Alden Indy Boot

I needed footwear for my uniform as an airline pilot. The company uniform specifications were simple: plain, black leather, black laces. My requirements were more stringent. Comfort, durability, and style were my top priorities. They needed to be comfortable for long days of wear. They needed to be durable for traipsing around airports and walking on the flightline to preflight the jet in all weather conditions. They needed to look good in uniform. They also needed to do all these things out of uniform, out of the airport and aircraft environment, on layover in any and every destination since I didn’t want to pack extra shoes. Oh, and I wanted speed hooks for quickly putting them on and taking them off.

It’s my 2nd pair of Indy’s so I knew my size.

Finding this boot in my size and not in shell cordovan was difficult. What’s more, I wanted a commando or black wedge sole. In my size. This made the search difficult, if not impossible. I finally found these … in my size … without shell cordovan leather … but with the double oak sole. I couldn’t have it all. Oh, and I was on a tight timeline … as in I needed them immediately.