Doc Martens v Solovair

[Edward]

Those are the ones I have Edward. Only issue after a few years is one sole is splitting, horizontally. Probably could get it glued. Good shoes - like a light work boot, but rather heavy for a shoe. We get them from a place in UK where we get my sons gear (Ben Sherman's, etc).

Heavy as a shoe, yeah.... I find them a nice compromise in situations where I'd opt for an engineer boot, but require to do a fair bit more walking than those would be pleasant for.

 

[Grayland]

I bought a pair of DM about 15 years ago, way before I was even aware of the brand. They were in a discount store and I paid about $25 for them. Don't recall where they were made.They were brown without the yellow stitching that is customary. I wore them for at least 7 years and they were amazingly comfortable. Had I known they were going to so nice and durable, I'd have bought 3-4 pairs when I had the chance. I'm a chef-instructor who spent years in restaurants. I still know a lot of chefs who wear DM.

 

[DNO]

I understand that DM moved production to China and Thailand in 2003. At the same time they redesigned the pattern on the sole. A few years later they started making shoes in England again. The Made in England shoes are about twice the price of the asian products. I have two pairs of 5 hole Oxfords made by DM in England prior to 2003. Both acquired from local thrift shops. One pair is pretty stiff and heavy. The other, older, pair is exceptionally comfortable

 

[jimmer_5]

I have worn out plenty of Dr Martens over the years, and I still have a pair today. I have been happy enough with the "Made In China" Dr Martens, but I am not expecting them to last forever. I bought my most recent pair to use as kickaround workboots, and they are holding up nicely. They are pretty beat up - probably as close to good "patina" as I usually get (I am far to kind to my more expensive boots). I have been pretty hard on them, and they are doing well thus far.

These are the ones I currently have: http://www.onlineshoes.com/mens-dr-martens-2295-st-wellington-12-tan-greenland-p_id256891

(edited to add) OK, I took a few pics - here ya go:

What surprises me is that the Solovairs aren't as expensive as I would expect for boots made in England (of course, this is also the case with William Lennon and a few others). Most Dr. Martens boots will run you around $120 -$150, and the Solvairs were around $200. Definitely more, but not as much as you might expect.

 

[SD Matt]

Quick Hello from Solovair

Hello Fedora Lounge, my name is Matt, and I am the US distributor for Solovair and owner of www.SolovairDirect.com referenced earlier. I thought I would stop in to say hello.

I noticed your site from a surge in link traffic from this forum post. Solovair is new to the US (officially, at least) launching about 4 months ago, so we are relatively alert to our customers and any growing interests.

I just wanted to mention that the previous posters are pretty spot on. NPS, who makes solovair, was indeed the original manufacturing partner to Dr Griggs, the inventor of Doc Marten. They are still in the same brick factory from that timeframe, using the same machines, with some of the original employees that made Docs years ago. Doc Marten did indeed re-start manufacturing in the UK after a large amount of negative press for removing all UK based manufacturing. Important to note they contract this manufacturing to other companies, they do not make boots first party in the UK.

I would contend that the Solovair boots are more in keeping with the original "Made in England" Docs of old, tracing back to the original boots, and with an unbroken linage of production. However, I am admittedly a bit biased! At the least, you can feel confident in supporting a true, small UK manufacturer that is privately owned by a local citizen in Wollaston (the factory's village) and the small businesses that distribute and sell them. Thats how I ended up buying my first pair last year after reading about DM pulling up stakes.

If you have any questions, fire away and Ill do my best. Also, I am very interested in getting input on what new products to manufacture and offer in the US/Canada, so feel free to make recommendations or post on our facebook page.

You can always email me at:
matt@solovairdirect.com

 

[Seb Lucas]

I bought my one and only pair of Docs in 1985 when they were fashionable. I had the shoes with yellow thread. They were not all that comfortable and nothing special quality wise, I'd have to say. The sole wore through in about 9 months. Back then I walked everywhere so shoes rarely lasted longer than 12 months. I have the same problem today. I now rotate 5 pairs of Blundstones.

 

[galopede]

Welcome Matt! I'm in Britain and I think you'll find that Dr Klaus Martens invented the shoe in Germany. He went into business with a university friend of his, Dr Herbert Funck. They had a factory in Munich and looking to expand, they were approached by the British shoe manufacturer R Griggs. They bought the rights to the shoes and invented the name Dr. Marten's.

Their original Griggs factory was in Woolaston in Northamptonshire as you say, a famous county for shoes! Whether it is still running I don't know but they also had a factory in Wheatstone on the outskirts of Leicester. I know that as My daughter got me to visit their seconds shop at the factory with my credit card several times in her three year stay at Leicester university!

I still have an excellent pair of the British made cherry red boots from quite a while ago. I once owned a pair of the three hole black shoes and they nearly crippled me. Too narrow for my foot. I now have a pair of the far east ones and they fit perfectly. Go figure as you say over there!

Gareth

 

[ButteMT61]

@ SD Matt: welcome, and well played on the traffic sniffing! Definitely good to know this. Will pass on to the kids who are all into the whole Doc M. thing. They'll be pretty interested in this for sure...

 

[SD Matt]

Totally right Galopede. Invent was definitely the wrong term. Started the Dr Marten brand is more accurate.

Thanks for the hello ButteMT!

Funny story, I found the only baker in the village of Wollaston, as I wanted to order a round of cakes for the guys at factory for being so helpful with the launch of the brand in the US. The woman that owns the bakery lives in the house the Griggs lived in at the time of the launch of Dr Marten! In a further example of the small world of boots in Northamptonshire, when I told this story to the owner of NPS/Solovair, he said "oh yes, Hilary! When she bought the old Griggs house, we bought her old house!

Its a very small world indeed over in Northamptonshire!

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

[video=youtube_share;3a_kkZLnIaE]http://youtu.be/3a_kkZLnIaE[/video]

 

[chikackik]

Seriously I got myself a pair of solovair at a store in Quebec city, they are awesome..quality and comfort just like Dr marten's used to be in early 90's.
They only carry 6 styles for the moment but I know they are selling them online too the store is called UK-AVE
prices are really decent too.

 

[Meerkat]

I first came across the brand in Richard Allens books back in the seventies. Doc's were for kicking people and if you had a ben sherman shirt and no hair you were one bad boy.
I really liked my first pair even if cherry red polish was a rara avis...my second pair I still have ..chelsea boots and seemingly indestructible but the soles were simply not as comfortable as the first pair. They were pricey then and they are relatively pricey now.

 

[pipvh]

I looked into buying a pair of the UK-made Docs but the price... To me it's the same sort of deal as buying an LVC 'donkey jacket.'

I got my first pair in 1976 when I was a 12-year-old part-time punk - oxblood, yellow stitching. The air pockets tended to get punctured but there was a way to repair them with a hot knife - I think the boots even came with instructions. Imagine that happening today. I may even have done it...

 

[pipvh]

[video=youtube;_pKkOOQR7_o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pKkOOQR7_o&feature=kp[/video]

 

[eggleman]

I've picked up a few pairs of Doc's cheap recently at Ross stores whilst visiting the States.
You can normally pick up a pair for $30-$40 ...
beats paying UK prices

 

[Alabama]

My steel toe work DM's were crap they leaked after 6 months.

 

[Worf]

Went to the Solovair website. No products on the site. They still in business?

Worf

 

[Grayland]

Went to the Solovair website. No products on the site. They still in business?

Worf

They still make them.

http://epauletnewyork.com/collections/footwear/products/coventry-oxblood-10-eye-boot

 

[Justhandguns]

Went to the Solovair website. No products on the site. They still in business?

Worf

Are you sure?

http://www.solovair.co.uk/products/all-shoes/

 

[devilish]

In Worf's defense, they weren't there yesterday. They had a message up saying they'd had a break down in production and were working to get things back to normal soon. I guess they meant 'really soon'.
Edit: It was the Solovair Direct site for US sales that has that message up.