Dr Martens - Soft leather VS Vegan leather?

[Blackbird1234]

Hi all, I'm about to buy my first pair of Dr Martens and am deciding between 2 different styles and would appreciate some opinions, please.

Does anyone know if the Vegan leather is as durable and comfortable as the Soft leather?
Is the breaking in process shorter with Vegan leather?
Do I need to buy any extra products with it? (i.e I think there are different creams/waxes and stuff for the shoes)

Any experiences/opinions welcome as it's such a huge purchase for me, I'd like to get it right!

Thanks in advance!

I’m vegan and so have the vegan leather DMs and found they needed minimal breaking in. A little bit stiff to start with but nothing too serious - no blisters or anything. I’ve had mine 3 winters and just started wearing them again as it’s getting colder here - they still look as good as new.

I can’t compare to the leather version as I have never had them but can definitely say my vegan ones broke in easily and have worn really well.

Also they are very comfortable and I haven’t put any products on them or done anything to them.

Thanks @Sasuma! Glad to hear they’re durable and don’t need much breaking in. I think I’ll probably go for those ones as the other ones are a little bit of a risk, whereas the vegan ones seem quite timeless to me. Very excited to get them!

I actually have another question. I'm not sure which size to get. I'm usually either a 4 or 5, but don't know if I should size up or down. I also want to get the Comfort Insoles and have read that you need some extra space for them - what would you recommend?

Depends what you normally wear with them (ie socks or tights) as to whether you go with a 4 (if you’re mostly wearing tights and are ok with a slightly snug fit) or a 5 if you go for thicker socks. You can also make a 5 fit better in DMs if you are between sizes by adding an insole. DMs sell their own brand insoles that make the boots more comfortable as well as sizing them down a bit. As you can probably tell from my response, I’m between sizes in DMs too!

@Craftycorvid I'm glad you've said that, as I'm a bit nervous about the sizing. I even measured my foot and I'm apparently a size 4, but I'm planning on wearing the Docs with thick socks etc and it's always better to get them a bit bigger than too small, so I think I'll go with a 5 as I can always add in an insole, as you said. Thank you for your comment, think my mind is made up!