Alder vs Alder II Of all the questions we get asked by customers, one of the most frequent of all is, "What is the difference between Alder and Alder ll?" We'd like to highlight the key differences between one of our most popular styles, the Alder. Four Main Components The main differences between our Alder and Alder ll can be found within four main components of the shoes: the stitching, sole, laces, and welt. Stitching The toe cap stitching difference between Alder and Alder ll are slight, but significant. The original Alder has a seamless folded-over cap toe, while the  Alder ll has a toe cap with partial stitching and inverted seam. Laces Our earlier Alder designs came with round laces, but recently,...