Is that you in that picture?

It is. I think I'm 19 in that picture. Taken by the badger in a cafe just off the royal mile. I had long hair until June '02.

You look like some sort of sardonic rock Jesus. Pretty! Why on earth did you cut it?

Because by the time I cut it, I looked like the man your mother warned you not to get into cars with.

I did cry when it came off. I have nobody to dance with anymore.

Hair came off on the afternoon of 15th June 2002. Surely I must have seen you since then?

...they took *years* ... before they were even remotely confortable, and then there was a hole...
Perhaps that is why the comfy pair of docs is such a legendary item.

Every time I try it is in such bad nick I give up very quickly. And I've receded.

Ah yes - you've only known him with short hair. His long hair was perfect for Leonard of Quirm.

My DMs are about two years old, and already have huge holes in that let water through. They're very comfortable, though (and I, too, remember a few weeks at the beginning when they rubbed all the skin off the back of my ankles).

I find it odd that anyone remembers me with long hair. I do miss it though.

The old pair never let water in (well, they weren't particularly waterproof, but they didn't have holes). The heels disintegrated from the inside.

Okay, who *are* you? Are you Lily I keep hearing about? :)

Oh, hello! *waves*. You are nice.

Ah, the joys of breaking in a new pair of DMs! I bought a new pair three years ago and am still going through the agonies of getting them Just How I Like Them. I can only wear them for a few days at a time before my ankles start to bleed, thus I tend to wear them in short bursts followed by a long recovery period.

Lately I bought a pair of knee-high, lace-up, Spanish leather boots. And they're even worse than the DMs. :(

Perseverance is the key! Never surrender! *lol*

You ain't wore your boots enough until after you have a thick scab on your heel...I think DM's have a strategically stitched piece of leather crafted to inflict that particular injury...

The other trick, so I'm told, is to wear them in a hot shower, as this helps to break the leather in. But this is hearsay...

Which should make them fit your feet well, but will make the leather more rigid on drying, if my limited experience of working with leather is anything to go by.

I just found a good brand of blister plaster.

Mmmmm blister plaster. I don't get it folks, why go through so much agony? What's so special about DMs to justify such suffering? Or maybe that's all part of the fun. Mind you I've only ever had two pairs, 10-hole blacks and 12-hole cherry reds. I don't recall any lengthy breaking-in periods, only that the latter quietly rotted away after i waded through a river in them, while the former lasted a fair while but eventually lost out to the infinitely more comfortable Sketchers two stripe...

Incidentally I think he looks much better with short hair. Which is not to say he wasn't previously gorgeous, but...oh you know what ah mean :-)

D'oh! That was me btw.

xxx

My pair of black 10-holes lasted me through school and I loved them because it felt rebellious wearing them with my uniform, but they died quite quickly.

The 14-hole Cherry Reds, which I resisted, are a design classic. Asking why you would go through the suffering for them is like asking why women wear high heels or people squeeze into skin tight jeans.

The reason these particular boots are special to me is because they have come as close to the idea of the Universal Shoe as anything I've ever found. I once read a book on menswear which recommended a certain tie as the Universal Tie, in that you could wear it for a business meeting or a wedding or a funeral, possibly even with the same suit, and you wouldn't look out of place. In a weeks time, when these have been convinced that they want to fit my feet, and when I've dulled the stitching and put in a fresh pair of laces, I'll be able to wear these with anything. I can wear them with a suit and make it past the desk at the Saville and I'll be able to squelch home through the park afterwards. And they will always be sitting in the wardrobe waiting for me.

When I gave up on docs as a habitual best shoe, it was to be replaced by the more comfortable Hitec Magnums. However, after a week they start looking shoddy and after a couple of months you need a new pair. Great for dancing though. Maybe I should get a new pair...

Incidentally I think he looks much better with short hair. Which is not to say he wasn't previously gorgeous
I must start debates like this on a regular basis...

But that's just it, I DO ask why women wear shoes that deform and cripple them (outside the bedroom anyway) and especially why 99% of the people who squeeze into skin-tight jeans bother, but then I'm already tall, allergic to tottering, and much prefer to have some things left to my own rabidly fertile imagination. Aargh! Unoriginal rant over. Hmmm, wish I could splooge properly.

I get you on the Universal Insert Thing thing though. I've got a Universal Hoodie and some Universal Neckerchiefs.

Love that you've read a book on menswear ;-)

You know why people wear those things. It's the same reason that I almost bought the cherry reds and it came from your own lips...

I have a shelf of books on menswear (which mostly say suits are good) Mens style (which mostly say looking good is good) and etiquette (which mostly say wear this suit then), although I need a new copy of Debrett's.

Oh, and someone was linking to this, if that's of any interest.

I had like 10 pairs of dm's but only one pair of new rocks. Where DM's eventually mold to your feet, with New Rocks its your feet that mold to the boots. I am also a wearer of stupidly high heels and crippling shoes - however, i love them, and just like New Rocks my feet have gotten used to them. The only down point being i now have ugly feet.

And, being a long hair lover - I loved pre-2002 Robert. The hair was hott. Although the current styling is also hot.

I knew him BEFORE he grew his hair. Do I win a prize?

Badger

Would some kind of small furry bunny be appropriate?

And how could that EVER be inappropriate?