# Dr. Martens: Boots, Subcultures and Lace Colour Myths > How Dr. Martens boots became staples of skinhead, punk and goth style, the truth behind lace colour myths, and the boot's history since 1960. - Source: https://menvafan.net/annat/dr-martens-and-subcultures/ - Section: Punk Stuff - Language: en - Published: 2026-10-17 - Updated: 2026-10-17 **In short:** Dr. Martens began as a work boot designed by a German doctor and was later adopted by British subcultures, from skinheads to punks. The boot's meaning has always been local and shifting, and there is no evidence for a universal lace colour code. Today the brand is global, with most production in Asia, but it still retains a symbolic place in the scenes that first wore it. Dr. Martens started as a work boot, not a fashion item. Klaus Märtens, a German doctor, injured his ankle skiing in 1945 and designed improvements to his boots; with Herbert Funck he began making shoes with air-cushioned soles in 1947. British manufacturer R. Griggs Group bought the patent rights in 1959, anglicised the name, reshaped the heel and added the trademark yellow stitching. The eight-eyelet cherry-red 1460 boot arrived on 1 April 1960; the three-eyelet 1461 shoe followed a year later. Both are still the company's best sellers. ## When did Dr. Martens become subcultural? The boots were first popular with workers — postmen, police officers, factory workers. By the later 1960s, skinheads had picked them up. That fit was not a marketing campaign: skinheads were a working-class youth movement defined by close-cropped hair and practical clothing, and in the 1960s they wore army surplus or generic work boots before Dr. Martens became the standard. The boots were worn with jeans hemmed or rolled short to show them off, along with braces and button-down shirts. By the late 1970s the boot had spread to scooter riders, punks, some new-wave musicians and other youth subcultures. Punk footwear in that era included military boots, motorcycle boots, brothel creepers and Chuck Taylor All-Stars, with Dr. Martens arriving later in the list. In the 1980s, Dr. Martens boots were common in the punk scene on both sides of the Atlantic, sometimes adorned with bandanas, chains or studded leather bands. ## What did the boot mean inside the scenes? For skinheads, the look was tied to working-class solidarity and, for some, a rejection of both 1950s austerity and the middle-class hippie ethos. The subculture later split politically, and in Britain it became associated in the public eye with far-right groups such as the National Front and British Movement — an association that also stuck to the brand for a time. Many skins described themselves as apolitical, and groups such as Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice formed in response to the neo-Nazi wing. Punk fashion, meanwhile, used clothing to provoke. Dr. Martens slotted into a wardrobe of ripped and pinned clothes, leather and PVC, and deliberately offensive imagery. The boot's utility and toughness suited a movement that valued a DIY ethos over polish. ## Do lace colours actually mean anything? The idea of a fixed lace code is a myth. Colour has been used to signal affiliation in some scenes — braces and flight jacket colours, for instance, varied regionally and meant entirely different things in different places and periods. The same logic applies to laces: meanings are local and fluid, and only people from the same area and time period are likely to interpret them accurately. Treat any claim of a universal code with suspicion. ## Are Dr. Martens still tied to subcultures? Yes, but the relationship has changed. The brand is now global: it was listed on the London Stock Exchange in January 2021 at a value of £3.7 billion, and in 2019 annual revenue was £454 million. Production moved to Asia in 2003, and in 2018 only about one percent of ten million pairs was made in the UK. A small "Vintage" line is still made at the Cobbs Lane factory in Wollaston, to original specifications, but volumes are low — around 50 pairs a day in 2010. The boot remains a symbol within the scenes that adopted it, and it still turns up in collaborations that nod to that history. But most people wearing DMs today have no connection to punk or skinhead culture, and that is worth remembering before reading too much into a pair on the street. ## Where can I read more? For a broader look at punk style, see our guide to [making a punk battle jacket](/annat/battle-jacket-guide/). If you're interested in the music that shaped these scenes, read about [UK82 street punk](/Musik/uk82-street-punk/) and [Crass and anarcho-punk](/Musik/crass-and-anarcho-punk/). For the Swedish context, check out [Swedish punk's first wave](/Musik/ebba-gron-swedish-punk-1977/). ## FAQ ### Did Dr. Martens pay to be adopted by skinheads and punks? No. The adoption appears to have been organic: skinheads wore army surplus or generic work boots in the 1960s, with Dr. Martens boots and shoes coming later, and punks later picked up the boots as part of a wider wardrobe that included military and motorcycle boots. ### Do lace colours on Dr. Martens have a fixed meaning? Lace colours are not specifically documented, but colour signals in skinhead culture (such as braces or flight jacket colours) varied regionally and meant different things in different places and periods. Only people from the same area and time period are likely to interpret them accurately. ### Are Dr. Martens still made in the UK? Most are not. Production moved to Asia in 2003, and in 2018 only about one percent of ten million pairs was made in the UK. A small 'Vintage' line is still made at the Cobbs Lane factory in Wollaston, but volumes are low—around 50 pairs a day in 2010. ### Why did Dr. Martens become associated with violence? The shoes' popularity among politically right-wing skinheads led to the brand gaining an association with violence. This was part of a wider public association of the skinhead subculture with far-right groups like the National Front and British Movement, even though many skins described themselves as apolitical.