Ruh-Roh. Hello Kitty Doc Martens Exist

Sanrio and Dr. Martens are BOTH turning 50, and they're celebrating the only way they know how -- covering an entire shoe in little Hello Kittys.

While I'm about three decades too old to justify wearing these, I do appreciate that not only Hello Kitty but her less popular friends Chococat, Keroppi, Little Twin Stars and My Melody all make appearances on the shoes too.

The Hello Kitty Docs are available April 2011. Proceed with caution, adults.

Welcome To New York City, Dr. Martens!

 

New York City just got a little '90s-er, because Dr. Martens, which just turned 50 years young (really, he looks AMAZING for 50) FINALLY opened a Doc shop in Soho. It's not only the first in New York, but it's the first on the East Coast. Can you even? I was invited to check out the store the other week, and let me tell you, 1992 me was FREAKING OUT. And so was 2010 me.

The brand-new Dr. Martens shop is cozy and inviting and smartly adorned in the signature black and yellow of the very first pair of Docs I ever owned 18 years ago (shudder) and wore to a Violent Femmes show PRAYING they'd get all scuffed up and even-cooler looking.


Check out some of my favorite Dr. Martens from the Spring/ Summer 2011 collection and some photos I snapped of my favorite Docs. The animal print Docs are musts, and the patent leather teal floral embossed Darcies need to find their way into my closet IMMEDIATELY.

($130, DMUSAStore.com)

Dr. Martens New York

148 Spring Street
10012  

Two Pairs Of Shoes By Which I Cannot Abide

I consider myself a fairly tolerant, accepting person. However there are a few things I cannot abide by. One of those things? These Cindy Says Keegan heels...

($142, Cindy Says, Endless.com)

I mean, they're platforms. Covered in pony hair. And feathers. And studs. And some kind of gem thing. They have whipstitching. And they lace up. And they have a fabric welt. The only thing they don't have is even the most remote shred of decency. And don't even get me started on the tan and orange version.


Hard to say which is more offensive. They both have their own separate list of bullet pointed atrocities.

Meanwhile, these Doc Martens for Opening Ceremony Darcie boots?...

($300, Doc Martens, Opening Ceremony)

True, I DO have the black version of these Darcie Docs. And I LOVE these gold flocked Docs. But while I do LOVE animal print, this is proof that animal print can be used for both good AND evil. There's just something '70s-in-the-bad-way about the print. It looks like a fabric batik wall hanging that my mom mounted on a hula hoop and hung on the wall of our basement rec room back in 1982. True story.

+ On a related note: Hello Kitty Doc Martens

Hello, Hello Kitty Doc Martens

Doc Martens and Hello Kitty are throwing a joint birthday party, and you know that rarely works out the way you want it to. One person will invite more friends, but more of the other person's friends will end up showing up, and then it's awkward when everyone doesn't like mesh well, and you don't even end up having fun because since everyone isn't just magically gel-ing, you have to introduce everyone and it kind of ends up feeling lame, and the drinks were too expensive, and you really didn't want to have your party in the Upper East Side anyway. That's definitely the last year you're doing that.

The point is, joint birthdays rarely work, but these Hello Kitty Doc Martens are pretty effing precious. But, like most licensed apparel, should ONLY be worn if you were born after 1994. And/or spend all of your free time on LiveJournal.

($165, Doc Martens, Dmusastore.com)

($135, Doc Martens, Dmstoreusa.com)

+ Related stuff: HILARIOUS '90s Tumblr.

Doc Martens Fall 2010 Gold Flocked Floral Boots

($120, Dr Martens, Dmusastore.com)

I asked myself WHY would I want gold, glittery, flocked Doc Martens boots. But then I asked myself the more revelant question: why WOULDN'T I want flocked floral Doc Martens, hmm? They're perfect for fall mornings when you wake up late, don't really feel like "getting dressed" and just throw them on with black leggings and a solid black dress. One of those "your shoes ARE your outfit" outfits.

Look, I know they're wackadoo and look like a couch your parents probably have in the basement no one ever goes into anymore, but while my head is saying "no," my heart is saying "let's go." Oh yeah, get 20% off Doc Martens with promo code FALL2010 through 9/15/2010. You're WELCOME.

Marais USA Boots = Step Back Into The '90s

($49, Marais, MariasUSA.com)

It's 1993 all over again up in here. I'm not saying you need to go get all frayed flannel-y and cut off a pair of Lee Jeans. I'm just saying that I recently bought these Marais USA super-soft faux leather army boots (they're like a kinder, gentler Doc Marten), and they were SUCH a wise winter purchase. And that I've been wearing opaque black tights on the regular. And wishing I had the My So-Called Life box set. And that I'm listening to The Sugarcubes.

Oh Yes I Most Certainly Did: High-Heeled Doc Martens. Thanks, Stacy London!

Here's the story of how I endured effing BRUTAL foot pain, Tweeted with Stacy London (!!!), and re-fell-in-love with Doc Martens this week... Back in Januaire I wrote about some cherry-red high-heeled Doc Martens. Recently I stumbled upon them again, if you will, and impulsively bought them online. (Impulsively, of course. How else do you buy cherry-red Docs?) I then had the THRILL OF MY LITTLE LIFE when I Tweeted with STACY LONDON on my work Twitter account, and she TWEETED ME BACK, and a discussion about the cherry Docs ENSUED!

Stacy said: @MTVBuzzworthy Wood heeled Docs??? Perhaps something less heavy?

I Tweeted something about how I promised I'd return them if they were a total fright, and if they looked too Ronald McDonaldy, they'd go back faster than you can say McRib.

Stacy said: @MTVBuzzworthy They ARE a total fright and Ronald McDonald is NOT a fashion icon. Send. Them. Back.

I Tweeted back something pouty along the lines of "but, but, but..."

@MTVBuzzworthy No pouting. THIS is THE season for awesome boots!

Anyway, I thought about it, and they DID seem like they had a really good chance of being Ronaldy. So I COMPROMISED (with Stacy and myself) and got them in black. And GUESS WHAT! THEY FUCKING RULE!

($130, Doc Martens, DMStoreusa.com)

I must say though, the first 10 minutes I had these on, these fuckers were SO painful (breaking in pointe shoes?) I thought I was gonna end up in the foot pain ward of the ER. What a pussy move. And I refused to let that happen, despite the fact that one of my favorite lines from Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion was quickly becoming my reality. I hobbled into the CVS down the street and busted into some Dr. Scholl's gooey whatevs pads which saved me from the aforementioned indignity. That, the realization I wasn't dying, and a little patience, and I rejoined the land of the living.

The Darcie Docs are a really fun, playful, unexpected twist on traditional Docs, but they don't veer too far from the true roots of Doc boots. They're a step up from the traditional black Doc Marten boots I bought back in eighth grade (at the time, they were so expensive that I saved for months, and my mom chipped in the rest and told me I'd better wear them through college -- I only got rid of them last year... and I've been out of college a while). They're amplified, yet more mature nostalgia, and they were worth the pain.

Shit. I Really Actually Love These High-Heeled Doc Martens

In the past, I'd sorta pooh-poohed the reemergence of Doc Martens, instead considering them best off remembered as a '90s icon.

However, I just discovered these wood-heeled docs -- for the completely agreeable price of around $100 -- and I'm big-time in luffs.

(Apprx $111 USD, Doc Martens, Brownsfashion.com)

For some reason, the rounded toe and wood heel (as opposed to shit-kicking, go-to rubber) gives these Docs more of a smart, edgy feel.

+ Great '90s video with obvious Doc shot: Belly, "Gepetto."

Belly - New Music - More Music Videos

Agyness in cherry-red Docs. And no, I, for one, am not sick of her!

The Motorcycle Boots Diaries: Also Doc Martens Are Back In!

Though I'm not sure I agree. I had my love affair with them -- specifically between the years of 1991 - 1996. I remember going to the Lynnhaven Mall in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and "visiting" the Doc Marten black lace-ups that'd soon become mine once I'd saved enough babysitting money to pay for half of the $80 price, which I thought was SOOOOOOOOO much for a pair of shoes. My mom was reluctant to help me pay for the other half of what she alternatingly referred to as "shitkickers," and "Nazi boots." I remember going to the counter and her saying "these better last til you're in college." I was in eigth grade then, and they definitely did. After years of moving with my dusty black Docs (they barely looked like I'd worn them after all those years), in plastic Rubbermaid bins, I finally got rid of them a year or so ago. It was really time. BUT, all sentimentality for the fashions of the early '90s aside, I'm not really that pleased to see should I see DOC MARTENS creeping back into my inbox and onto the pages of catalogs and magazines this fall.

The first time I saw them -- in mainstream fashion -- was a few months back in their Benneton iteration -- half Docs, half motorcycle boots, all patent leather:

Benetton

I think they run a little under $200. They're fun but in bright red, they're a little too Ronald McAdoodly, you know?

($88, Urban Outfitters)

I liked Urban Outfitters' lace-up oxford version much better.

($110, Doc Martens, Delia's)

Whoop there they are! At DELIA'S. So you KNOW they're back.

($110, Doc Martens, Delia's)

My love of leopard-printed fashions is well documented. Even leopard-print shoes. (Or cheetah-print. Whatever. Tomato/ tomahto.) But not boots. Ack.

Anyway, so back to motorcycle/engineer boots -- they're HUGE for fall, and they're everywhere -- Michael Kors, Aldo, Steve Madden, Guess, Frye (of course), but the best ones I've seen -- and probably the most expensive ones are these:

($1143, Golden Goose, eLuxury)

Golden Goose is a line of luxury riding-inspired boots designed by Italian designers Francesca and Alessandro Gallo. They ain't cheap, but they sure are purdy. Each limited-edition pair of boots are marked with a serial number, and they come pre-distressed and destroyed. WANT!

+ More Golden Goose here.

More Proof Docs May Be On The Rebound (Unfortunately)

GAH! Trend Central is starting to get behind the impending return of Doc Martens! Ugh. If these Palladiums (soooooooo '90s!) are any harbinger, I guess I'd rather go with Docs. Though barely.

($120, Doc Martens, Zappos)

Whatsnextblog.com tracked down these pink lacy lace-ups yet erroneously referred to them at gotta-have-ems. They make me wanna gouge my eyes out. Unless I see them on Hayley from Paramore -- I'm sorry, but she's adorable.


More Doc stuff:
+ Free People pats itself on the back via its blog (!?!?!?!?) for carrying them. Zzz.
+ Docs fired Saatchi + Saatchi London for its some-might-say-tasteless ads depicting dead rockers in Docs. (Um, teeee!)
+ The New York Times already called it a month. Me = late to the party, clearly, but not buying it. I'm still barely able to wrap my head around the rebirth of Keds.