Dr. Martens is a brand of shoe, often known as "Doc Martens", "Doc's", or "D.M.s". They have a characteristic air-cushioned sole developed in Germany by Dr. Klaus Maertens (note the different spelling).

A pair of "classic" black leather Dr. Martens. Note the distinctive yellow stitching around the sole.

Klaus Maertens was a doctor in the German army during World War II. While on leave in 1945, he injured his ankle while skiing in the Bavarian Alps. He found that the standard issue army boots were far too uncomfortable on the injured foot, so while he recuperated, he brainstormed how to improve the boots. He designed a shoe that was made of soft leather, particularly with soft, air-padded soles. When the war ended and the Germans commenced panicked looting of valuables from their cities, Dr. Maertens went and took some much more valuable stuff: shoe material from a cobbler's shop. He made himself a pair of boots with the now-famous air-cushioned soles.

He didn't have much luck selling his shoes until he met up with an old university friend, Dr. Herbert Funck, in Munich in 1947. Funck was intrigued by the new shoe design, and the two went into business that year in Seeshaupt, Germany, using some discarded rubber from Luftwaffe airfields. The comfortable and durable soles made the boot a huge hit with housewives; 80% of their sales during the first decade were to women older than 40.

Sales had grown so much by 1952 that they opened a factory in Munich. In 1959, the company had grown large enough that Drs. Maertens and Funck started looking to market overseas. Almost immediately, British shoe manufacturer Bill Griggs noticed the advertising and bought patent rights from Dr. Maertens so his shoe company, R. Griggs Ltd., could manufacture the shoe in the UK. They anglicised the name, slightly re-shaped the heel design to make them fit the foot better, added the trademark yellow stitching, and started selling the shoes with Dr. Maertens's soles under the AirWair brand name.

The first "Doc Martens" in the UK came out on April 1, 1960; thus 1460 as the name of the classic cherry-red, 8-hole design. They were very popular among workers like postmen, policemen and factory laborers who were on their feet for many hours a day. But by the late 1960s, another group took notice of Doc Martens boots: so-called skinheads, who made the red boot their trademark, supposedly so that the blood of their enemies would not stain the boot.

By the early 1970s, Doc Martens were ubiquitous among the rising British punk rock stars. Sid Vicious was (arguably) the first punk to make DMs his; after him, it seemed everyone was wearing them, most notably young punk fans. Doc Martens boots were no longer the footwear of the working class, they were the footwear of rebel youth. Devotees of the shoes tend to be very loyal; they have been the subject of a song by Alexei Sayle and the subject of a photo used as the cover art for a Madness single.

Doc Martens are now sold exclusively under the AirWair name, and come in dozens of different styles: everything from conventional black high-tops to steel-toed boots to sandals, and in all colours, including purple, blue, green, and orange. Pope John Paul II and his staff even have their own specially-made line in pure white.

In recent times, many skins have found Doc Martens' quality to have waned and now prefer Grinders, Rangers, and Gripfast boots.

See Also

• Converse Shoes

External links

• Official site (http://www.drmartens.com/)