Here’s a weird fact I hadn’t heard before I started researching these boots: the first Dr. Martens boot was designed by Dr. Klaus Märtens who was a doctor in the German Army in 1945.
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You know, the army that was being run by the Nazi các buổi tiệc nhỏ at the time.
He injured his ankle while skiing and found that the Nazis’ standard-issue army boots were uncomfortable on his injured foot, so he designed a new boot made with air-padded soles made from tires. Eventually he went into business making the soles, for a while with discarded rubber from Luftwaffe airfields — that’s the Nazi air force — & at the outset the Dr. Martens boots were framed as a solution lớn nagging injuries, orthopedic foot problems, age-related foot pain, things like that. For the first decade, 80 percent of their sales were made lớn housewives over the age of 40.
Somehow their target market went from being that uncool to being incredibly cool và as the 20th century progressed, Dr. Martens became the unofficial boot of skinheads và punks and grunge musicians.
For a long time they were made in England but after they almost declared bankruptcy in 2003, they moved production to đài loan trung quốc and đất nước xinh đẹp thái lan and according khổng lồ Business Insider, just 1 percent of their shoes are still made in England.
But the boots remain a symbol of Cool Britannia, so let’s take a closer look at the Asian-made Docs.
Table of Contents
The VerdictDr. Marten Cons
Dr. Martens 1460 First Glance
Shiny, corrected grain leatherMostly single stitchedOver 7 inches tallPretty shapelessCharacteristic yellow stitchingThis is a pretty uncomplicated boot: while Doc Martens calls this “full grain” leather it’s super corrected and smooth, making for a shiny, plasticky, relatively thin leather.
It’s mostly single stitched so it’s not screaming durability with triple và quadruple stitches all over the place lượt thích a pair of White’s. It’s a tall boot, well over 7 inches (so you need to lớn make sure you have pretty long socks), và the shoe itself ins’t particularly streamlined or contoured, the toe is rather snubby.
Otherwise, the most characteristic things about the 1460 are the famous yellow stitching around the welt và the famously squishy rubber sole. Both of which make for a boot that doesn’t look particularly elegant, but I think that’s the point — these boots are meant to look hip. Märtens has made über casual boots that are utterly impossible khổng lồ dress up, but they pass in a lot of outfits & environments that wouldn’t otherwise be boot-friendly.
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The Verdict
Here’s the summary.
Dr. Martens Pros
Very cheapSuper soft soleWater resistantCasual, can be worn with a t-shirtCultural iconDr. Marten Cons
High shaftLaces come undone easilyHard to resoleShapelessDoesn’t fit wellNo shankLeather is thinNot versatileNot very matureA little feminineI don’t lượt thích these boots. Sure, they’re casual, but they’re so casual Ifeel very weird wearing these with anything other than đen jeans andif I’m being honest, they really are a brand that’s targeted very squarely at youth culture.
These are boots for teenagers.
The bright yellow stitching really drag down the maturity of these boots as vị the plasticky nature of the leather and the chunky rubber sole. I know I’ll make enemies saying this but they simply aren’t grown up boots. If I see a man in his 30s, 40s, or 50s wearing these, my immediate thought is that he didn’t get the memo that adults are allowed khổng lồ wear nicer boots.
Now, I know that might be the point — they’re not for stuffy olds, they’re an icon of rebellious youth, of sullen teenagers, of flannel skirts. But on that note, these are unisex boots. I think it’s fair to say that when women wear them it’s to give their outfit a tougher, more masculine edge. When a man wears them? I think they feminize his outfit.
I’m not saying that’s an objectively bad thing or that no man should ever wear these, I’m just saying that the yellow thread, the shapeless form, this cheap, crappy leather, và the association with grunge và punk make for a boot that just looks lượt thích it’s meant for boys và women.
It’s meant for youth culture & rock’n’roll culture và if you fall into one of those camps, enjoy them. If you don’t, I don’t know why you’d wear them.
