Seen anything familiar pounding the pavement recently? Yeah, me too. It’s all about that boot with its yellow stitching, familiar lacing & distinctive tag — AirWair With Bouncing Soles — from which American punk group, The Bouncing Souls, took their name.
Yes, Dr Marten boots are BACK, & in no uncertain terms. Currently seen on everyone from punk rock ruffians to uber-stylish fashion editrixes, the iconic boot is experiencing a resurgence like never before. With brand new styling & vibrant colourways, there’s now a DM boot to appeal to everyone. (Even my mother fell in love with a pair, & she’s 62!)
They’re creative over there at DM HQ. Not content just with simple colours like black, brown or cherry red — oh no, not them — they keep expanding, having recently rolled out a line of pastel boots (purple, pink, turquoise & mulberry) in super-shiny patent, & even a boot with a floral, almost William Morris-esque design overlaid with velvet-effect flocking. There are DMs featuring glow-in-the-dark skeleton feet & angel’s wings. Or perhaps a skull with a rose in its mouth is something you’d prefer to have emblazoned on your leg.
Yes, they just keep growing. They had a competition recently where up-&-coming designers were asked to put their own unique stamp (or should that be stomp?) on the style of the classic boot, with one of the winners being a beautiful watercolour splash that flicks its way up your calf. Even Yohji Yamamoto clambered aboard the brand’s defiantly original bandwagon, designing a capsule collection featuring asymmetrical stitching & waxy, lustrous blue leather.
But then, Doc Martens have always had a strange history, & come a long way from their unlikely beginnings. The “doctor” in the name wasn’t just to sound clever — the boot was designed by Dr Klaus Maerten, a doctor in the German army during WWII. Ski-ing one fine day in the Bavarian Alps, he injured his foot & finding it difficult to walk, used discarded rubber from old Luftwaffe aircraft to cobble together the very first version of the DM boot.
It’s amazing to consider the broadness of their appeal. After all, initially they were worn by the working classes, & then the fringes of society started to eye them up too. They were quickly appropriated as the footwear du jour of skinheads & football hooligans, before being snapped up by anyone with the slightest predilection for punk rock. Then they came back in the 90s, where babydoll dresses, Nirvana on your headphones & DMs on your feet were ubiquitous keys to the grunge uniform. And here they are again — all of a sudden, they’re everywhere, like they never really disappeared.
“Dr. Martens have always been different. No other ‘brand’ has been mutated, customised, fucked up and freaked out like DM’s. Without asking or being able to stop it. It happened to them. They were just fascinated bystanders on a journey that has raced through every crevice of subculture, every twist and turn of youthful creativity and now, here, with a generation who have always had email, mp3s and downloads, it is as relevant and vibrant as ever.” – www.drmartens.com
How to wear them, then? In a world where clutching the latest “it” bag is somehow supposed to determine your self-worth, Doc Marten boots are a refreshing antidote. They are really the footwear of the misfit, the enfant terrible, the offbeat dissident who doesn’t give a damn what you think. So it seems almost insulting to make any suggestions — they are truly user-defined fashion.
I like to wear mine with retro-styled A-line dresses, harem pants, ripped fishnets, crocheted high-waisted skirts or distressed-looking, barely-there tanks. How do you wear yours?
Words by Gala Darling
I can’t say I’m convinced. Doc Martens remind me of neo-Nazis & the early 00s goths, and putting a pretty face on them only makes those associations more ridiculous. Perhaps this resurgence will change that, but until then I say, too soon!
Haha! Funny. I guess it’s all about what associations we personally bring to the table. I don’t ever think of neo-Nazis or millenigoths (did I just invent a new word?!) when I think of DMs, mostly just punks & grunge kids. & I have seen so many people recently wear them with such effortless grace & style that my view has really been upgraded!
Back in the early 90s, still a kid really, I had a purple pair, on which I lovingly inked Prince’s symbol. I wore them to his concerts with black lycra mini-skirts, 70 deniers and oversized shirts. Later, at university, I had a long black pair to wear with my ‘uniform’ of flared plaid mini-skirts and Hole or Breeders shirts. Too funny. I didn’t wear them for years but now I like black or white patent DMs (or Frye Veronica slouches) with opaque tights and loosely fitted T-shirt dresses and oversized cardigans.
I wear mine like Amelie Poulain. Calf-length skirts, black ankle socks scrunched down, and a little boy blazer.
Nicola, I love that you wore your devotion to Prince on your ankle! I used to have a pair printed all over with the Union Jack, I do not know why, but I loved them at the time!
Justine, that sounds soooo cute! Pictures!
The Doc Marten thing is amusing to me – I’d wanted a pair since I was 7 or 8 and my best friend had some red ones and when I finally got my hands on some a few years ago (after so much searching since nowhere seemed to stock them) people thought I was crazy because ‘no-one wears THOSE anymore.’ Yeah, well, look what’s happening now.
As for associations, they make me think of my childhood friend and her awesome mum rather than skinheads.
In the 80′s, everyone that I knew owned a pair of Docs and they were neither punks, skins nor goths… such that being the rebel that I was, I refused to join the masses and refused to buy Doc Martens. Truth be told I was never attracted to them for myself even if they look good on others. However…. I really really want a pair of THESE > http://www.thefashionpolice.net/2008/08/high-heeled-doc.html
Lilita, I love the look of those high-heeled DMs too, but when I was in L.A. with my friend Jazzi (http://www.jazzimcg.com), she tried some on… & they looked really wrong. The heel is the wrong shape or something, it’s just not flattering, it looks like Ronald McDonald gone drag. So unfortunate too, because high-heeled DM boots — done right — would be my ultimate shoe!
i’ve been wearing dm’s since i was 14…i’m now 27 and still love em (i’ve owned 4 pairs). i wear mine, black 14 eyelet dm, in winter with tights or over the knee socks, short dresses, biker jacket&layered scarfs…or for when i’m feeling my tom-boy side i wear ripped skinny jeans tucked into them. in summer i team them with petticoats, girly mini skirts&tanks. wether they are in or out of fashion i couldn’t care less!
I wear mine with skinny jeans & a tshirt
or with a plain vest top tucked into a high waisted skirt. Not too imaginative but it works for me.
[...] Gala Darling’s post on The Dr. Marten Revolution at China Shop [...]
Posted pics at my blog ^_^ enjoy!
I wear mine (beat-up scuffy & peeling faux-snakeskin I got for $18 at a thrift store – best purchase I’ve ever made, their beat-up-ness only makes me love them more) with EVERYTHING because they are SO COMFORTABLE, but my favorite look is the miniskirt + (preferably colored) fishnets combo. I want a pair of the turquoise ones & the high black boots before winter, too….
I have knee high patent doc martens which I wear as one would wear heeled black knee high boots; with a pencil skirt, mini skirt & fishnets, with A line dresses from Get Cutie.
They are rather fetishized I must say, I have over 1000 views on Flickr of them and they are often favourited by men with nothing available to view..
this post is really poorly written. what’s the point of it? that doc martens are in style, and come in different colors and patterns?
[...] blog superstar Gala Darling kindly included my Dr. Martens design among her favourites in this post on Chinashop. P.S. you can buy them from [...]
Written with all the panache of Dolly magazine article. Fluff.
I wear mine over skinny jeans; though I went through a phase where I wore them ALWAYS with a knee-length A line skirt & over-the-knee socks.
Nothing beats stomping in Docs. In fashion or out!
“Doc Martens remind me of neo-Nazis & the early 00s goths, and putting a pretty face on them only makes those associations more ridiculous.”
That’s just sad and narrow minded, Nicola. Sounds like you have a problem with people who embrace sub and counter culture — Christ, I thought we left you people behind in the 50s…
I’d like to point out that it was Skinheads who popularised the DM in the first place; before that they were used as army boots and heavy duty work shoes. Skinhead was a working class British subculture, and most of the boys who followed it just wore the boots they wore down the pit or in the mill, their day-to-day work boots… hence they moved from utility to fashion, so THANK the Skinheads!
Furthermore, Skinhead is not a “bad” subculture — for some reason, ignorant people have aligned it to racism and thuggery, which was never its purpose. Skinheads were working class boys who were dissatisfied with their lot in life — but they were NOT racists. Indeed, Skinhead came out of Rudeboy and Girl subcultures from Jamaica, and the first Skinheads embraced rude, reggae and ska culture as their own. The “Oi” splinter of Skin culture led to football hooliganism, and with that came racism — HOWEVER, hardcore Ois and fascists were always a minority splinter of real Skin culture. To this day Skins are tarred with a brush they don’t deserve. I’m a skinhead revivalist and a supporter of SHARP — skinheads against racial prejudice. Before you judge Skins — and DMs! — get your freaking facts right: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skinheads_Against_Racial_Prejudice
And hey, if you’re too frightened of the multi-faceted cultural connotations that go with wearing DMs (what other shoe carries this rich counter-culture heritage), then fine — you carry on being frightened. You’re not the first person who can’t deal with deviation from the norm — go back to your nice, safe pink Jimmy Choo lifestyle.
this article is very badly written.
Other people’s associations are pretty funny to me! When Doc Martens were popularized back when I was in middle school they were super preppy! People wore the shoes mostly, with jeans and polos or sweaters.
The boots were kind of grunge I guess, usually worn with plaid flannel. But then again, at that time flannel was being worn by people in every group.
well i have had my doc martins for 3 years and there riped should i take then bk please help me