Welcome, Punks! Whether you’re here because you’re going through the breaking-in process, want to buy a pair of DMs, or just follow my blog, I’m glad you’re here.
My name is Alexa, and I am a twenty-four hour Doc Martens owner (at the time of writing). I have already made mistakes, and that’s why I’m here: to make sure you don’t.
I’m not claiming I know how to help you break in your new shoes without any pain. I don’t think that’s possible. But I can tell you what I did so you won’t follow in my bleeding footsteps.
Yesterday, my boyfriend, Derek, and I bought our very first pairs of DMs. He opted for the classic black shoes, but the only pair that fit me right was the cherry red vegan model. Honestly, I’m still thrilled with my boots, but the company’s odd sizing that prevented me from choosing from all the options available was annoying. Still, would I have picked the same boots? Yes.
The very, very nice man at Journeys who sold us the shoes warned us not to wear them out of the house for the first few wears, but of course, we didn’t listen to him. Instead, we decided a walk to the waterfront would be a great way to just break our boots in, quick and easy.
As it turned out, this was our biggest mistake. Three quarters of the way to the waterfront, my heels started rubbing on the back of the boot so badly that I was almost crying. Thinking a short sit would refresh me enough to get back, we hobbled the rest of the way to the water and sat down on a bench to enjoy the sunshine.
Unfortunately, the walk back to our apartment was even less fun than that last quarter of the walk there. Once my feet touched the fresh concrete in front of our building, I whipped my boots off and walked the rest of the way home in socks.
The result of our walk? My heels are so torn up that it’s impossible for me to wear shoes.
On another walk, Derek wore his DMs thinking they were fine, since he hadn’t experienced what I had at the waterfront. Soon, his heels started chafing, too. Luckily for him, he got home before it got bad, so he’ll be slightly ahead of me in the process, since he’s still able to wear them without bleeding.
The biggest lesson so far? When people say wear them around your house first, they really do mean it.
Stay tuned for episode two in the coming weeks and good luck to all my fellow punks who are in the same shoes!
