Creepers or brothel

Brothel

Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...

 creepers are a type of shoe

Shoe

A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearance originally being tied to function...

.

They found their beginnings in the years following World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, as soldiers based in the deserts in North Africa wore suede boots with hardwearing crepe soles because of the climate and environment. Having left the army, many of these ex-soldiers found their way to the nightspots of London wearing the same crepe-soled shoes and these became known as Brothel Creepers.

In the late 1950s, these shoes were taken up by the Teddy Boys along with drainpipe trousers, draped jackets, bolo ties, quiff

Quiff

The quiff is a hairstyle that combines the 1950s pompadour hairstyle, the 50s flattop, and sometimes a mohawk. The etymology of the word is uncertain but may derive from the French word "coiffe" which can mean either a hairstyle or, going further back, the mail knights wore over their heads and...

 and pompadour

Pompadour (hairstyle)

Pompadour is a tall style of men's haircut which takes its name from Madame de Pompadour.There are Latin variants of the hair style more associated with European and Argentine tango fashion trends and occasionally with late 20th century musical genres such as rockabilly and country.The pompadour...

 haircuts, and velvet

Velvet

Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed,with a short dense pile, giving it a distinctive feel.The word 'velvety' is used as an adjective to mean -"smooth like velvet".-Composition:...

 or electric blue clothes. This style of shoe was developed in 1949 by George Cox and marketed under the Hamilton name, based on George Cox Jr.'s middle name.

The brothel creeper regained popularity in the early 1970s when Malcolm McLaren

Malcolm McLaren

Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English performer, impresario, self-publicist and manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls...

 sold them from his Let it Rock shop in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

's Kings Road

Kings Road

King's Road or Kings Road, known popularly as The King's Road or The KR, is a major, well-known street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both in west London, England...

. Teddy Boys were the obvious customers, but the brothel creeper still proved to be popular among regular customers when McLaren and his partner Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood

Dame Vivienne Westwood, DBE, RDI is a British fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.-Early life:...

 changed the shop to more rocker

Rockers

Rockers, leather boys or ton-up boys are a biker subculture that originated in the United Kingdom during the 1950s. It was mainly centered around British cafe racer motorcycles and rock and roll music....

-oriented fashion.

The shoe has since been adopted by subculture

Subculture

In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...

s such as ska

Ska

Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...

, punk

Punk fashion

Punk fashion is the clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelry, and body modifications of the punk subculture. Punk fashion varies widely, ranging from Vivienne Westwood designs to styles modeled on bands like The Exploited. The distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including...

, new wavers, psychobilly

Psychobilly

Psychobilly is a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly and gothabilly...

, greasers and goth

Gothic fashion

Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture; a dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized fashion and style of dress. Typical Gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, black lips and black clothes. Both male and female goths wear dark eyeliner and dark fingernails. Styles are...

, Japanese Visual Kei

Visual Kei

is a movement among Japanese musicians, that is characterized by the use of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics. Some sources state that visual kei refers to a music genre, or to a sub-genre of Japanese rock, with its...

, and was noted as the footwear of choice of Bananarama

Bananarama

Bananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...

.

The original George Cox creepers are hard to find, but British Boot Company

British Boot Company

The British Boot Company is a shoe shop in Camden Town in London famous for being the first retailer in the world to sell Dr. Martens footwear in 1958....

 has a large selection and is now the main agent in the United Kingdom for George Cox.

Underground England shoes have been producing creepers since the 1980s, creating new designs along the way. In 2003 Osiris Shoes

Osiris Shoes

Osiris Shoes is a skate shoe company that was founded in 1996 by Tony Chen, Tony Magnusson, Brian Reid, Doug Weston and Laura Kim. They created the company when they saw a void in the skateboard industry for pro designed and endorsed footwear. -History:...

 produced the Ali Boulala

Ali Boulala

Ali Boulala is a professional skateboarder who rides for Flip Skateboards, Flip Clothing, Independent trucks and Flip wheels...

, a brothel creeper-influenced skateboarding

Skateboarding

Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...

shoe.

In Norway they are called "Traktorsko", literally "Tractor shoes", perhaps a parallel due to the thick sole being like the tall profile of a tractor wheel, but also because wearers of the Rocker/Teddy boy-style tended to be youth from rural areas.