Back to School with Dr. Martens & What to Wear For the Stylish School Run 2016/2017

I went to big school in the 90s. Apart from a brief affair with a pair of Kickers (one green sole, one red; what were we thinking?) I wore Dr Martens shoes the entire way through. They were comfortable, lasted more than one year & had the unique feature of being both desirable for us picky teens, and still be allowed uniform for such a fussy school like Sullivan Upper. 

So with school starting back on Tuesday, I took Michael along to the Dr Marten store in Corn Market in Belfast to try their  Back to School shoe styles, and to pick up my own yearly new boots for the school run.

The store has sizes from tiny baby booties, right up through primary school sized feet to young adult styles for secondary school. There is the classic black leather, but also brown and various leather effects to choose from. There are several styles of girls' 'Mary Jane' strapped shoes also, I wouldn't mind a pair of those myself, I love the bows.

There are also fun designs for the weekend for kids to choose from. Shiny patent leather that will be long lasting and keep them cosy and dry all winter. They provide a measuring service so you will get the longest wear out of the size you take home.

I wouldn't have thought of the shop being a place to look for a school bag, but they have just got a collection of gorgeous leather bags in stock that would be perfect for school or university. There are also classic satchels which I adore, I wish I needed a school bag myself! 

You can even match your bag to your boots. 

After Michael tried his pairs on, it was my turn. I think a pair of Dr Martens is pretty much vital for the winter, and when the school run is wet & miserable, I always wear my Docs. I go for the almost knee high, zipped boots from the women's department and they've just had the Autumn collection arrive.

So these are the new women's boots for winter, in two different leather effects. I chose the centre boot, called Viola, in rich brown. I have a similar pair from three years ago in black, and below you can see my pair from two years ago, in red. So I chose the brown to look well with my leopard skin coat. I can wear them with jeggings underneath, or with tights. They look great with either. They take absolutely no wearing in- they are soft and comfortable from day one. You can also see from the photo below that even after two years and constant wear, they don't fall apart. You would have a hard time wearing out a pair of Dr Martens in fact!

So there you go, a one stop shop for shoes for both your primary and secondary school aged kids, sturdy school bags, and finally something for you to wear on the school run too!

I think I will be making a return visit to buy the light bluey green shoes that caught my eye. 

Today, I Come Clean And Admit My Secret Love : Crocs

I'm on a mission to change your mind about Crocs. The words 'stylish', 'fashionable' and 'aspirational' aren't ones you would automatically pair with the world or Crocs shoes. They are thought of as a brand only worn by the under 5 year olds & the over 50 year olds around the house. Classic Crocs are those bright plastic clogs with ventilation holes around the toes, you know, your Grandad has them for gardening. 

I thought would rather go barefoot to a fashion event than turn up in classic Crocs and be 'that awful shoes girl' for the rest of my sociable life. That was until I stumbled upon an article about Crocs written by a woman about my age, about how she couldn't walk in heels, but found her feet in a pair of wedge pump Crocs. 

She said she never could master walking in heels, but wanted to be one of those women who walk around in heels all day with the same ease as if they were barefoot. She asked a friend how she did it, without having painful feet, ripped to shreds by the end of the working day. She shared her secret- Crocs branded heels. 

They take the biggest selling point of regular Crocs, their comfort, and engineer that into other shoe designs like wedges, sandals and cute pumps. The woman in the article bought her first pair of Crocs wedge heels and was a convert. My interest was piqued.

I guiltily opened up a private browsing tab and loaded up  Crocs UK website. I went first to check for bargains on the sale section of the store.

I found a pair of grey wedge heels for £20 and chose size 4. They arrived and were true to size for a size 4 wearing with tights. I couldn't believe the comfort. Usually even with flat pumps you are in with the risk of them hurting the back of your foot while you 'break them in', but the Crocs wedges were soft and comfy. And yes! I could walk in them! 

Crocs also sent me a pair of summery pumps, the Sienna design, in a bright red. Again the size 4 was true to size and needed no breaking in, even wearing with just tights. I've had compliments wearing them out and about, and everyone is shocked when I tell them they are Crocs!

So now I'm an unofficial Crocs ambassador! I sing their praises for heels to learn to walk in, and comfortable shoes that don't cut the ankles off you. And yes, I'm going to a fashion event on the 5th of May and I'll be proudly wearing my Crocs!

Here are some of the current styles on the Crocs website, and make sure you join the  Crocs UK Facebook page to be the first to hear about offers and new styles.

Dr. Martens: Do You Remember Your First Time?

Last week, Dr. Martens got in touch and wanted to offer Michael his first ever pair of DMs. They currently have an  Adventure Time themed collection, in kids' and adult sizes.

Fans of the quirky cartoon will love these, and you can even wear your Adventure Time fandom subtlety with the Marceline design in black & white. 

So as it was half term, Michael and I took a trip up to the Belfast Doc Shop so he could choose a pair, and of course pop into Yo Sushi, it would have been rude not to. 

The Cornmarket sited store is packed with designs for all the family, right down to newborn sized booties. 

Belfast Dr. Martens store downstairs.

Belfast Dr. Martens store upstairs

Also blue patent on the top shelf out of shot

So Michael had a lot to choose from, but after looking at the designs online when we got inside, he just threw a bit of a strop and wouldn't even try them on. I think he was dying to get to Yo Sushi, so instead the staff suggested I pick myself a pair. I know, blogging is tough sometimes ;-)

 I was pretty peeved off that Michael wouldn't choose a pair, as it's a really great quality boot to have, and go only has trainers really. But what can you do? I wasn't going to force a pair on him. Although when he found out later his best friend Connie has a shiny black pair, I think he wished he hadn't thrown a strop?

I actually am 'well stocked' in Dr. Marten's boots myself. I have mid-calf high zip up boots in black, which still are as new despite being worn for three winters of icy school runs and coastal path danders. Before them I owned the same design in brown.

My newest pair I wore along to the store visit. I got them last October and chose a design with a little more height, ox blood, matt, knee-heigh zip ups. That's them below.

The leather used in these casual, daily wear style boots, is a lot softer than the classic Dr. Marten eyelet boot. There's no 'breaking them in' process, and they keep their shape and don't slouch, even on matchstick legs like I have (spindly legs yet still have a double chin in this photo!) 

In the store's flash sale they had this ankle boot, Gayle, down from £95 to £65. I think for the quality and longevity of a pair of Doc Martens, that's a very decent price. You could look at it this way; they last so well that in 7 years time when you are still using them for Autumn and winter, you'll have paid less than £10 a year. It's simple, shopping mall mathematics, or rather any excuse to buy some lovely boots.

The tweed print is what drew me to this pair, which is also available in black. The buckles are adjustable, but with my tiny ankles I don't need to undo them to put them on. I'm not a huge fan of ankle boots, but these I like.

Detail on the Gayle boot in brown

And to keep them looking new every autumn, they included this water & stain spray, which I can use to liven up my existing pairs, and even leather handbags, or suede, or nubuck.

So I was disappointed that Michael didn't want to play along and receive his first ever Dr. Martens, but it made me remember MY first pair. I was about 13 or 14, so it must have been the early 90s.

EVERYONE had Dr. Marten boots. I remember one non-uniform day at Sullivan Upper, my schoo, and at least half the class proudly sporting the cherry red, ox blood red, or black boots. I really, REALLY wanted a pair. 

It wasn't the price that was the problem, my Mum didn't mind paying that sort of price for winter boots, but my parents really didn't want their little 13 year old girl, stomping around in big boots that they were used to seeing punks wearing. 

My first Dr. Marten's, bought around 1993 when I was 13

Finally they gave in, but I couldn't get leather, or black, or loads of height. My first pair were suede, green, six eyelet boots and I LOVED them. 

So, thinking Michael was supposed to get his first ever pair, and thinking about my green, suede wonders, I decided to ask Twitter did they remember their first pair of Dr. Martens.

So many people replied, with fond stories about them at that age, or what they got up to in their first pair. Many, like me, had to convince their middle class, church-going, Northern Irish parents, that Dr. Martens weren't just for punks or naughty boys & girls. Now we would think nothing of getting a child a pair, there's even newborn baby size!

So it's clear Dr. Martens as a brand means more than just fashion, when people have such clear memories of their first pair. Signing off, here's a selection of the replies. 

Maybe his Real Name is Doctor Marten Who?

Doctor Who loves his Doc Martens. He's worn versions of the British boot in various regenerations, and his assistants are keen on the versatile, hard-wearing but fashionable brand too. 

The blog The Fashion of Doctor Who should be a terrific bookmark if you love the costumes on the show. It can help you locate pieces you see the characters wearing on screen.

On Thursday I'll be at the VIP opening of the new Doctor Marten shop in Belfast, so I'll keep my eyes pealed for the TARDIS. If I meet him I'll ask him does he own a pair of these- TARDIS Ugg slippers.

Loafun.com Made Me Some World of Kitsch Shoes!

Loafun is a fledgling, fun, design community which allows members to design their own converse style shoe. The site gives you the tools to put together your custom design, then the in-house artists will hand paint your trainers, and ship. They also plan on running design competitions around a theme, a bit like Threadless does with t-shirts. So you can also buy designs by talented underground artists. 

For any user/buyer the whole idea behind the concept is "shoe is you" and you can create exactly what you want on the shoe using the online design tools. If you are a designer who just wants to exhibit your designs you can do so as well by uploading your designs and making them available to public. Once approved we display these on our site for people to purchase. We pay designers a royalty based on what design sells online. The designer earns points which he can later redeem for cash/ merchandise as he/she wishes. The designer has absolute control over his designs at any given time as he can control whether to display hide or delete a design he has created unlike blackbox submissions which other social commerce portals (including threadless) currently have.

Loafun wanted me to see for myself how a shoe turns out from design to finish, so here are my very own World of Kitsch shoes, with the logo which was designed for me by Neal McCullough.  The ordering process was very simple, and the trainers are with you quite quickly too, even to the UK.

Engage with them on Loafun's Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest to be part of the movement.