Dr. Martens Maccy Mary Jane (Little Kid/Big Kid)

Dr. Martens, the stuff of legends, has a fascinating history that began in 1945 near Munich, Germany. It all started when Dr. Klaus Maertens, injured his foot in a skiing accident in the Bavarian Alps. To make walking easier during the healing process, he designed a shoe with an air-cushioned sole. Using old rubber tires, he constructed soles that had air trapped within closed compartments. He then showed his prototype to his engineer/inventor friend, Dr. Herbert Funck, and together they decided to develop and produce the shoes.

The air-cushioned sole not only solved the doctor's immediate problem, but it also started to sell well in Germany. By 1959, the two decided that they needed a company to produce and distribute the shoes, then called Dr. Maertens, in other parts of the world. However, at first, many manufacturers rejected the concept of an air-cushioned sole as a short-lived gimmick.

Nonetheless, the R. Griggs Group, located in the village of Wollaston in England, decided to go along with the idea by creating the first work boot with the revolutionary sole. On the first of April 1960, the first cherry red eight-eyelet work boot was produced and named 1460. To sell the brand name better in England, the name was anglicized to Dr. Martens. The range was branded AirWair, and the rest is history.

As for the product details, the Dr. Martens Mary Jane features a 100% man-made fabric and is machine washable. The sole material is also man-made, and the platform height is 0.5 inches. The shoe has a round-toe design with a signature Airwave sole, a lightly padded collar, and an adjustable hook-and-loop strap.

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