These thick crepe soled shoes first walked onto the scene when British Teddy Boys adopted the “brothel creeper” shoe style as a part of the teenage rebel uniform.
The lightweight design of the stacked sole differed from the flat leather-soled shoe commonly worn, allowing the wearer to ‘creep’ the floors at night without making the squeaks and creaks regular soled shoes made (and we all know how useful that little function is).
The crepe sole was a soft, squishy rubberised material made by mixing rubber with wool. This revolutionary material was first used solely for orthopaedic shoes, but the Teddy Boys created their own version by placing a pointy-toed shoe, dubbed a winklepicker, upon a thick black sole of crepe rubber.
The creeper, coupled with the outrageous fashions of the Teddy Boys, carried them to the fringes of society.
Related Posts
Peace Sign The ubiquitous icon of the Aquarian age and one of the most widely known symbols in the world. In Britain…
Vivienne Westwood Original and outrageous, British designer Vivienne Westwood is one of the most recognised and influential designers of the late twentieth…
Swinging London "Swinging London" is a generic term coined by Time magazine in April 1966 and used to describe the fashion, music, cinema…
Twiggy Twiggy's success story began in 1965 when Nigel Davies – a jack-of-all-trades who had worked as a bookie's office boy,…
Bisexual Chic During the sexually liberated '70s, when the rule of thumb was "if it feels good do it", gay sexuality seemed…
Carnaby Street By 1965, London had become the fashion capital of the world as far as young people were concerned. At its…
Mary Quant Immortalised by fashion iconography as the originator of the mini skirt, London designer Mary Quant was born on 11 February 1934…
Rudi Gernreich Like his art world contemporary Andy Warhol, Rudi Gernreich was a modern visionary and shrewd press manipulator. He guaranteed himself…
