I have a confession to make. I still love Doc Martens — and not just because they have had a resurgence in popularity and another fashion moment. I have loved them since I was 14 years old, and I continue to nurture my adoration of these hefty workman's shoes. I first got a lace up pair of shoes when I was 15 and my dad brought them back from London. It was 1985 and I was unquestionably the most punk girl in town. I wore them to death and managed to acquire a pair of boots along the way — well I was a lipstick goth.
Then I moved over to London in 1992 and I purchased a few more pairs — a dear friend accompanied me on one of these shopping trips and he told me, "I am just going to pick out the ugliest shoes in the shop (Shelleys) and you will buy those." He did and I did. They were a magnificent pair of steel capped buckle over shoes. And I wore them with my dress and tights and biker leather jacket. A look that would not be out of place in winter 2009.
I still have one last pair of Docs. They are much like my first — a pair of lace up shoes, for wearing in my Katherine Hepburn moments, with wide leg trousers. But every now and again I wish I had others — like this pair that Rachel was wearing last weekend. Bought off eBay for £5. And that's one of the very few reasons that I may miss living in London.