Manolo the Columnist
Manolo says, here is the Manolo’s latest column for the Express of the Washington Post.
Dear Manolo,
I’ve recently started a new job as an auto mechanic, and I need to find steel-toed boots that are actually fun, not the same, boring black that every guy in the shop wears. Most importantly, they need to protect my toes from being smushed by things like a brake disk or transmission. Can you help?
Lauren
Manolo says, thanks to the ubiquity of B movies and bad music videos, everyone in America knows about the lady auto mechanics, who are always introduced to us in exactly the same manner, in which the previously obscured person in the filthy coveralls rolls out from beneath the car to be revealed as the dark-haired spitfire, chewing the wad of gum, and scorning our abashed hero for his sexism.
Of the course, this mythical cinematic mechanic of the female gender will never rise to level of primary love interest. The best she can hope for is to be the sort of super-competent, technical sidekick.
Happily, real life does not follow such shallow models, and lady mechanics are no longer relegated to these confining roles. Indeed, in the Manolo’s book, such women are heroes in their own right, to be celebrated with colorful steel-toed boots of great durability and character, such as the Doc Marten’s 1919 Series work boot in the cherry red color
July 4th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Those are great! Love the color.
If Lauren perhaps needs something that is a little more walking friendly or light weight, my husband (who is also a mechanic) has been very happy with his swat boots. He got them from copshoes.com and they feel like sneakers on the feet but are steel-toed for safety. Since he works on tractor trailers, he goes to them not the other way around so there’s a bunch of walking involved in his job too. Comfort, support and interior padding was key. They’ve held up to the abuse very well. He’s had them for over a year. They look pretty cool, IMO, but they aren’t Doc Marten cool, of course.
July 4th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Dear Manolo,
What type of shoes do you suggest for a male grad school student who wants to be a sports writer?
July 4th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Doc Marten boots are quite possibly the hardest to break in. It took me about six weeks to break mine in but those six weeks were filled with blisters and raw skin. They do last forever though.
July 5th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Those boots come in a crazy assortment of patterns! Yay — fun work boots for everybody!
July 5th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
I want to be the type to wear colorful Docs in a fun and quirky way, but I get concerned that I’ll just look a little 90210.
I’ll just have to admire on others.
Luv
Poochie
July 5th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
I had a pair of those, except they were shiny, when i was in highschool. I did a lot of work in the theater dept as a techie. I once dropped a massive set on my foot during a performance and i didn’t even realize. I only noticed when the teacher asked if I was okay and then i looked down and saw that I had a massive scuff in the leather. Those are the BEST things… especially in red. Very spicy. Very cute.
July 6th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Is a 58yr old too old to wear those shoes?
July 7th, 2008 at 6:30 am
Oh Doc Marten’s are wonderful! A complete bugger to break in but they are so, so, so worth it.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
First and most importantly, to the Deborah: No, 58 is NOT too old to wear those boots. “Dead” is possibly too old to wear those boots, but only possibly; after all, archeologists deserve the thrill also, do they not? So wear those boots in the good health and afterwards.
Secondly, do the shoes of the lovely Lauren need to be OSHA rated? Does she need the ANSI steel toe, or the ASTM steel toe which surpasses the rating of the ANSI, and do the beautiful boots of the Doc Marten meet her requirements?
La BellaDonna herself wore the SWAT sneaks for the many years, and they were the durable, lightweight and sturdy, but it is the fact that when she wore them, she felt as if she had the Frankenfeet, because they did not exactly “flex” as she walked, and it was very difficult to tell where her feet were in relation to the ground.
July 10th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
I own those, in that color! I bought them when I was in 10th grade, now 10 years ago.