Customer Reviews Dr. Martens 3989 Bex

Style is superb; shoes go well with business attire as well as with jeans, but these are very uncomfortable if you are on your feet for any length of time (little cushion and very stiff).

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.

How long owned: 5 minutes before deciding to return. Problems: eyelets: too tight, can't lace; leather: wrinkled upper, super squeaky when you walk; comfort: pinched where toes connect to foot when walking. I bought this shoe and almost immediately returned it. When I ordered online, it was the only size left in that style. When I opened the box, the left shoe had a defect in workmanship. I had planned to send them back in exchange for same pair, assuming this was an anomaly. The leather upper was wrinkled. Before I sent them back, I tried them on and walked around the house to make sure I liked to overall feel. As I walked, I felt the crease at my toes and foot was being pinched. Perhaps this is a result of new leather shoes? I couldn't lace the shoes at the top because the eyelets were just punched holes in the leather, no metal eyelet. The holes were punched entirely too small and I couldn't feed the shoestring through without stretching the hole with a leather tool. These are things that can be worked around, but the shoes were squeaky to the point of obnoxiousness. After reading other reviews about the same shoe, I decided that these are issues that are not an anomaly for the pair that was shipped to me. I didn't take the chance and decided to order a different style of Doc Martens. Too bad, these shoes are super cute! I planned to wear them to work most days. I cannot sacrifice comfort and silence for something that looks good, so I opted not to exchange for the same style.