Dr. Martens 3989

I've been wearing Doc Martens for the past 15 years almost exclusively, owning about 8 or 9 models among boots and shoes. The model 3989 in black is yet another member of the family of Docs and my third pair of non-England made shoes. My Docs have had an average life span of about 5-7 yrs. depending on use. Docs are known to be very tough shoes. I have noticed a certain decline in quality and less attention to detail and craftsmanship in my newer shoes. The non-England made shoe is a harder wear and lacks past finesse in the way the shoe conforms and fits to the foot. Even the 3989 is somehow an easy shoe to wear, much superior and easier than my last pair of steel toe Docs which completely refused to be tamed and wore hard on the feet even after 5 yrs of use. The 3989 has good looks, cleans readily with a brush without the need of shoe polish. I found that the eyelets are very tight on the shoelaces making them slide with difficulty thus is a difficult shoe to get in and out of as yet. I expect that they should loosen with time or maybe take them to a shoe shop to have them bored cleaned. This is a result of yet another cost cutter on eyelets. The old ones used to be made of metal maybe bronze and were good looking and covered the eye inside and out. The new ones are tiny and only show metal from the inside. Overall this a Doc shoe with a drop on quality and finesse, not as good as the old ones. It still has the distinctive good looks of classic Martens and is worth owning. But I do miss the quality of old Docs and wish the company will put more attention into their manufacturing process as they used to so as to bring back the top quality of such great shoes.