POSTED January 07, 2010

Put This On • Q and Answer: Dr. Martens J.C. askes: I love my… ⚓

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Dr. Martens are indeed a classic. We learned from Quadrophenia that they’re the only thing that the Mods and the Rockers have in common… they’ve always been a symbol of youthful rebellion.

But let’s get semiotic for a moment. Like many sub-culturally specific clothes, they’ve developed very specific associations. Their roots are in mods, punks and skins, but for most people, they recall something else entirely: grunge. They are, essentially, the uniform of the man who has a crush on Janeane Garofalo. Also, Janeane Garofalo.

If you’re old enough to have worn Docs in the early 90s, and you’re not a mod, a punk or a skin - that’s how you’ll be received. As a guy who’s watched “Slacker” too many times. Or, worse, like a guy who’s watched “Reality Bites” too many times. Or even, possibly, like someone who’s watched “Empire Records” too many times. And that’s not really going to fly in 2010.

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