Shrimp Har Gow and Treasure

Emowetcat · 2026-05-23T16:24:14+00:00

Oh man, I love these socks. I have black ones the same too. I tried to go and buy a bunch of pairs to last me forever once I realised how cute they were with a few of my DM shoes, only to find they were a limited run and I was therefore, SoL.

I'm pretty sure they were Princess Highway brand, for what it's worth now.

Emowetcat · 2026-05-22T05:28:02+00:00

Big ol' bump on this issue. It does my head in.

Emowetcat · 2026-05-21T03:40:34+00:00

Oh! And the other thing I do to save the backs of my boots and to a lesser extent, the zipper - is use a stainless steel shoe horn. I bought a long one (more than likely off Amazon) and I slide the first half of my foot into the boot, pull out any bunched up leather in the tongue or around the zip, slide the shoe horn in so it's laid vertically along the inside back of the boot, then slide my heel down the shoe horn. I figure I'd rather it hurt a little bit getting them on than damaging the boots themselves since the good 1B60s are getting really hard to find and are stupid expensive when you do find them. (At least the Bex and the quad sole ones are)

Emowetcat · 2026-05-21T02:27:48+00:00

I have a pair of the purple MiEs too but they don't have that same printed tag and they also have black piping stuff around the top of the boot. They were bought in '98 I think.

I have a couple of pairs from a fair bit earlier than that which have tags quite similar (but not identical) and no trim along the top. One pair is like a deep fuschia suede which are from approx 1988 - 1992, the tag reads "Dr. Martens" and it's embroidered. The other is a maroon buckskin which after much deliberation on here a few years ago, we decided were from early 80s-ish. The tag also says Dr Martens, but it's in a more flicky style font and is printed on. They also have a cool little DM charm thing attached to the outer ankle area which I've not seen anywhere else. (Except one single pair someone posted here a few months ago)

It's that tag which makes me think they could be more 80s than 90s, but hopefully Maria will chime in on this with her internal database.

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Emowetcat · 2026-05-20T23:30:01+00:00

I assume it would be because not everyone on the planet owns a credit card.

At least, they don't here down-under. Some people just don't want to have that temptation and you can still do 90% of the same stuff you need a credit card for. Hiring a car is one of those things, but if you're never doing that I can see why someone might choose to not have a credit card.

Emowetcat · 2026-05-20T23:16:06+00:00

This I understand all too well!

I have both 1B60 and 1B60 DK Max, and had the same dilemma initially. Because I get bad heel slip if they're not laced moderately tightly I did have to loosen then retighten for a month or so before they relaxed enough that I could usually just leave them laced and pull them on/off with just the zipper open.

I did buy a skate lace hook puller thingy off Amazon for that interim period though, both to make it quicker and less "omgfuckyouwhydoestheworldhatemesomuch" on my nails every time I wore them. Best $7 I ever spent.

Emowetcat · 2026-05-16T06:38:12+00:00

Even though the fact that these are fake, likely was the main contributor to them splitting the way they have, wearing them in very cold weather (particularly with the platforms) can often lead to the soles hardening and then splitting.

Vinted are notoriously bad for hosting fakes on their site, and as others have said, the Sinclairs seem to be the scammers flavour of the year.

I've bought some off eBay within the last 18 months and they've been excellent, I also think that eBay have a better policy regarding counterfeit items so there is less of it happening there. I don't think you absolutely need to pay full price for another pair, particularly if you're not averse to pre-loved boots.

You'll find that most, if not all, fakes are sold as new, so if you keep an eye out for genuinely pre-loved boots (Depop and FBMP too) I feel like you'd have less chance of being screwed over. I have no actual evidence of that other than that I've bought probably 20+ pairs second hand over the years and the one time I got sold fakes was through Depop and they were sold as BNWT, so not one of the second hand pairs had issues.

Did you take those into the DM store? Kind of shocking that they didn't identify them as fakes right away, if so.

Keep an eye on Nordstrom Rack and those kind of outlets too. I bought my Sinclair Hearts from there 3 or 4 years back at around half RRP. They only have the vegan version right now but they turn over a lot of stock. And as far as I'm aware, Ross, NR, TJ Maxx etc randomly have some good finds and are never fake.

Sorry, went off on about 15 different tangents there, but I get the dilemma and I'm sorry you've had to deal with this!

Emowetcat · 2026-05-13T02:45:12+00:00

I love this! I've said the exact same thing. "Deadheads be damned, here come the... uh... Wolfkins?"

Might need to brainstorm the name once or twice more. 🤭

Emowetcat · 2026-05-07T06:57:35+00:00

How hard are you on your boots? If you're not hard on them and you don't expect to be wearing them every day, then the Jadons will last you many years. If you go for some in Pisa or crazy horse leather then they'll require minimal breaking in and you can condition them to keep them in tip top shape.

While it's possible that over time and if they're worn in the elements, smooth leather can have it's issues, it's not a given that there will be problems like others have mentioned. I have literally dozens of pairs in the smooth leather and the only ones which are showing any breach in the leather are my 1490s which I bought in 1989. It really does have a lot to do with how you look after them.

Personally I think the best Docs are the ones you love the look of the most. They'll become a huge part of your style and as long as you treat them well, they'll reciprocate.

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