New York retailer, Leffot, took one of their favorite shoes, the Alden Longwing Blucher, and put their spin on it. This shoe has some great details and would make for an awesome addition to your footwear arsenal, especially if you’re looking to kick things up a notch. They feature a water-resistant oiled Kudu leather upper, a soft, high-traction crepe sole, and cordo-hyde laces. Head over to Leffot to grab a pair.

Check out some more images after the jump.

Over the past year Alden has been working with Hong Kong based Obscura Magazine by the Silly Thing family. Together they created two collaborative shoes, which will both launch on August 25th, 2011. One of the shoes is a hybrid of a Medaillon Tip and an Atom Wing shoe, coming in a light brown leather version with special in-sole branding. The second shoe is a mid top boot, coming in the same colorway, featuring Double Water-Loc outer soles. To round off the collaboration, leather makers Roberu have produced a shoe horn and a tote bag to come along with the collaborative footwear.

The collaboration shoes will be available from the Think Silly Store in Hong Kong and the Tassels Gentlemen’s Shoe Store in Hong Kong this week.

In their latest issue, Hong Kong based Obscura takes a detailed look at heritage shoemaker Alden. As part of the reporting, Obscura also produced a lace-up and a boot in collaboration with Alden. Furthermore they present a matching shoehorn together with Japanese leather brand Roberu and a tote bag for the project.

Take a further look at the products from the range after the jump.

Usually we leave the Alden news to Selectism, but these new ‘Tobacco Chamois’ colored Barrie Last Chukka Boots are too beautiful to pass on. Designed by Leffot (storeguide) and produced by Alden, the boots come with a Goodyear outer sole and look much more rugged than most other footwear that we see from the shoemaker. Simply beautiful!

Selectism has a nice story on Blackbird’s latest in-house exclusive with Alden.

Seattle recognizes Mr. Frank Osgood as father of their public transportation system. Introducing a horse drawn trolley system in 1894, Osgood begins to further facilitate the movement of laborers and the pursuit of leisure in the city. Five years later, Osgood gave the horses a rest and introduced electric trolleys and Seattle is the first West Coast town to become fully modernized in this way.

The folks at Seattle’s Blackbird have great reverence for Osgood and his contributions to the public welfare of their home town. So much so, that they’ve produced a pair (as in two models) of shoes inspired by him. I like a quirky reading of history, and as such am willing to believe for a moment that public transportation is especially good for keeping shoes clean on the way to work.

Regardless of this somewhat dubious analysis of urban development, the shoes are very handsome (in my humble opinion). The above model is the Hayburner Saddle Shoe in #8 burgundy cordovan and black alpine grain leather. The second, after the jump, is the Leschi Picnic Saddle Shoe in black calf and navy blue suede. Think labor and leisure. Or, more simply, work and play.

P.S. The shoes are manufactured by Alden.

More looks at the Alden for Blackbird Osgood Series Saddle Shoe follow here.

We always appreciate when a quality and heritage shoemaker offers something a little more casual and easy to wear. Today we came across the Foss Tugger Workbook, a collaboration between Alden and Seattle boutique Blackbird. The black leather upper, hiking eyelets and Good Year outer sole make for a perfect combination in this time of year. They are now available from Blackbird.

Detailed images of the boots follow after the jump.

Seattle boutique Blackbird worked with Alden on the Wingtip Blucher. The shoe is made of 100% calf leather, features a blucher style wingtip, and was made exclusively for the store. In our mind definitely a nice interpretation of this all-time classic. The shoe comes in an almost black burgundy colorway and is now available.

Detailed images of the Alden x Blackbird Short Wingtip Blucher follow after the jump.

Japanese retailer United Arrows is celebrating their 20th anniversary. For the occasion they got together with some brands for collaborative product. We picked out our favorites from the line-up, which includes a tripled pack of New Balance 1700’s, an Alden loafer and a Pendleton plaid blazer.

Take a more detailed look at the United Arrows 20th Anniversary Product after the jump.