How to Customize Your Dr. Martens

Dr. Martens (more popularly known as Doc Martens) shoes provide superior comfort thanks to their thick, air-cushioned sole. The company manufactures and sells an assortment of men’s, women’s, and children’s boots, shoes, and sandals, and many people enjoyDr. Martens not only for their comfort, but also due to the style statement that the shoes make. Their air-cushioned sole lends a distinctive look to all of Dr. Martens' shoes, but if you want to make your Docs appear even more distinctive, customization of these shoes and boots allows you to create your own style statement. Customizing them is easy, provided that you use a few simple materials and techniques.


Types of Dr. Martens Shoes
Dr. Martens offers an array of shoes in different styles and shapes. These shoes can then serve as the canvas upon which you can apply customized features.



Type
Examples
Men’s Boots and Shoes

Boots

Lace shoes

Slip-on shoes

Sandals

Clogs

Women’s Boots and Shoes

Boots

Lace shoes

Mary Janes

Slip-on shoes

Sandals

Children’s Boots and Shoes

Crib sizes

Infant sizes

Junior sizes



Dr. Martens shoes also come in an array of colors and designs, as well as in vintage versions of the shoes. For those concerned with animal treatment, Dr. Martens also manufactures vegan shoes.


How to Customize Your Dr. Martens
Dr. Martens serve as the perfect blank canvas upon which you can apply your own style. This is especially true for its boots, which provide plenty of surface area for crafting a completely custom shoe or boot.

Paint a Design
Painting boots or shoes serves as the perfect method of customization, as painting them allows you to create custom designs and colors directly on the surface of the shoe or boot, resulting in a completely unique product and turning your Dr. Martens into wearable art. Painting design ideas include flags, meaningful words, tattoo art, bright colors, lightning, logos, geometric graphics, flowers, botanicals, hearts, or other designs. You can use your imagination to create a meaningful design, or you can look to the Internet and fashion magazines for design ideas and then create several sketches to find a design that you enjoy.

Step 1
To paint Dr. Martens boots and shoes, you need leather stripper and preparer, rags, paintbrushes, stencils, leather paints, pencils, masking tape, Dr. Martens shoes or boots, and acrylic finisher. You should work in a well-lit area away from flames and with good ventilation. In addition, make sure to protect your work surfaces with several layers of newspaper, and consider wearing goggles and protection for your clothing.

Step 2
You can start by preparing the surface of the shoes or boots. Next, apply the leather stripper and preparer to a rag or sponge and wipe it across the leather surface. Follow the manufacturer's instructions on the leather stripper for this step, and then allow the boots or shoes to dry completely before continuing.

Step 3
Next, paint the shoes a base color using leather paints, though you should never paint the soles of the shoes. After painting, allow the base coat to dry completely before moving forward.

Step 4
If you are creating a complex design, sketch it on the shoes with a pencil. Alternatively, you can outline the design with masking tape or apply it using stencils. With the design in place, use an appropriately sized paintbrush and colors of leather paint to fill in the design, and then allow it to dry completely. Afterwards, touch up any areas that need it and allow the touch-ups to dry.

Step 5
Finally, apply the acrylic finisher to the shoes by following the manufacturer's instructions. Allow this to dry completely and then store or wear the boots or shoes.

Add Color or Metallic Paint
Using the above instructions for painting designs, you can also create a custom boot in a solid color, such as metallic gold or hot pink, using leather paints in lieu of a particular design. To do so, apply a few coats of paint for complete coverage, allowing the paint to dry completely between coats. You can paint the entire shoe or create blocks of color, based upon your personal preference. Then, apply the acrylic sealer as the final layer.

Add Custom Laces
You can also add customized laces to painted or plain boots or shoes. Numerous types of custom laces exist, or you can create your own using ribbon, strips of leather, sizing, brightly colored shoelaces, or printed shoelaces.

Add Studs
As another design option, Dr. Martens sells studs that allow you to personalize your shoes. To do so, you simply screw the studs through the lace eyelets, though you must make sure to avoid puncturing the leather with them when using them.


How to Buy Dr. Martens on eBay
To create wearable art, you can start by choosing a stylishDr. Martens shoe or boot by browsing the listings on eBay. With so many styles to select from, finding the perfect style for you is easy, particularly since top-rated sellers on the site offer an array of new, used, and vintage Dr. Martens shoes and boots. To find them, you can enter any appropriate keywords into the search field that is available on every eBay page. Then, you can narrow your results using the categories that eBay provides. In order to express creativity that you can display every day, find the perfect pair of Dr. Martens and then create your very own custom shoes.