doctor martens boots

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where are we with these then?

are they considered 'in fashion'?
did that buffalo revival attempt caper from a few years back
make them trendy again briefly? i can't remember.
who that's fashionable in this 'bitch' can tell me what they
think of docs circa 2004/right now.

not that it matters as i'm about to buy some anyway so fck em.

the pope has a pair you know?

― piscesboy, Tuesday, 24 August 2004 11:59 (twenty-one years ago)

The pope also has a whack wheelchair.

― Jimmybommy JimmyK'KANG (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:02 (twenty-one years ago)

they're about the only decent shoes/boots i can find to fit me

― jess (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:02 (twenty-one years ago)

hardly the height of fashion now but they're respectable. and also they're good for slippery surfaces.

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Carsmile Steve to thread, now and for all time.

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:12 (twenty-one years ago)

you bugger mark, i just saw this.

i have no truck with fashion, but then i have no truck with shoes that aren't DMs, they are the only shoes i own (i almost bought some trainers t'other week, but i can't find ones i really like), and have been for pretty much 15 years (i have had a couple of pairs of trainers (green cons and green gazelles) in that time)

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Are they actually good for your feet and/or ankles? Or do they just trash your poor footies like all other boots?

I am going to have to hunt down some kind of medicinal type shoes now. Will Doc Martens actually help me? Or is the Doctor bit a lie?

― Super-Masonic Black Hole (kate), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Are they not as good as they used to be or is that me just being a curmudgeonly old git?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:16 (twenty-one years ago)

best boots ever. I have come to depend on the steel toe in mine. but they're slowly wearing down. I've abused them for about 5 years straight now and they're just flimsy and the soles are almost worn down. I will get another pair after these. maybe brown this time.

they're better than many other boots because of the air pockets in the rubber sole. also, to make them better, put some nice insoles in. the originals are too thin and wear quickly.

― AaronK (AaronK), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:18 (twenty-one years ago)

they're not as good as they used to be. well my "shoes" are fine after about three years or so, but the last pair of boots i bought practically disintegrated after 18 months.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:19 (twenty-one years ago)

DMs are extraordinarily uncomfortable for the first few weeks and then suddenly - it's like you're wearing nothing at all. Amazing.

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:24 (twenty-one years ago)

i've had my DMs from 97 and they're still fine! (and also the pair of converse donated to me in 2000!! because my old pair were so worn -the 2000 pair are a bit more worse for wears than the DMs though obv.)

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:25 (twenty-one years ago)

(4 x x-post)The leather seems thinner on my wife's last pair, but they lasted for years anyway, so perhaps you are just being an old moaner, dada.

I packed in buying DMs when I discovered that the camping hiking shop up the road often sold off last years' mighty hiking boots cheap, but they went out of business earlier this year, so I might get a pair of DMs when these wear out.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:29 (twenty-one years ago)

I like them. I wear them. I don't think they are trend anymore.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:33 (twenty-one years ago)

"It's not class or ideology,
Color, creed, or roots
The only thing that unites us
Is Dr. Marten's boots

Dr. Marten gave boots of the world
So that everybody can be free
They're classless, matchless, ageless and waterproof
And retail for only 19 pounds and 99p

What should everyone be wearing?
Those boots with the air-flow soles
And your boots will have a meeting
And your boots will take control."

first thing i ever bought my first girlfriend were doc martens. 20 or 14 eye black, i think, in 1991. i always liked them but couldn't wear them due to my mutant feet. it's probably safe to say they've escaped trendiness and are now classic.

― el sabor de gene (yournullfame), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I love that song.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:52 (twenty-one years ago)

absolutely. i think it was one of the first things i thought to search for on slsk.

― el sabor de gene (yournullfame), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:53 (twenty-one years ago)

> DMs are extraordinarily uncomfortable for the first few weeks

i've had a pair (shoes rather than boots) for about 5 years now and i still can't wear them for more than half an hour at a time without getting blisters / holes in my socks. i've started wearing them to work, wearing something else whilst i'm there, and then wearing them home in an attempt to break them in. never had this trouble before this pair - i blame trainers for making my feet soft.

― koogs (koogs), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 12:57 (twenty-one years ago)

And retail for only 19 pounds and 99p

???!

I paid over $100 for my last pair, and that was in teenager dollars.

― Harold Media (kenan), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 13:01 (twenty-one years ago)

But you guys have cheap Levis. I once thought about travelling to teh States with a suitcase full of DMs, selling them, buying lots of Levis and coming back to Britain and selling them. I had no conception of 'Customs' and 'export duty'.

I used to have a steel toe-cap pair which were great for work (car washing) but haven't had any for ages. I'm more of a Converse man though.

― Dave B (daveb), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 13:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I haven't worn them in about 10 years, but from late high school and all through university they were my staple footwear. Mark C is OTM - mine were always uncomfortable for the first little while, then after that - comfy as hell. I liked my 8 hole cherrys best, but I also had some pretty wicked steel-toe ones too. I think I even had shoes too - one questionable pair being 'brogues' which looked so wrong with the big chunky sole. Curious.

― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 13:41 (twenty-one years ago)

I have two pairs of Doc Martens SNEAKERS! It was a buy-one-get-one-free sale, though they're different makes.
I like 'em good.

― Huck, Tuesday, 24 August 2004 13:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Approximately:
http://www.drmarten.com/dmimage/8b247mj20a.jpg

― Huck, Tuesday, 24 August 2004 13:45 (twenty-one years ago)

never had this trouble before this pair - i blame trainers for making my feet soft.

Don't do that. Blame the shoes for being crap. Your feet shouldn't have to suffer in any pair of shoes, unless you fancy heels.

How much do Docs cost in the states now? I have a great, soft, comfortable pair of leather ankle boots from Banana Republic, heavy tread, waterproof, the whole bit. They cost -- gulp! -- $180. And made my child labor!

They really are marvellous, though.

― Harold Media (kenan), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 13:54 (twenty-one years ago)

my = by

― Harold Media (kenan), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 13:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I still only wear DM shoes. Too bad they discontinued the kind I wear (black souled dressy types); I had to buy several pairs from an overstock seller on ebay for $40, so I have shoes for the next few years. I am notoriously resistant to change.

I paid over $100 for my first pair of Docs when they were hard to find in the states; I had to go all the way up to Na Na on Polk in SF. 2 years later they were in malls.

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 14:13 (twenty-one years ago)

"and also they're good for slippery surfaces."

Especially if the tread has worn off and you want to slip and die.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 14:38 (twenty-one years ago)

And the sole is "resistant to oil, fat, acid, alkali & petrol"

Which comes in handy all those times I find myself walking in pools of alkali...

― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 14:47 (twenty-one years ago)

strangely my new steel toe-capped ones say "NON-SAFETY FOOTWEAR" inside them...

...also they appear to be made in china, rather than northamptonshire, although this may not be a new development...

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 14:51 (twenty-one years ago)

I had to buy several pairs from an overstock seller on ebay for $40,

You realise that "overstock seller" is an eBay euphemism for "dead man's family"?

DM soles may be resistant to oil, fat, acid, alkali & petrol, but that didn't stop my last pair (circa. 1990) splitting down the middle after a year or two.

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 14:57 (twenty-one years ago)

i get two years a pair out of mine before they split/start leaking, although it's getting better i think (less moshing i guess)

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 15:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Mine were maroon DM shoes - maybe they were built for ponces.

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 15:13 (twenty-one years ago)

I bought some in 1995 when I was trying to look like Justine Elastica. The leather was extra shiny and the soles were... not chunky, but kind of crenellated. They ripped my feet to pieces every time I wore them. Shoes often do this to me, but after a couple of wearings with lots of elastoplast they soften up. This never happened to the DMs, I'm afraid, so I gave them to my Mum. I've no idea if she wears them.

― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 15:24 (twenty-one years ago)

I haven't polished my latest pair, and now one has a hole, damn! I like them, they are pratical and last quite a long time. I shall probably buy some more when this pair are totally knackered.

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 15:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Can't you mend holes in the soles by melting them together again or something?

― Mooro (Mooro), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 15:48 (twenty-one years ago)

I had a pair of doc martens loafers which I wore all the time all over the place for about two and a half years before the sole split.

http://homepage.mac.com/tombot/.Pictures/badshoe.jpg

Have not been able to find a suitable replacement pair yet. Apparently, there's only one shop in DC that even carries Docs. I hate this town.

― TOMBOT, Tuesday, 24 August 2004 16:02 (twenty-one years ago)

I saw George Clinton walk into a Doc Martens store in Portland, Oregon on the day my brother got married.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 16:03 (twenty-one years ago)

I think I've only worn DMs and trainers for the past 14 years.

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 16:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I got a pair of these last winter in anticipation of my current regular pair (3yo) wearing out and having the sole split, but it hasn't happened yet.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 17:21 (twenty-one years ago)

and also they're good for slippery surfaces.

Patently untrue. Have you ever tried to walk on an icy sidewalk with them on? It's like ice skating.

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 17:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, but that's true of any shoe that lacks metal spikes. The closest you can get is to wear boots with a deep rubber tread and hope for the best.

― Harold Media (kenan), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 17:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I still wear the pair (standard black student issue) I have had since first year of university (1991). They have a small hole but are otherwise the comfiest footwear-things I own.

I also used to have a pair that I painted silver, then spray-painted purple over the top so that they were, well, silver and purple. They were the biz, but I haven't seen them since about 1998. The fashion police (or my husband) must have taken them away.

― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 17:46 (twenty-one years ago)

So they transferred production to the far east and put the prices up, what gives?

― Ben Dot (1977), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 20:06 (twenty-one years ago)

They are now rice resistant also.

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 21:13 (twenty-one years ago)

What's their position on Chinese Taipei?

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 21:49 (twenty-one years ago)

My first pair bought in about 1988-89 lasted me almost TEN years (and I wore them every day). Polishing them seemed to be key, plus they were a proper UK made pair (cost me $180 AUD back in the late 80s!!!)

The leather stood up but the soles eventually wore a hole, so in 97 I got a new pair in Stafford or somewhere while in England. I assume theyre still proper UK ones, they dont say otherwise. Only 40 pounds though, so much cheaper!

They dont seem to have broken in quite as nicely which is odd. I have to wear orthotics, so getting shoes to fit is a pain in the ass.

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 24 August 2004 21:55 (twenty-one years ago)

One of the reasons I love Doc Martens so much is that they work really well with my orthotics.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 09:36 (twenty-one years ago)

As far as I know they are manufactured under some wierd franchise scheme. the soles all come from the one place but the shoes/boots are made the world over by all kinds of different companies. the best quality ones are still the northamptonshire made ones but you have to search hard for them and they are more expensive.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 11:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I had some Brazilian steel toecapped ones, which lasted me fine.

― Markelby (Mark C), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 11:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Is it true you had 'CUD' Tippex-ed onto them?

― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 11:55 (twenty-one years ago)

A girlfriend bought me a pair of 12 hole Docs for Chrimbo once. I figured buying me something that permanent (Docs lastest MUCH longer in the 80s) indicated a serious level of commitment.

She chucked me a week later. On New Years Day. I kept the boots.

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 11:57 (twenty-one years ago)

No, Nick, but Jackie did! I had red laces in them.

― Markelby (Mark C), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 12:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Ah, I got the two of you mixed up!

― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 12:11 (twenty-one years ago)

I had black second-hand ones that were incredibly comfy but wore out sooner rather than later, electric blue ones which I adored but which never really lost their stiffness, and nice brown ones whose leather was kind of thin and thus got all weirdly bent in the shape of my wonky feet.

― Archel (Archel), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 12:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't like them one bit

― Porkpie (porkpie), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 12:26 (twenty-one years ago)

shorts + dm's = classic

trousers + dm's = dud

― piscesboy, Wednesday, 25 August 2004 12:28 (twenty-one years ago)

you don't like them because you are a casual.

when are we going trainer shopping anyway?

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 12:29 (twenty-one years ago)

soon, you need tread-ucating

― Porkpie (porkpie), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 12:36 (twenty-one years ago)

i only want pubshoes mind, nothing too sporty or owt.

and no nike, obv.

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 12:44 (twenty-one years ago)

picky aintcha, for an anti-fashionista ;o)

― Porkpie (porkpie), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 12:50 (twenty-one years ago)

hehehe, mate, find me a pair of gazelles and i'll be happy...

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 12:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I've got a pair of doc wingtips that I bought for a wedding in '96 or something but have worn infrequently since. Shall I start wearing them again?

http://store1.yimg.com/I/chesterboot_1805_6811369

― mcd (mcd), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 13:09 (twenty-one years ago)

yes.

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 13:13 (twenty-one years ago)

it's the only winter shoes i wear, since 1993 and whether they are fashion or not, i still feel damn cool whenever i put them on...

― misshajim (strand), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 15:10 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm doing it.

― mcd (mcd), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 15:30 (twenty-one years ago)

the last two pairs of boots I bought were kind of shitty, actually; the soul split in one, and the others, the threading came apart. If I were to buy another pair of the boots I spend a good amount of time looking them over.

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 15:55 (twenty-one years ago)

can somebody go into what the different colored laces signify?

― hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 15:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I forgot about that, wasn't it white for white power and red if you'd killed someone? Yellow meant something too but I forget.

― teeny (teeny), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 23:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Dude Tom, you can't get the sole repaired why?? DC seems like it would have thousands of shops dedicated to shoes, isn't it like tassle loafer capital of the world? I've been wearing the same pair of Jean-Baptiste Rautureau boots since 1998 and I've had to replace the sole twice. This year I finally had to get the stiching redone along the top, it was like $35 all together. I wouldn't remember what brand they were except for the fact that they are, of course, the most perfect pair of shoes ever created. They're like the signified of a shoe, the classic form. You know the shoe-shaped sign on the front of a cobbler's? That's the shoe. (They're brown with the millionth set of brown cord laces, which I usually steal from off other shoes in shoe shops.)

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 26 August 2004 00:40 (twenty-one years ago)

I gave up on Docs when my 7 1/2-size U.S. feet kept stretching and tearing the toes into odd shapes. These days, CAT fills the sensibly-neutral-slightly-stylish-black-shoe void for me.

― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), Thursday, 26 August 2004 00:48 (twenty-one years ago)

I think they're evil, basically. They hate feet. At least, they hated mine. I wore a new pair for about a week, which was as long as I could stand it. I literally had to walk with a cane for a few days afterwards. It felt as though there were a tiny bone inside my right heel that was breaking each time I took a step. Awful.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 26 August 2004 00:58 (twenty-one years ago)

you BIG GURL tracer, if you'd given them another couple of weeks they'd have been fine.

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Thursday, 26 August 2004 08:18 (twenty-one years ago)

I found jumping up and down on the new pair while wearing my old pair and then attacking the inside of the heel with a small mallet reduced the wearing in time from a couple of weeks to a couple of days. Also: thick socks, people!

― Ricardo (RickyT), Thursday, 26 August 2004 08:21 (twenty-one years ago)

I am very proud of myself because I fixed my broken shoes WITH GLUE. They weren't DMs though.

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 26 August 2004 08:35 (twenty-one years ago)

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