When did Dr. Martens get to be 50 years old? They have been an intrinsic part of my fashion landscape and then my daughter spotted DMs for the first time when she was nine. And there began a love affair fuelled by Trademe…
When did Dr. Martens get to be 50 years old?
That’s great for DMs, but not for me! They have been an intrinsic part of my fashion landscape and luckily I am not quite as old as them. As a 10 year old we moved to the valley towns of Wales and all the cool boys wore Docs, stovepipes and leather jackets that they bought from the local markets. I was in awe.
As a good NZ girl from a small provincial town, I had never even seen Docs before. I got to watch Top of the Pops and it was the middle of the 70s and the music was incredible. I wasn’t allowed to watch it at home, so I used to watch it with my grown up cousins at their places: Ramones, Sex Pistols, Joy Division, The Clash, Sham 69, Blondie et al. It was a fabulous time.
Back in old NZ – and back to provincial NZ at that – you could hardly get DMs anywhere. A move to Wellington in my twenties and then on to Auckland fixed that. The first thing friends would show you when they got back from their OE was their DMs they had bought at Shelleys in Oxford Street.
And now, I am a grown up, with small people of my own. While looking on the Internet, my daughter spotted DMs for the first time when she was nine. And there began a love affair fuelled by Trademe, finally graduating to a new pair this year.
At 13 she is supremely sure of herself, and her own sense of style. Doc Martens are at the very heart of what resonates best for my tomboy daughter. And so another generation discovers what makes DMs work so well – definition, practicality and comfort. And long may it continue…
Check the DM website, with remakes of some influential songs to mark the 50th anniversary of DMs at www.50.drmartens.com. We had a listen of the promotional record released especially on vinyl!
Also look out for the re-release of the original, English-made ‘1460’s (named after the first day of production 1.4.1960) – my daughter would give her right arm to own a pair of the black ones – but they also come in the traditional Oxblood. Please note, there are only 180 pairs in NZ…
By Anya Brighouse and Maddie Brighouse, 8 June 2010.
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