doc martens

Hello Kitty Purrs Her Way on to Dr. Martens

Filed under: Shoes

What was once a serious working man's boot will, 50 years later, sport the image of the "world's most adorable kitten" on it. Somewhere, someone is spinning in a grave -- but don't expect that someone to be the Hello Kitty fans eager to be wearing one of the limited edition Dr. Martens coming out in September.

Dr. Martens ("Doc Martens" for the uninitiated) boots transitioned from being a working-class essential to a counter-culture icon back in the 1960s. To sport your "Docs" was to wear your politics, much the same as long hair and bell-bottom jeans. They spoke rebellion and hipness and were probably the first statement shoe to be declared as such. Today's Docs are simply cool, favored by the music scene and regularly sold with MP3 download tie-ins.

Created in the Munich garage of Dr. Klaus Maertens, who eventually teamed up with the Griggs shoe-making family of Great Britain, the sturdy boot was born, a boot that felt -- and still feels -- like you were walking on air. The cat -- as in Hello Kitty -- didn't come up this alley until of late.

Gallery: Hello Kitty Dr. Martens