 A pair of "double sole" creepers | |
| Type | Shoe |
|---|---|
| Material | Crepe andsuede |
| Place of origin | Wellingborough |
| Manufacturer | George Cox Limited |
Brothel creepers, sometimes shortened tocreepers, are a style of shoe that has thickcrepe soles, often in combination withsuede uppers. This style of footwear became fashionable in the years followingWorld War II, seeing resurgences of popularity at various times since then.
A version of this style of shoe became popular with World War IIsoldiers in North Africa, who adoptedsuede boots with hard-wearingcrepe rubber.[1] Writing inThe Observer in 1991, John Ayto put the origin of the name 'brothel creeper' to the wartime years.[2]The Smithsonian suggests the crépe in the thick sole may have given the shoes the title creeper. It may also be associated with aKen Mackintosh dance tune popular in 1953 called "The Creep."[3]
This style of thick soled shoe was first developed commercially in 1949 by George Cox Limited ofWellingborough,Northamptonshire, UK, and marketed under the "Hamilton" name, based on George Cox Jr.'s middle name.[3] Initially they came in shades of blue, ranging from pastel shades to electric blue, and were made of suede or polished leather. Later, more extravagant patterned versions were created.[4]George Cox's website shows a 1950s advertisement which gave the names of the first creepers as the 'Dace', (first introduced in 1949), 'Elton','Epsom','Walsall', and 'Winchester'. Only the Epsom was offered in brown suede.
The shoes were taken up by theTeddy Boys–along withdrainpipe trousers worn with exposed socks anddrape jackets.[3]
TheBikini boys youth subculture in post-war communist Poland of the 1940s and 1950s was famous for their adaptation of brothel creepers (often made by local cobblers attaching thick rubber sole to regular normal footwear). The Polish slang term for this type of shoes was "shoes onslanina" (buty na słoninie) due to the thick white soles resembling slabs of slanina, which was a popular traditional food in Poland.[5][6]
The shoe has since been adopted bysubcultures such asindie,ska,punks,new wavers,psychobillys,greasers,goths and Japanesevisual kei, and have been worn byBananarama,the Cure frontmanRobert Smith andSaffron, singer ofRepublica.[7]
In 2015,Puma andRihanna launched a collaborative shoe line called the Puma Creeper, which won an award for Shoe of the Year in 2016.[8]
