This Second's Obsession

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this Dr Martens obsession

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Back when I was a vaguely alternative sixteen year old, too shy to actually buy items of clothing involving black lace and wear them, several of my vaguely alternative (although at least one actually identified as punk) sixth-form friends had Dr Martens, and I was jealous.

I had a pair of boots. They were very plain, square-toed, but still quite sleek, and from Nine West. They were about £60 in a sale, and after a lot of pleading I got my parents to buy them for my (fifteenth?) birthday. I loved them. I still have them somewhere but the sole is now so thin my feet get sore really quickly. I’m not convinced resoling will solve the issue, I think they’ve worn out both sides, and I don’t think I can get an insole in as they’re size eights that I wore as my feet grew so they stretched – just enough to fit me. I can’t bear to throw them out though – they were my Buffy boots; in them I felt like I could slay vampires and save the world. I wore them to music lessons, to school in Year 12, and even just around the house if I felt like it. And they gave me my first taste of Life in Boots.

Back to the Docs.I was desperate to get a pair for my seventeenth birthday. So off we trooped to Camden market on a Sunday afternoon. I looked around several stalls, but it was in the British Boot Company store that I found the loves of my boot-wearing life. 14-holes, zips, and most importantly, purple.

Whew! They were expensive though. £120. Worth every penny. Worth twice that. At least. I have worn them so many times I’m now scared that I’ll wear them out. And by scared, I mean terrified. I love these boots – I still have the box inside my wardrobe, seriously – and they don’t sell them any more.

Which is where the black 10-holes come in. They were originally my sister’s, but she stopped wearing them, and a couple of years back I persuaded her to let me wear them as my everyday boots. They’re nowhere near as comfortable as the purple beauties, because they’re made out of the thicker normal leather (the 14-holes are thinner leather because of the zips, hence the fear), and I’m sure they’re factory seconds because the tongue doesn’t seem to have been sewn on right. They came from a stall in Camden. They do have one advantage over the other pairs though – they look good with skirts, they’re just the right length.

When I saw the flock dot Pascals online I started flapping my hands Mini-Skins style and hyperventilating. I love polka dots. I love purple. I love that there is no yellow stitching, it’s dark lilac on the leather, and black on the soles. Even the tag has the same purple on it! Adorable! I had wanted another pair of Docs for a long while, plus I had some money from doing surveys online to spend. I bought these from the official Dr Martens website. There are a couple of places offering them for slightly cheaper, but only the official website had size nine available.

I was really impressed with the delivery company, DPD, because they let me choose the delivery date from a list, and then sent me a text message to give me an hour window within which they would arrive. Wonderful. When they arrived I was totally thrilled to find that they fit fine, and the leather is so soft they require no breaking in. The only problem is the combination of leather and flocked dots, I’m not sure how to polish them, but I guess I’ll work it out. Now for the scandal: I’ve had them a few months now, but I haven’t worn them yet! First I didn’t have any waterproofing spray, then it was summer. But autumn is coming, perfect boot weather. Yay!

I used to see Docs as a sort of compromise; what I really wanted was some big ol’ New Rocks. But I don’t see myself graduating from the Dr Martens phase any time soon. I’ve yet to see a pair of New Rocks in a bricks-and-mortar shop, available to try on, that are, um, calm enough for my tastes. I don’t want buckle overload, and I’ve always felt quite strongly about this. The only thing that’s changed since my vaguely-alt teen days is that I’ve stopped looking. Dr Martens have run away with my heart.

Although it’s technically the second of September, this post was written for the lovely VictorianKitty’s monthly theme. I voted for this theme over black and purple – that’s how obsessed with these boots I am.

Make sure you check out her post to see some of those buckly New Rocks I shy away from, but she looks great in. Is there nothing this woman can’t pull off? She even looks good with her hair in double buns. WTF.

The Obscurialist also loves Docs. GothBarbie has the Darcies, which I have yet to make my mind up about, as I haven’t seen any in real life. Le Professeur Gothique has some floral print docs, I’ve been tempted by the floral print ranges a few times (also by the pink and black lace pair, happily for my bank balance, they never have my size). Ghoulina Bones has a fantastic electric blue pair.

I am now lusting over all the boots in Electrobat’s post, especially the Fluevogs. Oh, Fluevogs. So beautiful. So unattainable. See also the purple boots worn by Trystan L. Bass. Yes, I’ll admit, part of me is finding this theme almost painful, and is wondering why on earth I voted for it!

Hats and I: A Partial History

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Hats. What would I do without them? Who was I before I discovered the wonder of hats?

A much less flamboyant version of myself, that’s for sure. I discovered the wonder of hats around the same time that I decided to give up blending in and release what Sadye in Dramarama calls her ‘Lurking Bigness’ (I am reading that book at the moment. It is amazeballs). Once upon a time, I would have lusted over the hat from afar. I might have, in a moment of daring silliness, tried on some of the department store formal section offerings. Occasionally, I might have bought one – only to keep it in my cupboard, only wearing woolly hats on the coldest winter days or during the most scalp-burning summer hours and feeling self-conscious all the while.

Par exemple, the one to the right. I took this photo in first or second year of uni (hence the blur), I forget which. I love this hat, but I bought it in Debenhams yonks ago and have hardly worn it. For the first several years, I was too scared to wear it outside the house. Now I have no such fear, but the problem is the print. It doesn’t go with anything! It’s acceptable with a plainish dress, but most of my summer dresses aren’t plain. Also, I can’t find it right now…

I have a couple of regular summer hats that fold up easily and are plain (boring) enough to go with anything. Here’s one, a hand-me-up from my sister. Yes, that’s the Colosseum in the background.

In my last post, I showed you one of my winter hats and the vintage black and grey hat, the latter of which hasn’t been worn out of the house due to lack of occasion. I know! I should make an occasion! Here is another hat that has yet to make its debut into society, apologies for another old blurry bathroom pic:

I just don’t wear blue that much. I have worn it a lot more recently though, so perhaps this hat will have its time soon! I bought it from Prangsta (warning: website will make you drool) – they have, or had, five years ago, a vintage section in the basement. It was £10. It still has the little pink label attached. I think this is the hat that really triggered the obsession. I just couldn’t believe that I had bought something as silly and frivolous as a hat! I loved it. And proceeded to purchase several more hats of varying practicality and wearability.

I’ve gone through phases of obsessive wear with most of my hats – I’ve got a green silk floppy one that I wore practically every day for a fairly long time, and a pale blue and a black one, both similar to the red one in the previous post, that have had a lot of wear. The dark red spiral mesh cap has been worn quite a lot as well, and I haven’t even started telling you about my beret collection – I have four. But it is far too hot to be wearing and photographing berets, so I will leave you with this picture I took of Aprella at an Emilie Autumn concert, wearing a miniature top hat. I have wanted a miniature top hat since the moment I first saw one. One day I will find the perfect one, and actually persuade myself to hand over the funds for it. Shouldn’t be too hard.