Doc Martens advice please !

[BookWorm45]

I'm wondering about buying some DMs (probably ankle boots, or could be the shoes).
This is after realising that cheap trainers take a horrendously long time ever to break down in landfill..... and they wear out so that I probably buy 1 pair a year. I'm thinking of DMs as they look so long lasting and sturdy (though they also cost a fair bit).

So my query is:

1. From people who wear DMs now, do you find them really comfortable ? or do they take a while to wear in (like walking boots would do ?)

2. Given that my style is very much basic jeans-and-a-top most of the time, and I'm in mid 50s, would DMs look odd with this or at my age ?

I love mine. Once broke they are like slippers.. I am 52 and wear them all the time. I have boots and sandals.

I had mine from my sil 20 yrs ago. Already broken in. I don’t wear them all the time but they get pulled out and worn most winters.
I’m 64 and I don’t give a damn. I find them comfortable with plenty of support.

Not read the whole thread but Solovair are like the old DMs before they went crap.

I love my vegan docs but I wore them around London yesterday for the day and my feet did not thank me for it despite them being around 3 years old and worn regularly

I have the soft leather pascals and they were very comfy from the start. I am 62 and they look great.

I have the soft leather Chelsea boots too and they felt like slippers from day one! I have a job where I spend almost all day on my feet and walking fairly long distances and they didn't rub at all.
I've just bought some Blundstones and they are the complete opposite! I love them so much but can only wear them for a few hours at a time...hoping they'll settle soon.
As for your age, f*ck it! Wear whatever you want, if you like them, that's what counts. Sod convention....😂

@BookWorm45, if you'd like a slightly smarter 'DM' style try the Astronaut from solovair. They are a bit like the DM Emmeline which I think is no longer available

Ithe last pair of docs I bought, within 2 years (and I don’t wear them in the summer at all and would wear pumps in spring once the weather starts to improve), the sole went, the leather cracked and I was so disappointed with them. The quality of them was rubbish and I felt they were surviving on their reputation from years ago.

I genuinely thought that docs would last forever like they did when I was a teenager, so didn’t mind spending out on them, but I was really disappointed with them and wouldn’t spend that kind of money on another pair.

I bought a pair of patent 1460s that someone else bought, wore once and never dared wear again, and sold to me for very cheap they did take a bit of breaking in and I remember one very miserable day out when I thought they were sufficiently broken in but was very, very wrong. But they're great now, I could happily walk in them all day.

Unfortunately the patent coating has blistered a bit in a couple of places. The quality really isn't what it once was.

Incidentally, the most comfortable boots I have ever owned is these ones which I bought in TK Maxx about four years ago. I've never seen them anywhere else in the UK. They needed no breaking in at all, I remember going for a five mile walk in them the day I bought them. I wore them so much the heel was almost totally flattened, and then a very clever local cobbler resoled and reheeled them for me with rubbery Doc Marten looking stuff and they looked like brand new again. Really must dig them back out, they've been neglected ever since I bought my black All Saints ones.

Those are nice @evilharpy

I’ve got these DM style 1461 leather shoes & a bright yellow floral pair too. Bought both pairs years ago and love them with dark indigo straight leg jeans rolled/folded up to wear either bare ankled in warmer weather or with knee high navy coloured spotty socks in the winter. Were comfortable straight out of the box, my feet are used to wearing walking boots & tall country boots. I’ll be 68 next month.

I recently bought the fur lined Chelsea boots. I was unsure of sizes, size 3 felt a little bit tight over the front of my foot so I bought the 4. They have since stretched and feel too big so I need to wear 2 pairs of socks.
Really comfy though and waterproof.

If it's the DM look you are after and you have size 6 (39) or smaller feet, go on Schuh website in the kids section black lace up boots with a side zip for ease of on and off'ing (brain Spoff of the technical term) leather..about 18 quid!
I bought my 12 year old son a pair for school, my 18 year old daughter 2 pairs (black and black patent) and myself (older than my kids! ) a pair.
So comfortable and tbh I prefer them because they are totally black..no yellow stitching!
Ordered on-line and received them within 2 days and no breaking in needed at all!
Look what I've found www.schuh.co.uk/kids/unisex-youth-schuh-creator-lace-up-black-youth/2490007020/?utm_source=Direct&utm_medium=ShareButton

(Yet) another shout out for solovairs. Absolutely brilliant. More expensive, but worth it. The company also offers a resoling service: just as well, as the uppers will go on for ever. I've had mine for two years, wear them frequently, and they still look new.

@BookWorm45

I'm wondering about buying some DMs (probably ankle boots, or could be the shoes). This is after realising that cheap trainers take a horrendously long time ever to break down in landfill..... and they wear out so that I probably buy 1 pair a year. I'm thinking of DMs as they look so long lasting and sturdy (though they also cost a fair bit).

So my query is:

1. From people who wear DMs now, do you find them really comfortable ? or do they take a while to wear in (like walking boots would do ?)

2. Given that my style is very much basic jeans-and-a-top most of the time, and I'm in mid 50s, would DMs look odd with this or at my age ?

Look on vinted, always lots of DMs on there.

I bought a pair of Fly London ankle boots last autumn. Not the same look as DMs (and not as trendy) but they are far and away the most comfortable boots I have ever worn - and have been from the moment I first tried them on. I’m also early 50s, jeans and a top type person.

Another vote for Solovair, I love mine and even more that they should last years. Check the sizing guide though, I'm a 6.5 and wearing a 6 with insoles, could have gone with a 5.5.

There's a lady called Kate Hiscox on Instagram-she has a blog called Wearsmymoney and has a really good article on how to soften up DMs!

I’m 63 and still wearing docs. I have ten pairs, boots and s.