these doc martens I got for cheap

I picked up a pair of the "classic" cherry red 8-hole doc martens earlier, and I'm debating whether or not I should keep them. For one thing I didn't know they're now made in china until I brought them back. Well thats a bunch of ****. How is the quality of these, really? Also, I got them just for the sake of having some doc martens (before I knew) and thought I might be able to pull these, off but I'm not sure how. What do you wear red boots with? Is there maybe a way to treat them to make them a bit darker/browner or something if I so desired?

I've been buying UK-made Docs off Ebay because the China and Thai Docs quality isn't very nice (crooked and sloppy seams, mostly).

Check out GetSmart's WAYWTs from last year for ideas on how to wear them.

honestly, unless you are a skin I dont really see the appeal of wearing cherry red docs. They carry a lot of baggage with them if you arent down. The black ones are much more democratic and carry less tribal stigma

the 8 hole 1460s are the classic "bovver boot", esp in the oxblood/cherry reds

the hell's a skin?

^^ exactly why I dont get your wanting to rock cherry reds

Only pic in rather long Wikipedia article on Skinheads:

How cheap did you get them for? Polishing them with black polish would create an oxblood boot, but as said before that's not really a boot that you can easily wear with whatever... it's part of a very specific look. There are Made in England Vintage Collection boots available now, and I believe one of the members here sells them via his ebay shoe store (sf discounts were available). Check the thread about rockabilly for more info. You could of course take this opportunity to reshape your entire wardrobe around these boots?! Start with the Fred Perry and Ben Sherman shirts.

any good example pics of an oxblood boot/shoe for an idea of what it'd look like?

Solovair (used to manufacture for DM).

You can still get Solovair DM style boots, from UK distros

these guys know what's up



seriously, if your iPod doesnt consist of heavy doses of Desmond Dekker, The Business, Skatalites, Madness, Cockney Rejects, Templars, etc then Cherry Red docs arent for you

Originally Posted by Fat-Elvis

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the hell's a skin?


Get rid of them!

Originally Posted by Get Smart

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honestly, unless you are a skin I dont really see the appeal of wearing cherry red docs. They carry a lot of baggage with them if you arent down. The black ones are much more democratic and carry less tribal stigma

While Get Smart is an expert and obviously right, I thought I'd add my opinion that "baggage" associated with something as silly as an article of clothing is something the world could do without, and it's not going to just go away by itself. Good enough reason to wear them already, but also; They look rad?

Although if you're somewhere/in a community where it's likely to get your head kicked in, you probably want to avoid them.

OP- I'm not sure you have a clear idea of what cherry docs signify. Docs are part of the "look" for a skinhead, and red clothing typically has very racist connotations pretty much revolving around neo-nazism. White laces in those cherry boots would throw it right over the top. You don't have to get rid of them, just be aware that they represent certain things to some people. It's similar to wearing certain Keffiyeh in that regard.

Song by The Oppressed (a non-racist Welsh skinhead band)
"Hes a skinhead, he dont care
Dr. Marten boots and short cropped hair
Hes a skinhead, he dont care about you
Walking down on the Brighton pier
Long haired hippies filled with fear
Crunch of bone as the boot goes in
Joes so proud to be a skin

(Chorus)

Prison couldn't change his ways
Skinheads back hes here to stay
So if you think you've got the suss
Be a skinhead, be like us

(Chorus)

Hes the king, king of skins
Whats his name, Joe Hawkins...

Oppressed lyrics...nice!

it's always amazing what random **** pops up on this forum.