These shoes were purchased by Seattleite Stephanie Kurtz either at Woolly Mammoth on University Ave or Nordstrom around 1989. She wore them throughout what would become known as the “grunge era” in Seattle. Heavy shoes from the UK company Dr Martens (known colloquially as “Doc Martens”) were particularly popular, and for women the heavy-duty shoes were often worn to contrast delicate floral or baby-doll dresses. Doc Martens were also expensive, often being one of the few “investment” items in wardrobes that were dominated by thrift store finds. Whereas the soles of these shoes were redone, and the toes were “repainted with magic marker many times,” Kurtz said “I wore everything else to pieces. It was old and broken to start, and well loved after that.”