Dr Martens Made in England vs Regular: The Most Expensive vs the Cheapest

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Dr. Martens made-in-England boots cost $260, but if I took away the book, dust bag, and fancy dancy box that come with it, they’d cost $250. So which one is a better deal? They are $90 more than Dr. Martens made in Thailand. They do use a rare Quilon leather, support your feet better, and are actually slimmer than the made-in-Thailand ones. Today, we’re going to break down every single difference between those made in Thailand and those made in England down to the sparkly thread used on the pull tabs, and we’re going to try to assign a price to them. And I’ll let you know why, in my last Dr. Martens review, I suggested you just stick with the cheaper ones.

Why can they charge an extra $90? What goes into it? I’m gonna break Dr Martens Made in England vs Regular down as much as I can. I will say, obviously, I don’t know the exact prices. These are estimates, so just pretend that these numbers are just for fun and made up, and then I’ll tell you if you should get these or not. In my last review of Dr. Martens, I said that probably no one should get them, but there are some people that should.

Quick Comparison Table

Putting the Dr. In Perspective

Here are some numbers on Dr. Martens made in England vs. regular. Dr. Martens sells about 14 million pairs of boots a year. About 100,000 of those are made in England, so it’s around one percent. Made-in-Thailand can automatically save some costs because they’re doing 14 million pairs of them a year, so they have scale on their side. Made-in-England is still 100,000. That’s a huge boot company, but it’s not like made-in-Thailand, so that’s a really big thing to consider with the cost going down, but also not that really big of a thing.

Accoutrements

The first category is definitely the smallest. It’s just add-ons that you get when you buy a pair of made-in-England Dr. Marten Boots. Number one is a little book that just tells you how the boots are made in England. Number two is a little dust cover that you’re supposed to put your boots in when you’re not wearing them, I guess. And then the third is just kind of a beefed-up shoe box. It’s one of those shoe boxes that you would put old photos of your lover in instead of throw it away. You know how you can’t throw away an iPhone box because it just feels like it’s a really nice box? Same thing here.

I printed out a care guide and a flasher for the Prologue Jacket for The Snail, and those are very expensive if you make them nice, but if you order over a hundred thousand of them, the price definitely goes down. So, if I had to estimate, I would say the paper would be one dollar, the bag would be two dollars, and the box would also be two dollars. Honestly, I’m going higher than I actually think these prices are just because if not, we’re going to be talking cents, and I don’t want to be making any sense. And, of course, we’ll cover the most controversial thing, the leather, but we’re gonna wait until the end because there’s a little bit of a discussion we have to have there because Dr. Martens aren’t supposed to have an unfinished leather on them if you want a Dr. Martens original boot.

The Guts

Pull Tab and Outsole

Okay, so, breaking things down, the first thing you’ll notice is the pull tab is shiny. Now that’s crazy. Using some metallic thread?

Dr. Martens, you crazy son of a… And working our way up, the outsole is a heavier rubber, which is interesting because when people say vintage Dr. Martens are better, like Dr. Martens from the 90s, I don’t think they’re talking about the leather because the leather holds up kind of regardless if you go made-in-Thailand or made-in-England. When people are wearing Dr. Martens to absolute shreds, the sole is probably what wears out first.

Midsole Construction

Then, if we look at the midsole, you’ll see it’s a felted material and not a foam material. It’s probably still polyester, but instead of foam that compresses over time, felt is already basically compressed, so it should just mold to your feet and stay the same for its entire life.

How long does foam take to compress when you’re comparing it to felted material? I don’t know; it could be days, it could be months, it could be years. I don’t know if it’s that big of a factor, to be honest, because I don’t have enough information, but felted material definitely kind of survives forever, so you’re better off there.

Welt Material

The other thing is the welt material – the welt is this little strip that goes around the boot before where the sole is attached so that way you can pop a sole off and put another sole back on so your boots stay alive longer – it’s better on made-in-England Dr. Martens.

I think if I had to guess, the actual material is different because if you look at the welts made in Thailand versus those made in England, you’ll see that the made-in-England ones are ribbed for your pleasure.

Boot Last

Now, this doesn’t affect price, but the made-in-England boots also have a different last. If you don’t know what a last is, think of the shape of a foot that a boot is molded around. So the last that makes these boots is thinner, slimmer, sleeker, sexier, and ribbed for your pleasure, and that’s about it. It’s just a slimmer design and maybe a little bit smaller.

Leather

And now the most controversial topic when comparing Dr. Martens made in England vs. regular, which would be the leather. There’s a philosophy around Dr. Martens. Dr. Martens are not supposed to be a Red Wings or a Viberg or something like that. They’re specifically Dr. Martens. That’s why when I say, “Is $160-$170 a good deal for Dr. Martens?” Maybe not, maybe it can get a little bit cheaper, but it is kind of a good deal. And if you’re looking for Dr. Martens, you’re not usually looking for anything else.

That brings us to leather, and we’re going to talk about Quilon leather. The one thing that we truly don’t know, by the way, is if this leather is any different, or if it’s just treated differently, or if they select a better piece of the hide for made-in-England boots. When we’re talking about the leather used on made-in-England Dr. Martens, Dr. Martens calls it Quilon leather, and that’s really all they say. They say it’s a premium leather but I think their lack of describing why it’s a premium leather kind of gives you all the information that you need.

Also, Quillon refers to the texture on the outside of the boot. It’s not super smooth like glass. It has fake pores basically stamped onto the leather, but it’s still finished, so there’s plastic on the outside, which is great if you want really, really water-resistant boots, but a lot of people like to see the actual natural grain of the leather. If it’s covered, you can get really bad leather and cover up the scars and dents on that leather with plastic, but that’s the interesting thing about Dr. Martens.

I think the purpose of Dr. Martens, or what a lot of people like about Dr. Martens, is that they are heavily finished. If the made-in-Thailand ones get scratched, they’ll stay black because they’re black all the way through. The made-in-England ones will turn brown where they’re scratched and where that finish wears away, and you can fill it in with shoe polish or whatever. But I feel like a large number of people want the drum-dyed Dr. Martens, and that’s how they used to do it in the 70s, so I don’t really know their strategy here, but I think it’s just a bigger differentiation, so people are like, “Oh, these are nicer boots.”

Price Gap Analysis

Cost-wise, I would say the upgraded leather, and this could just be the time it takes for someone to actually find the nicer parts of the leather: ten dollars, felted material: two dollars, different rubber bottom, which is made in England in the actual factory: five dollars, the different pull tab: 50 cents, different last: zero dollars but still, slimmer, sleeker, sexier, ribbed for your (sorry, I’ll stop) and then the rubber welt being a better material: 50 cents. Nothing crazy. Again, I’m really saying what it’s worth to me technically because I’m making these numbers up out of my butt.

Okay, so if you’re good at math, you’ve probably added 18 plus 5 and found the answer to be 23, which means there is $67 left unaccounted for. You could stop there and say no, it’s not worth it, but we have to talk about location, and then we have to talk about the theory of getting a signed album, which kind of ties everything together a bit more.

Country of Origin

Manufacturing location plays a huge role in how much something costs, and just for a real-life example, I had a manufacturer reach out to me and say, “Michael, your denim Prologue jacket that you make in Canada, I can manufacture in my country for this price,” and the price that he quoted me all together was less than I pay just for the denim. So I’m assuming, and I’m pretty sure, there was a huge price difference between England and Thailand, especially because Thailand is making 14 million Dr. Martens.

It’s all made by Dr. Martens in England, and they have 50 employees in their Dr. Martens headquarters, which is where they make those boots. Dr. Martens is making things similarly to how they used to. It seems like they’re using some old machines. They have someone actually selecting certain parts of the leather, which I don’t think they do on more corrected leathers, so that takes time. The old machines take time. It costs more to pay the workers in England, so there are things like that, but the most important thing is that they’re making it the old way and showing some form of appreciation for the original craft of the Dr. Martens.

Everything being made in England and being slower and taking longer to make a pair of boots is why the cost goes up a lot. That is the big piece of pie that you have to eat if you want the made-in-England Boots. The interesting part is, really, who buys these? Who are they for? Who are they not for?

And they are for our good friend Gemma A. Gemma A says in her review, “Just do it, I’m so happy. They feel so much more special. They are a work of art and so beautifully presented. If you love Dr. Martens, do it,” and that’s what a lot of the reviews on the made-in-England line says is just essentially like, “I loved these boots in the 80s. These are the same ones so I got these for my husband. He wore them growing up when I met him as a teenager XYZ”, that group that’s the people that should buy made-in-England Dr. Martens: big fans of the Dr. Marten brand.

Final Value Assessment

So, just from a purely robotic stance, are they worth the extra $90? I’d say probably not. I think they’ll last longer, maybe a smidge. Maybe it’ll be a smidge more comfortable and a bit more supportive on your feet; maybe they won’t. Maybe they’ll last a tiny bit longer because the rubber is a little thicker; maybe they won’t. But if you’re a huge fan of Dr. Martens and you want something that’s similar to how old Dr. Martens were made, then you have to go made-in-England, no question. LL Bean, for example, makes their boots in Maine. It costs them more, but it’s such a core foundation of their brand that they need to do that.

Watch this Review

Conclusion

Could they be a little cheaper? Yeah, probably. Do I think the one percent of sales that they do per year versus the 14 million other pairs that they do is where they’re ripping you off? Not really. I think it’s for the fans. I think made-in-England should be kind of like they used to be, with heavier soles, a lifetime guarantee, and all that jazz. Then they’d be Beyond worth it, but right now, you have to be a mega fan to get them. But anyway, that’s about it for Dr. Martens made in England vs. regular. Thank you so much for reading!

This article was adapted from Michael Kristy’s video on The Iron Snail, with edits from FashionBeans, and was reviewed by Michael to ensure the integrity of his original content. Watch the full video here.

The Iron Snail is a men’s fashion vlog (and now article series!) starring a young man named Michael and featuring a snail no bigger than a quarter. The two are set on taking over the world of fashion by creating a clothing line to end all clothing lines. Until then, we’re here to tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about the best clothing out there, from the highest quality raw denim jeans to the warmest jackets to the sturdiest boots…the Iron Snail has got you covered.