14-hole Doc Martens

This one takes me back.... to the early '80s, around 1983 probably.  I bought a pair of the then-new 14-hole Docs to go on holiday with: we were staying at a caravan at Warren Bay - a small seaside place which was very informal and relaxed and so I wore my boots (with the obligatory skintight jeans) the whole time we were there.

 I was the envy of all the local lads in those boots: the 14-hole hole ones had only just come out and they all asked me where I'd got them from as they wanted some like them!  Over the years that followed I wore them a lot as seemingly did most lads: all through the punk and grunge era of the 90s they were very much the sign of rebellion, before fading from popularity.

So it's with a certain nostalgic affection that I've donned a pair of 14-hole DMs once again this week.  I got these off eBay, and I can't believe my luck - an absolute snip at £15 and mine was the only bid.  Ah well, that's the way it goes, sometimes.  Nicely polished, well looked after and comfortably broken in by their previous owner....

 

 

I'm a bit in two minds about the funky criss-cross style of lacing, but at the moment I can't be bothered to re-do it and I think the boots look pretty cool in the Bank Holiday sunshine with my shorts and white sports socks.