Hello -

I've just purchased two pairs of Docs (Dr Marten's) boots - decades after purchasing my original Doc faves, and I want to make sure that I treat them well, right out of the box (unlike the ones I bought as a student when I didn't know the value of investing in the care of expensive footwear!)


I'm trying to find the right products to:
  1. Help me to break in these shoes (I can still recall the pain of breaking in my previous Docs, decades later!) My feet are wide and Docs tend to be narrow - I will need to put significant effort into breaking them in, especially widening them without damaging them.
  2. Protecting them from basic day-to-day risks. (Generally, these will be indoor shoes - I live North of 60, and like Mr. Rogers I change in and out of footwear suitable to the environment whenever possible!) Some moderate water damage protection, stain protection if possible.
  3. Cleaning products for when the inevitable dirt, etc. gets on the footwear.


I'm particularly concerned about the Jadon Cow-print hair-on boots. They are white - which is an inevitable invitation to stains - and although I read some of the material on the Leather Doctor site and the forums about hair-on-hide, it was all pretty specific to rugs, etc. I don't know enough about caring for quality leather to be certain how much is transferable to shoes vs. rugs. I've never had footwear that was hide-on leather, and I do not trust the run-of-the-mill info on big retail sites in regard to its specific needs.

Docs are costly, and I also have some nice (and very expensive!) Fluvogs that need some conditioning and TLC. At half a century, I'm stodgy enough to worry about spending money and experienced enough to be willing to invest what more I can in protecting the investment I've already made in well-constructed footwear (even if I'm still young-at-heart enough to wear cow-print boots! )

I've included links to the products just in case it's at all useful to see the items. It's to the UK site (I had to buy these internationally because they're not available on the Canadian drmartens store).

I'd appreciate some advice on the best products/tools to help me get my shoes ready for making years of new memories. With any luck, these shoes will outlast me!

TYIA for any suggestions!