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Gigi Hadid and Hailey Bieber have spoken: Combat boots are this year’s hottest fall trend.
If we’re being honest, the chunky, military-inspired boots have never really gone out of style. But that doesn’t mean the model-favorited boots can’t have an autumnal moment; after all, these must-have shoes are extremely versatile, matching everything from sweatpants to prairie dresses.
As Instagram-ready as these clunky boots are, paparazzi photos, runway shows, and the VSCO girls of the world don’t tell that these fall boots are difficult and painful to break in. Often leaving blisters on the feet and ankles of unsuspecting fashionistas, combat boots need to be thoroughly broken in before you try and wear them around all day.
In honor of treating our feet with the love and respect they deserve, while embracing the latest fall trend, three Teen Vogue editors tried four different methods of breaking in combat boots of varying styles from famed combat boot-purveyor Dr. Martens. These particular boots are known for their stiff, rigid leather, which made them perfect for testing our various break-in methods.
“I would usually recommend that [the boots] be conditioned with a cream conditioner to protect the leather and just wear them, so the leather can break in naturally,” Cobbler Concierge co-owner Joseph A. Rocco tells Teen Vogue. “If you cannot break them in and if they are a little tight, you can go to a shoe repair [store] and have them slightly stretched to try and break them in quicker.”
It should be noted that, although many online sites will recommend you try a “wet method” of breaking in your combat boots, doing so with genuine leather boots like Dr. Martens will most likely ruin the shoe. For the sake of your wallet and closet, avoid the wet method at all costs. Rocco recommends waterproofing your boots and conditioning them regularly to help protect against the environment and help the leather last longer.
Below, the Teen Vogue editors describe the unique technique they used to try and break in their Dr. Marten shoes and exactly how they styled the shoes to embrace the fall trend.
Technique 1: Hammer It Out
Teen Vogue newsletter manager Marilyn La Jeunesse attempted to break in her Dr. Marten’s 1460 BEX combat boots using a hammer, in addition to walking around in the shoes for short periods of time over the course of two weeks.
For this recommended technique, you will need a towel and a hammer or small mallet. One shoe at a time, place your towel over the heel of your combat boot and secure it upside down between your knees; make sure the towel-covered heel is facing away from your body. Carefully, use the side of your hammer or mallet to gently pound the back of the heel. This will help soften the leather in this area of the shoe. However, because this does not help conform the boot to your feet, walking around your house in thick socks prior to your first outing is highly recommended if you want to avoid major blisters.
Number one tip: Covering your boots with a towel, which helps protect the leather, making sure your new boots don’t get any unwanted scuffs on them.
In addition to hammering the heels of the 1460 BEX boot, I wore a pair of socks to help protect my ankles and toes while wearing the boots around my house. And for extra pre-caution, I put bandaids on the sides of my toes in order to avoid any unexpected blisters.
In addition to the hammer technique, I try softening the leather of the shoe with Dr. Martens’s Wonder Balsam prior to wearing them.
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Technique 2: Blow Dry Your Shoes
Commerce editor Bianca Nieves attempted to break-in a pair of Dr. Martens Holly Buttero shoes over the course of two weeks. Bianca used a hair drying technique to help soften the leather on the shoe. To execute this technique, you will need a pair of thick socks, Wonder Balsam, and a hairdryer. After applying a thin layer of the Balsam to your shoe, place the shoe on your foot and aim the hairdryer on the lowest setting at your boot.
“Over the course of two weeks, I blow-dried the toe area of my boots on medium heat for about three minutes each,” Bianca tells Teen Vogue. "Of course, since they're a low-cut version of the famed combat boot, [they] were much easier to [break in], but this technique helped a bit as I could double up the heat without damaging the leather."
It’s important to make sure you don’t have the setting on your hair dryer too high in heat as you can seriously damage the leather. And, while the Balsam isn’t required, it does help to soften the leather quicker.
“After blow-drying them, I wore them around the house as I got ready to really stretch them out,” Bianca explains. "I need to highlight [that] since I sized up, and [the shoes] don't fit extremely snug on me; they already felt a bit stretched out. However, I did insert some soles in them to fill 'em up without having to wear double socks."
After attempting the hairdryer technique on both feet, walk around your apartment for a few hours to help break in the boot. Repeat if necessary.
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Technique 3: Stuffed Boots
Fashion editor Sara Radin is no stranger to breaking in new shoes, but she hasn’t found a tried-and-true technique to breaking in particularly rigid boots. So, to break in her Dr. Martens 1460 Patent boots Sara opted to try the lesser-known newspaper method.
All you need to test this technique at home is a good, old-fashioned newspaper. Remove the laces on your boots and stuff as must newspaper as you can in the toe of your boot. To make this easier, crumble individual newspaper pages prior to putting them in your boot. This should help stretch out the toe of your boot in place of a traditional shoe expander.
“I’ve never owned Docs but always wanted a pair. However, when I tried them on a few years ago, I realized they didn’t really fit my feet since they don’t come in half-sizes," Sara tells Teen Vogue. "The 6 was too small, and the 7 was too big. I temporarily gave on my dream of owning them until our team decided to write this story. I decided to size up this time and go for the bigger size, then wear thick socks. "
"While I didn’t find that the newspaper print tactic made a huge difference in a week (it probably would’ve if I had done it over several months!), I did find that immediately having the shoes in a bigger size meant that there is ample room for my feet to move around and not rub up against the sides. A friend of mine also recommended the brand’s insoles so I’m planning on trying that next!”
Like the other techniques, it’s recommended that you walk around in your boots for a few hours at a time before attempting to wear them for a full-day. Making sure the boot is conformed to your foot will help prevent unnecessary pain (read: no painful blisters for you!).
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Technique 4: Massage Your Shoes
In addition to investing in a pair of thick socks, massaging the leather of your shoes is a good way to break-in stiff boots before wearing them for a full-day. For this technique, I recommend using Dr. Martens’s Wonder Balsam to soften the leather of the boot. After allotting a decent amount of time for the balsam to dry, gently bend your shoe at the crease of the toe, carefully fold in the heel, and massage the rest of the leather to loosen it up.
I attempted this “massage” technique with Dr. Martens Averil Arcadia combat boot. I repeatedly folded the crease of the toe cap, heel, and tongue of the shoe to make the leather softer over the course of two weeks. Additionally, I wore the shoes around my house with a pair of thick socks to help better break-in the boots.
It's true, every combat boot is different, and I felt that these heeled boots were easier to break in than the others. I think folding the shoe gently really helped soften the leather, making it less tough on my feet when I tried to wear them around the house.
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