Hedi SlimaneEven though Dr. Martens are sold at Hot Topic, the first chapter of their story isn't exactly fashionable. When German doctor Klaus Meartens damaged his foot skiing in the alps his good old's boots were no good. During his recovery he customized a pair of boots to cushion his injured foot and decided that he'd had goldmine. It took two years for the air cushioned boots to take off in 1947. Housewives over forty were his usual customers. Eventually mass sales led to the the first Dr. Martens shoe factory and then international marketing. Dr. Martens did not enter England (where most people know them from punk and skinhead subcultures) until 1960. The cherry red, 8 eyelet style was embraced by workman and police officers first. Later in the decade Skinheads began wearing them and in the punk explosion of the 7o's they're popularity amongst subversive youth grew. Dr. Martens joined the ranks of other forms of work wear (t-shirts and denim) to become fashionable. They've even been on the runway recently (Gareth Pugh, Chloe, Yohji Yamamoto)and come in a multitude of styles and colors. I'm feeling a bit partial to the floral pair.
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Emma Cook Fall 2008^
