Courtesy
As a child, I wanted to attend Catholic school just so I could rebel. I fantasized about nuns getting mad at me for listening to and pretending to like The Used, sneaking out of Sunday service to smoke behind the church, and hiking up my uniform skirt with safety pins stolen from my grandma’s sewing tin that sometimes had cookies in it. I wanted to be bad in a way that my public school education wouldn’t let me.
At best, I’d channel Fairuza Balk in The Craft (and at worst, I’d look like Lizzie McGuire in that episode where she has a fake nose ring).
Thank god social media didn’t exist in my adolescence, because I don’t need photographic evidence of me cosplaying as a student who only learned abstinence. My teenage aesthetic revolved around Hot Topic bracelets, plaid mini skirts I bought from the children’s department of thrift stores, and a trusty pair of Dr. Martens. The brand’s iconic boots get all the attention when it comes to “alt” footwear, but their newest style is exactly what we need to prep for summer.
Everyone wore a pair of lug-sole boots this past winter, but heavy footwear and warmer weather results in sweaty toes. Fortunately, Dr. Martens strappy Mary Janes allow you to continue wearing chunky soles throughout summer. Dubbed the Bethan, it is a riff on their classic Mary Jane, except this silhouette sits atop a thick, 1.5″ platform. They’re giving you punk Princess Charlotte when she inevitably goes through her prepubescent rebellion like a British version of Chasing Liberty (or My Date With the President’s Daughter—these movies are exactly the same).
Think of these shoes as quarantine homework: Since we’re all staying home, you can break them in while walking to your fridge for the 17th time this afternoon.
