![]() ![]() The grain has been fully corrected out, making for a shiny, plasticky, relatively thin leather. DOC MARTEN FULLThis is a pretty uncomplicated boot: while Doc Martens calls this full grain leather its super slippery and smooth. ![]() In fact, only around 1% of their boots are still made in Britain, according to Business Insider. I didnt go with the British-made Doc because Im focusing on the brands most popular boots, and we live in the era where that boot is made in Asia. Doc Martensįirst things first: this is Doc Martens standard issue 1460, which is their most popular boot and is manufactured in Asia. Worth mentioning though you cant see it, this boot is fully insulated with Primaloft and about half the insulation comes from recycled water bottles, which is pretty cool. Other signature features of the boot are the chunky, grippy rubber lug sole (called Gripstick - Timberland really wants you to know that these boots have a good grip, and they do), the iconic Taslan nylon laces, and the leather collar for added insulation. Despite all that, theyre still pretty versatile and can be worn with a variety of different styles. Theyre certainly not dressy by any stretch of the imagination. Theyre about six inches high and pretty bulky at that, so they dont look great with slim pants or skinny jeans. (Theyre available in a bunch of colors but this is the best known.) The nubuck is characterized by a slightly fuzzy texture from the protein fibers, and this one comes treated so that it is, as the name says, waterproof. These fake-workwear products look good and they tell a convincing story - but no youth subculture is ever going to adopt $500 watches or $128 skinny jeans like they took to their first pair of Doc Martens.Im looking at the wheat nubuck Timberland 6 waterproof boot. ![]() Or Shinola, the Detroit-themed bicycle and watch manufacturer that began a few years ago, well after the famous shoe-polish company of “ You don’t know shit from…” fame went dormant. Take a look at a brand like Madewell, the J Crew label that bought its origin story from a Massachusetts company that made terribly unfashionable factory clothes. For one thing, that’s why marketing departments exist, but workwear also offers a feeling of realness and authenticity that designer labels can’t claim… though they may try. The rest are made in Thailand and China.ĭocs aren’t the only example of functional workwear becoming a fashion item. They’re cheap, comfortable and easily found in thrift stores - leading to their adoption, at various times, by punks, skinheads, goths, and grunge kids. But change even comes to Doc Martens: Sales have declined in the new millennium, and the brand’s “Made In England” trademark is now reserved for an exclusive, pricey version of the boots. There are plenty of reasons why several generations of counterculture movements would latch on to Doc Martens. “So I thought I’d move onto utility wear.”Ī decade later, Elton John would appear in the film version of The Who’s rock opera Tommy, wearing a pair of Docs that were four and a half feet tall. “I was sick of dressing up as a Christmas tree in flowing robes that got in the way of my guitar playing,” Townshend said. Popularity doesn’t equal hipness, though, and Docs weren’t even remotely trendy until Pete Townshend from the classic rock band The Who started wearing a pair of used eight-eyelet 1460 Docs sometime around 1966. The boots were introduced to England in 1960, where they quickly became popular with mailmen and factory workers who needed something durable that they could also stand around in all day. Not long after, an English family bought the rights to produce the boots in the UK, dropping the umlaut in the Märtens name to make it sound less German. In 1952, he began making his namesake footwear, with soles made from surplus Luftwaffe rubber. (What is it about Nazis launching shoe companies? Both Adidas and Puma were also created by Germans during World War II.) Martens wanted cushioned leather boots that could absorb the pressure from walking and standing. Docs were originally designed by an actual Doc, a German Army doctor named Klaus Märtens, who towards the end of World War II hurt his ankle in a skiing accident. ![]()
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