Alden's Brett Klein is one of the true mensches of the footwear world. A huge part of his job is to help retailers—and humble shoe podcasters who devise Stitchup boots—dream up and refine the incredible makeups that define Peak Alden for so many of us. He's also one of the shell cordovan-fading kings of this world, having put in the time (in the sun) to beautifully alter his color 8 shell boots, and documenting the whole thing along the way with the instagram hashtag #thefadedboot.This week, @tichoblancoshoes and Ben from Stitchdown talk to Brett about how to get those exceptional fades—and if fading black shell cordovan works—as well as some of the archive gems he's seen in the Alden factory, and how he's seen the American shoemaking industry sadly ravaged by private equity and other forces. And of course what he's got in his own closet, and the Alden boot he'd keep if he could only choose one forever. Oh and one more big one: IS RARE SHELL CORDOVAN ACTUALLY RARE OR NOT??? Brett's got all the answers. This episode was sponsored by Grant Stone, one of the best overall values in fine footwear you can find anywhere. Check them out!Theme music: The Road by Punk Rock OperaSupport the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

Ahhhh, the Shoe Journey. The voyage from understanding essentially nothing about great shoes and boots to...GETTING IT. It's a path that winds in all directions, and no journey is the same for any two people. But there are almost always similarities! Flashpoints and big mistakes and everything else that shapes a shoe lover into what they are today—an evolution which, if you're doing it right, continues essentially forever. And damn is it fun. This episode, Ben from Stitchdown and @tichoblancoshoes track things all the way back to the beginning of their own shoe journeys, which involved trips to Sears, possibly fraudulent Nikes, Sparks Energyboozedrinks, and way too much Fun Dip, before beginning to see the shoe-filled light. This episode was sponsored by Mark Albert Boots, whose new Italian-made Chelseas are just hitting the streets right now. Check out the whole line!Theme music: The Road by Punk Rock OperaSupport the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

WHAT ARE THE BEST VALUE SHOES I CAN BUY? It's the thing everyone wants to know. And while there are some sure-thing answers when it comes to pure bang-for-the-buck, finding the best value footwear, for you, and perhaps more importantly, extracting the maximum value from your shoes and boots, is a little more complicated. This episode, Ben from @Stitchdown and @tichoblancoshoes get (as they tend to) dangerously deep on what value means, and lay out some crucial principles to understand and consider before you make your next pickup. Obviously, we also decide once and for all what the worst Skittles flavor is. This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, where you don't NEED an engineering degree to buy their engineer boots...but it helps.Theme music: The Road by Punk Rock OperaSupport the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

Mark Barbera of Mark Albert Boots had a dream: make some Chelsea boots. Next thing he knew, he had an entire boot company, operating out of his hometown of Somerset, the little known maple syrup (and maple butter wings) capital of Pennsylvania. Fast forward a few years and Mark has expanded his line to include a made-in-Italy range to honor his master cobbler grandfather, and has plenty more big plans in the works. We get into the advice he would give to someone starting a boot company, the challenges the US footwear industry faces and where he sees it going, which other bootmakers he feels are working it these days, and of course, those wings. This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, where you don't NEED an engineering degree to buy their engineer boots...but it helps. Theme music: The Road by Punk Rock OperaSupport the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

SHELL CORDOVAN! That most magical of shoe leathers. King of shine, paragon of durability, bastion of beauty. There really is nothing quite like it. But shell cordovan also has its downsides! The cost, the maintenance, rolls gone wrong.  So is it truly the best shoe and boot leather? Oh, and is it even leather at all?!? @tichoblancoshoes and Ben from Stitchdown.com are here to engage in the most probing possible discourse to figure it out. They also tackle: what even is shell cordovan? When and where was it first created? How's it made? Who's making it today and what do you need to know about those tanneries?There's a lot in this one! Give it a listen!This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, where you don't NEED an engineering degree to buy their engineer boots...but it helps. Theme music: The Road by Punk Rock OperaSupport the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

"How do I get my hands on some Alden rare shell cordovan boots or shoes?" It's one of the questions we get asked the most. So Ben from @stitchdown and @tichoblancoshoes decided to crack it open, along with plenty of other listener questions you can learn a ton from.What are the best ways to store your footwear if you don't have a ton of space? Why does roughout leather never need to be conditioned?  Who's making the best suede out there? What's the next big trend in boots???We answer all those and more—give it a listen. This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, where you don't NEED an engineering degree to buy their engineer boots...but it helps. Theme music: The Road by Punk Rock OperaSupport the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

Neil Berrett, co-founder of the excellent Oakland booterdashery Standard & Strange, is many things. A Viberg and Wesco makeup wizard. A dutiful procurer of Japanese fashion (including John Lofgren boots). A kind-hearted soul who legitimately cares about the people who work for him and the community around him. And perhaps most importantly, someone who spent his time detained in a Japanese police station bribing cops with whiskey and attempting to get his hands on a really cool cop hat. In the latest Shoecast episode, Neil tells that (honestly 1000% fantastic) tale, talks about how S&S comes up with All-Name Team boots like the Axe Breaker and why nobody should be afraid of the wonders of engineer boots, and gets real on what retail life is like in a pandemic. This episode was sponsored by the excellent Viberg retailer Withered Fig—we wholeheartedly suggest you check out their boots and impressive collection of clothingTheme music: The Road by Punk Rock OperaSupport the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

After a rollicking first season, the Stitchdown Shoecast is BACK for number two. And to make the return even more special, this first episode presents the first-ever Stitchdown Bootbate, an extremely formal and rigid debate...about boots!...pitting Shoecast co-host @tichoblancoshoes vs the formidable wide-leg-trousered opponent Jake, aka @almostvintagestyle.Let me tell you, over the course of the bootbate, these two get INTO it. Does the US or Japan make better boots? Horween vs. Shinki? Which kind of pants should be worn with engineer boots? CXL: very good, good, or less than good? How important is finishing on boots? All of these topics and more are viciously debated, and one winner will emerge—chosen by you.I can say quite honestly that this episode is not to be missed. This episode was sponsored by the excellent Viberg retailer Withered Fig—we wholeheartedly suggest you check out their boots and impressive collection of clothingTheme music: The Road by Punk Rock OperaSupport the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

@tichoblancoshoes is many things: esteemed shoe collector, Harrison Ford appreciator, a man who knows his way around a pizza. He is also a scoundrel—but his very scoundrelness can help you get the secondhand shoes you want, at the exact price you want, if you follow Ticho's Outstanding Negotiating System, aka T.O.N.S.Ben from @stitchdown and Ticho also take you through everything else you need to know about buying used shoes: where to look, how to search, what to look for, and most importantly, where you can go very right, and VERY, very wrong. This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, where you don't NEED an engineering degree to buy their engineer boots...but it helps. Theme music: The Road by Punk Rock OperaSupport the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

Quality shoes & boots—they cost some money! But it's completely possible to construct a well-rounded collection on the (relative!) cheap...you just have to approach it correctly. Ben from @stitchdown and Ticho both have managed to pull it off, and this week they share their 5-point system for how to think about long-term value, collection fluidity, the best ways to get things on the cheap, cash management, selling and trading shoes, and how to build a sustainable master plan that will keep your feet very happy for years to come. This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, where you don't NEED an engineering degree to buy their engineer boots...but it helps. Theme music: The Road by Punk Rock OperaSupport the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/