Abebe Bikila broke the marathon record at the 1960 Olympics barefoot. He won again in 1964 but that time did wear running shoes.

 

Modern Doc Martins are massively overpriced and made in Vietnam. You can get them made in all kinds of shitty faux leather with pictures all over them, but you can't get a pair of greasy leather shoes to save your life any more.

If you *really* want a pair of Doc Martens, you're probably better off buying Solovair. Made in England in the original Doc Marten factory, by the original Doc Marten workers. AND you can still get a pair of Greasy Leather Gibsons -- the best shoes the old Doc Marten used to make.


https://uk.nps-solovair.com/products/s3-995-sa-g?variant=28826430668864

 

buy these, wear your jeans put on your grey hoodie and black jacket then go outside and the ladies will say who the hell is this dude?

"who's that?" is always good for the ladies

 

There's this guy who's a Specialist in cutting boots with a precision knife..

Seems to agree with you on the Marteen's side of things,
but he "dissects" a good number of brands/models, even Sneakers so it's worth a check..

 

Last edited: Dec 29, 2021

when confused choose nike lmao

 

Last edited: Jan 14, 2024

Try them! They are quite comfortable and fit like a glove. You won't have to tie your laces anymore and no shoe tongue moving around.
Tastes obviously differ, but I admit these shoes don't look very good on pictures. When you are wearing them, they look way better IMO.

 

Many years ago I used to work in a laboratory that quality tested the leather that was used to make Doc Martens, even had some white leather that went on to be used in shoes for the Pope. We were closed down and all the shit got outsourced to China where they could pay peanuts.

 

FYi

 

I fixed the worn down heels and still wear my ancient 25 year old Doc Martins. My good buddy's ex-girlfriend's husband had died prematurely at age 35 and she gave away lots of his stuff of which the brand new pair of boots were a part of. They were a little too small for my friend and he gave them to me. They are indestructible.

I have a story for fucking everything.

 

Most footwear and much of the clothing today is garbage, of inferior quality compared to that of the past, running shoes today relies solely on brainless imbeciles buying and wearing logo covered items and being used as unpaid advertising posters for these crap brands, while some piece of shit celebrity was meanwhile paid millions to wear their overpriced crap to influence dumbells to buy and copy what they are wearing.

 

https://images.app.goo.gl/QqfNCY8kFHojv1LL6
The best

 

get some brooks its 2021

 

I find these are necessary when I’m dealing with certain clients

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Professional-Clown-Shoes-Costume-New-Model-by-ClownMart-/133146596793

 

Style-wise, I’d go for versatile classics. Can’t go wrong with any New Balance, new or old, IMHO.

Ultraboost (adidas) or Ultra DNA or whatever they’re called today has a weird fit, so make sure you try before you buy.

Nike has a huge library of models they’re reissuing pretty much constantly. It depends if you want ”modern” (their latest running shoe) or retro. My favorite is still the Air Max ’97. Jordans are cool, but most are very bulky and funny-looking.

 

Those are a nice pair of boots. You used to be able to get Docs resoled, but it's a long time since I've worn them so I don't know if it's still possible or an economic proposition. Ah. Still can. Costs about £60 in the UK.

I used to wear mine till the soles had punctured and they started farting as you walked.

 

Last edited: Jan 1, 2022

Damn. I knew the Asian Doc Martins were terrible, but I'd always assumed the Made in England Docs were probably OK -- made to the old standards in one of the old factories, etc. etc. And they're more expensive than Solovairs.

After watching this though, I wouldn't dream of buying a pair of modern Docs. That said, Church's brogues are my current shoes and I expect them to last until I die. But I'm very tempted by the Solovair greasy Gibsons. They take me back to my youth in the 70's. They were mostly worn by beat cops in those days because the air soles made them comfortable to walk in, and the greasy leather made them highly water resistant.

I bet I've still got a tin of dubbin -- which was the stuff you used to use to clean/regrease them.

 

Boots and dress shoes are a different animal.

I have a pair of Danner boots that going on 25 which have had new soles multiple times as well a pair of old school Timerbland mid calf hikers that are about the same age and have also been to cobbler. They'll easily outlive me continued maintenance and oiling.