ALD: what’s the fuss?
Not an ALD hater by any measure, but I’ve noticed a lot of love for the brand on MFA and I’d be curious to hear what folks (the ones who love ALD) admire about the clothes, specifically — thanks!
117 Replies
People really like their styling more than their clothes. The brand is super hype in general right now (in a lot of ways its similar to how Supreme was ~5 years ago), so that's contributing, but their styling is top tier. Their lookbooks are amazing. For the most part their clothes are nice but can be found elsewhere, though they have a few things each season that are pretty hard to find real alternatives to. I have a few different ALD pieces and love them, but they are big on the little details.
@chuckflowers has got the best ALD take I've ever heard: "the good ALD fits have one ALD piece, the best ALD fits have none" or something along those lines. It's a brand that makes really cool stuff but at least around here it kinda occupies the same space as Drake's in that its value is found more in its lookbooks than in its actual pieces. I have a few ALD pieces which I love and wear quite a bit, but for the most part I'll skim their lookbooks and find ways to replicate looks I like on a much gentler budget
I don't totally agree with Chuck but his point stands, a lot of the time for ALD pieces you are basically paying a $100+ upcharge for the name and super minor details on the clothes that you may or may not care about (eg: I bought a striped shirt where the stripes look painted on, but its unnoticeable more than like 6 ft away, or an off-white eyelet sweater as opposed to a normal cable knit). But their lookbooks slap.
That makes sense - I have checked out the lookbooks and it’s true the styling is on point… what do y’all think is the essence of what ALD is going for or what sets it apart? I have a vague sense it has something to do with combining distinct styles/heritages with a lot of finesse (prep, streetwear…???)
Put This On
Is George Costanza Aime Leon Dore's Muse?
In the last few years, Aime Leon Dore has become one of menswear’s most influential labels. Nearly all brands use...
Its for people who want to wear supreme and j crew together
less jokingly, its an intersection of prep and ny streetstyle
its very NY streetwear, think like ralph lauren fits from the 90s, in modern form
with the prep influences that brings
My thoughts are: it got MFA hype cause it felt like the first new brand in a while while also being extremely accessible
It’s not the advanced normcore styles of mfpen or as dressed up as drakes or any of the other reasons cool brands can seem out of place. It’s basically fleeces and shirts and jackets and sneakers in cool prints and colors
ALD I’m FW20 was also at is prep influence peak at the same time as NeoPrep resurgence was peaking. That season plus the next 2 really shaped the prep landscape and basically changed the entire drakes brand aesthetic to be closer to ALD
I really think that while the “you can thrift basically any of this stuff” is completely blown out of proportion (it is not that easy tbh), it does serve as really good inspiration for what to search for on eBay
I would say that it’s basically a modern Polo: selling an idealized American Style back to Americans (in this case 90s streetwear)
And as such vintage polo is a great place to look, particularly polo sport
I’d also like to point out that the last few seasons have drifted away from the “Neo Prep” label that the brand really blew up with. The seasons have ready focused on Teddy’s green heritage and lots of the prices and styling have been more Mediterranean influenced or even green/Italian NYC immigrant style inspired
It reminds me a lot of how Polo is like a prep brand
But Ralph’s person style is a lot more country or when he’s in the city it’s much more NYC banker. Ie pinstripe double breasted suits. You’re not seeing Ralph in Rep ties and a navy blazer even if he sells a ton of those. So the newer ALD collections really remind me of that style of Polo
I love that it’s a really accessible brand that’s also got some depth. Imo ALD will produce an item each season that’s kind of the perfect version of that item. Something that makes the platonic ideal of a vintage garm real, that you just won’t find on eBay. Or they make a really cool version of a basic that’s worth the splurge.
However, they get a good deal of hate for A) kinda jumping the shark (the ALD boat this season) B) the legion of dork followers. Lots of full kit ALD wankers in head to toe ALD who’s sum of the parts are less than the whole (aka why ALD’s insta disabled tagging them) and copy cat brands and moodboard trying to do the mysterious cool guy posting and coming across as that guy
Also, I think ALD has done a really great job of updating mainstream contemporary summer wear for guys. They’ve been pushing things like camp collar shirts, mesh shirts, loose knit sweaters, linens everything, lace button ups, and layering ribbed tanks for a few seasons and it’s helped open up the summer wardrobe for other brands and guys in general. Lots more fun options now a days beyond t shirt and shorts or even camp collar and baggies
Theres a guy i follow who found some new brand on tiktok and was able to find the exact day they switched their whole brand direction to be more like ALD
was it aldeg?
I think this is it
holy fuck
looking at that brands insta is hilarious
I forget this other brand that released an exact copy of the lace basketball shorts this year and was like channeling our culture for our newest concept
People whos hobby is fashion often forget that convenience and selection is very nice to have
Yeah I was thinking about how it hit this two prong front of sneaker head guys trying to mature their wardrobe and MFA guys trying add some streetwear styling to theirs
Also important to remember that knowning about ALD puts you at like the 1st Standard Deviation of cool clothes, so many act like it’s the epitome
What do you mean by 1st standard deviation
its a brand that people who aren't into fashion don't know about, but basically anyone into fashion knows it
so it makes people feel special that they know about it, even though its mainstream lol
☝️
and unlike Bode or something, its affordable
relatively
yes
You could easily do that bode article about ALD guys
yes absolutely
Just looked at bode and damm that is expensive
its designer (one of the main critisms of bode is how she took cheap textiles from india and made it impossible to afford)
also bode does set runs of like 50 on the high end, and lots of 1 of 1 pieces
cause its "deadstock tablecloth from the 50s"
One thing I don't get is the pricing of footware compared to other things on that site
Bode?
yeah
Bode? Their whole thing is using really weird old/rare textiles in limited runs, the footwear is not made from deadstock material
so its cheaper than the clothes
ah makes sense
Reminds me of some vintage furniture which can get outragoulsy expensive
lol guess what Emily Bode's husband does
vintage furniture?
interior design more generally, but yes some of that
Although with furniture you can get into antiques and with clothes that is very rare
Oh I remember seeing their house tour ages ago
Ywah haha
Its easy to buy an ald hat or tee
And it kind of gives the vibe that you at least know what moodboard instas to follow
I have one of those varsity jackets coming this fall
Im so siked
i started with an ALD cap
It's interesting how coolness from a brand tends to trickle down from their more expensive items to simpler things
The cheaper items allow you to buy into the brand while also being high margin for the brand
ALD is impressive how they can capture that vintage heritage aesthetic even when most of their stuff is made in china
Not that MiC stuff is bad, just that they don’t have to talk about their manufacturing process at all to sell the vibe
a true RL protege
that's what i'm used to seeing: tame fit with ald logo somewhere (cap, tee) to change the perspective
ya, i think throwing the unisphere cap on is great for a lot of simple fits, like graphic tee + pleated pants
or simple shirt + pants
i need more hats though
signals i'm wearing this with intention
It’s funny that they’re selling Americana but becuase it isn’t workwear or denim no one’s a freak about quality or manufacturing
being more in the streetwear world helps them a lot
in noone caring
Yeah its sick
Another brand that makes insanely good quality cut and sew stuff is stussy
i need more stussy
They are dialed in
so on trend rn, its insane
and its so cheap compared to most fashion brands
To me the focus on made in the US often comes across as weirdly nationalistic
it is
The really funny thing to me when talking to ALD guys is sometimes they wont even try to pronounce it because theyve never said Aime Leon Dore out loud, only talked about it online
there was a great article about how a bunch of MIUSA shit was made in california with wages equivalent to the sweatshop wages in foreign countries
cause by paying cents per garment they can skirt minimum wage laws
It is, especially because the usa isnt a manufacturing country anymore
I can sort of understand the I want it produced in a country with good laws on labor and safety mindset
A lot of textiles made in india are just better
most people won't pay those prices though
like thats not a good thing but its reality
people are used to paying like $10-20 for a simple tee, so asking them to pay $50-100 for the ethics is a whole non-starter
But I was recently reading a tweet were it was said that a price is fair for a shirt because this is how much it costs to produce it in NYC and I just thought why produce it there
3sixteen went through a lot of trouble trying to be transparent about their partnership with a factory in India
Corridor does like all their manufactoring in india
or south america
Probably you would have more of a knowledgebase or network there
They were like, listen. If we wanted to make the flannel we want to make here in America, it would be like $400+ which we know you’re not interested in
Honestly the ethics of it aren't that clear cut.
i think people with this type of interest see usa as a shortcut to better quality more than patriatism
right or wrong
its also why Portugal manufactoring is misleading, people think "oh Portugal is in europe, they must have better labor laws" but its not really true
because it doesn't necessarily equate
I think you’re right narwhal
I mean that is a form of patriotism
Protugal is the eastern Europe of western Europe
But miusa= quality is itself just marketing
Its all marketing!!
never forget trump manufactoring all his junk in china lol
mabe in a roundabout way
But i wont lie seeing Made in Japan on a tag does make me more interested in the garment lol
Japan actually has a real textile industry
I am not immune to marketing
but yes
Countries as a brand is an interesting topic. I think there can be something in that that is logical, because a higher wage country must sort of compete on stuff like quality because they can't compete on price usually
How I look at it is just that I have to look at each brand and determine whether I can trust them to do the best that they can with their manufacturing partners
but thats a lie, like thats the reality, quality is the fakest metric ever cause noone even knows what they want
Which is like, lol at trusting brands, but still
I think some people are also weirdly opposed to trade with 3d world nations but that is another can of worms
But thats back to my original comment, made in china doesnt automatically equate to shitty quality and unethical manufacturing
i don't think quality is meaningless, but people put too much emphasis on it
i don't need a white tshirt that will last 20 years
Theres some weird politics about protectionism, that is prevalent on the left and right (see: Sanders in the US) that basically is opposition to globalism because of a belief it would bring jobs back
China still has its problems just like every other country, but it isnt nearly as bad as it once was
which it might, but they aren't jobs many people would want to work anyway
see: what happened when they cracked down on illegal immigrants doing farm labor in the US south, it nearly collapsed the economy
This is something I think about alot irt discussions about “quality”
its cause a lot of people think they can just ignore trends
I think ppl sometimes lose sight of what it is theyre discussing when it comes to quality
You can buy an iron heart shirt for $350 and it might have a loose stitch that unravels after a day of wear
And that shouldnt happen, but you gotta remember that it is just a shirt
it can be well intended
Abd that sometimes happens, doesnt mean that the brands qc is shit necessarily
It's something I observed with watches. Like why would I need to have a watch that goes to under 50 meters under the see.
sustainablity is a factor
I bought a MIC Japanese Selvedge Wallace & Barnes chambray with cateye buttons and runoff stitching lol, but you know people would whine about J. Crew and MIC
or think the runoff was bad
I guess im just saying ive seen a lot that theres an expectation for items at a certain price point to be perfect
counterpoint: Omega went to the moon
watches are hilarious because the best watch is quartz
But i try not to sweat it if my expensive clothes get fucked up. Wani sabi and all that
ahh best is objective right?
I buy clothes to wear, if I'm scared of wearing them theres no point
yes
true, but given most men aren't like "I like the mechanical aspects of this jewelery" cause of toxic masculinity its funny, as quartz keeps the most accurate time
its basically convoluted justifications of "I like this jewlery more"
if you define "best" as most accurate, yes
yes, to be clear, both watches i own are mechanical
i just like them more that way
Like the technique of mechanical watches in really interesting but for a lot of people it's a way to flex
sure, it's like any other thing where different people find interst in the same thing for different reasons
agreed
OP gonna come back to like 200 messages of various convo about manufactoring ethics lmao
oh true sorry
Another ALD thought I’d that they are completely responsible for the 550 epidemic I am witnessing. Everyone and their sister has on the general release 550s that are like weird color choices and waaayyy too white
the ALD 550s are so much better than the normal ones, as someone who hast he ALD ones
NB has shit colorways
Yeah no bias but the colorways are so whack
The ALD ones were sick because it was varsity/collegiate colorways
i have the grey-suede ALD ones, and its not jsut bright white
so nice
I have a pair of junya 550s I like a lot hehe
this whole thread is a banger to read
I think this discord somehow needs more quality discussion aside from help threads, I really liked this discussion as well
i feel broke when i look at ALD prices but their lookbook was the first one that like unironically captivated me
Looking at the current lookbook, I do like a lot of it. I kinda feel like the hats are a bit off for me personally
in some outfits
brand forum for ALD here
https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1128816942644482158