanneries Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

in Europe and the U.S. – its shell cordovan comes from the last such tannery in America, Horween Leather Company. Alden has used Horween as their leather supplier since 1930, and is their largest cordovan customer. In 2021, former CFO Richard Hajjar pled guilty to embezzlement of over 30 million dollars from the company of which some 17 million he had transferred to business run by his partner

Bianca de la Garza Bianca de la Garza (born October 13, 1975) is a Mexican-American journalist, television personality, and founder of Bianca de la Garza Beauty. She has worked for various stations such as WCVB, ABC, and FOX. Education De la Garza is an alumna ...

Commercial resilience

Along with other brands of Americana, Alden has experienced something of a resurgence in 21st century

men's fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

. Despite a recession in the late-2000s and the relatively high prices of their products, Alden has grown again because of a renewed interest in more traditional men's shoes and boots, which can last decades. It is this reliance on high-end shoes, especially by those interested in

business attire Informal wear or undress, also called business wear, corporate/office wear, tenue de ville or dress clothes, is a Western dress code for clothing defined by a business suit for men, and cocktail dress or pant suit for women. On the scale of fo ...

, that has allowed the company to avoid going under despite the decline of American shoe manufacturing.

Popular culture

In popular culture, Alden model 405 boots (commonly referred to as the Alden "Indy" boot) were worn by

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...

character in the film versions of the franchise.

References

Clothing companies established in 1884 Shoe companies of the United States Companies based in Plymouth County, Massachusetts Companies based in Massachusetts Shoe brands Luxury brands 1884 establishments in Massachusetts {{US-manufacturing-company-stub

History

Commercial resilience

Popular culture

See also

References