Doc Martens. Pick an outfit out, you can most definitely find a style of Doc Martens to go with it. Have a pair of shorts and a tank top? Dress it up with the Doc Martens 1461 Smooth Leather Oxford Shoe and a pair of scrunched-up white socks. Have a statement pair of pants and a plain top? Complement the outfit with the Doc Martens Devon Flower Buckle Leather Platform Boots. The countless outfit combinations that can be made with these timeless shoes are reason enough to dip into your savings account and buy a pair. But when did Doc Martens become this staple shoe that is not only stylish but also represents the emotions of angst and edginess of youth culture? Well… it all started with punk rock.
Punk, a form of rock music, took over the youth of the world in the 1970s. Punk music represented an unconventional sound and rebellion that was not seen before in the music industry. It was a “celebration of urbanization and reclaiming the city” after the 1960s. The faces of punk included the Sex Pistols, a British rock group. They set the tone for the angst of the era with profanity and disrespect to the British throne. The group released their song “God Save the Queen” in June 1977 on the same day of Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee. The group’s open rejection to societal norms helped spark an anger that reflected in punk fashion, music, and politics.
Instead of just being a music genre, punk became a lifestyle for young people throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The group had adapted an aesthetic that consisted of torn clothing, piercings, loud hairstyles, and Doc Martens. Doc Martens was pushed to the forefront of the punk scene by, none other, than the Sex Pistols. The group wore clothing from Malcolm McLaren’s clothing store “Sex”. He created and named the band the Sex Pistols to promote his clothing brand, and Doc Martens fit the aesthetic of the clothing to a T. The group can be seen photographed in leather jackets, denim jeans, and Docs. Seen as a fierce, durable, badass boot, the shoe allowed punk people to express themselves in ways they could not before. Punk women rocked the shoe, which is a prominent moment in fashion history because the boot was a unisex staple piece for people. Prior to the time, women’s footwear consisted of dainty shoes with small heels that were more feminine. The Doc Martens 1460 Smooth Leather Lace Up Boot became the vital wardrobe essential for punk culture and allowed women’s fashion to take the shift into more masculine footwear. They guided the fashion industry away from hyper-feminine stereotypes, and created a more inclusive representation of women’s fashion.
The shoe’s popularity continued with the rise of alternative groups in the 1990s. Once the punk revolution resided, a new generation took it upon themselves to adopt the angst of the Doc Marten shoe. Music in the 1990s was, once again, created into an aesthetic. Bands like Green Day, Guns N Roses, and Korn attracted crowds at the popular New York music club CBGB, and Seattle accumulated a large alternative rock scene. Bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana originated in Seattle, which helped ignite the new fashion scene of the 1990s.
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