Dr Martens are how much?!

[Mysterian]

£140 For the regular 1460 black boots in my size! Bloody hell. Used to wear them all the time 20 years ago. They sure as hell weren't worth the equivalent of £140 back then.

And high-top Converse for £55!

I feel old and bitter.

I know that in the 90s I could buy them using money I had saved for not too long from the local Millets. Certainly not the same as £100 today.

Found a calculator for it on Google. £140 today would have been worth £61.19 in 1990.

They were £45 in 1996. I don't think that's far off £145 now!

Do it JoJo! You won’t regret them. Like docs, but that lovely soft real leather feel

Where are you getting the £45 from @CodenameVillanelle? Not that I don’t believe you but I would think twice at spending £45 on shoes now and I doubt I would have spent that much then.

I remember because I had to save up to get some and that's how much I saved! Blue ones I had. How much do you think they were? They have never been cheap shoes as far as I remember

I had just the regular black one. Nothing fancy. They were from Millets or army surplus or something like that.

I seem to remember about £25 to £30, when I was at college so 91 - 93.

£30 in 1991 would be £64 today. Which feels about right.
I think the plain black ones back then we’re cheaper.

Jojo - there is a Solavair factory shop in Wollaston as well and absolutely beautiful. On my last visit (when I couldn't afford any boots ), I visited both.. you couldn't move in the DM shop and we were the only ones in the Solavair shop. Much better quality (to my, admittedly, untrained eye but have worn DMs since I was about 16 which is too many years ago now).

And as mentioned upthread, I bought my DMs from Shelleys on Oxford Street for several years and this was in the 90s - they were definitely £40.

I paid £55 for a pair of standard black 8 hole docs in 1996, from Dolcis of all places.

My 14yo dd has size 7 feet so cannot get junior sizes. I got sick of paying £50 for shite Clarks shoes every half term and invested in a pair of DM shoes for £125 which seems insane for a pair of school shoes but we bought them in September and they look as hood as new. I expect not to have to buy her any more school shoes!!

So worth the investment.

I bought a pair of soft leather zip up dms two years ago, still like new! I wear them all the time. I reckon I'll get at least another year out of them

They last for ever though. Nothing wears out on them. Big investment but on pay per wear you’ll be quids in after the first couple of years

My last two pairs have got holes in within 6 months. The quality is shit now.

My brain is telling me that my plain black pair when i was 17 in 1992 were £30. Worn with a purple pair of laces I loved them...
I have this feeling they lasted till I finished university in 97 but then got ditched when I went all corporate with my first job...

I have also heard the quality has gone downhill since they stopped making them in the uk. Pity. My last pair of dms lasted 9 years. Have just chucked them and bought Fly London instead....

They're shit now I wouldnt bother

I have cherry red 1460s and have worn them almost constantly for about 3 years and they are still going strong, the sole is worn but nowhere near going through.

Also Timpsons do replacement soles for DMs but I don't know how much this is.

DS wanted some for Christmas, then changed his mind after reading a lot of reviews that said they really don't last forever any more. They are shoddily made and outsourced to cheap factories. There are better places to get similar shoes. (Will ask DS who is a fashion guru when he gets up)

Blundestone boots do not need breaking in and last forever

Just don't get the softy leather ones! They lasted a week, all the leather started to peel off.

My work ones are 20 years + and still going strong. Bought another pair a few years ago and within weeks the leather had ripped. Since bought another pair. They don't need wearing in like they used to as the leather is much softer.

If you're not fussy about them being steel toe cap the industrial ones cost £35-40. My DH has them and they last ages and he wears them in a warehouse environment. I personally do New Rock boots which last me around 10 years apiece.

"I paid about £100 for a pair of knee high DMs back in the day. Hardly ever wore them, lacing them up was such a chore!" @AngeloMysterioso

DH bought me a surprise gift of a pair of these on about our third date. I married him They did take ages to lace though!

They never lasted forever even in the 90,s I use d to love my Doc,s but they never lasted longer than a yr or two ,and they were not particularly cheap either about £40 I think but this was early to mid 90,s

When I wore DMs in the 80s they'd replace the sole for free if it split but the quality has plunged and the price soared since then. DD wears them for school, they last 18 months at best. I'm eyeing a pair of Slovair though

I highly recommend Solivair. I find I buy less stuff and care more and more about the materials used and the conditions that things are made in these days. I expect I look less fashionable, but I really treasure and enjoy all of my clothes.

I've got one pair of Solovair dealer (Chelsea type) boots and one pair or lace up DMs. The Solovairs get more wear and feel more sturdy. They're both decent boots and should last a long time, but if I was buying boots now I'd go for Solovair every time.