Brothel creepers, sometimes shortened to creepers, are a style of shoe that has thick crepe soles, often in combination with suede uppers. This style of footwear became fashionable in the years following World War II, seeing resurgences of popularity at various times since then.
A version of this style of shoe became popular with World War II soldiers in North Africa, who adopted suede boots with hard-wearing crepe rubber.[1] Writing in The Observer in 1991, John Ayto put the origin of the name 'brothel creeper' to the wartime years.[2] The Smithsonian suggests the crepe in the thick sole may have given the shoes the title creeper. It may also be associated with a Ken Mackintosh dance tune popular in 1953 and called "The Creep".[3]
This style of thick soled shoe was first developed commercially in 1949 by George Cox Limited of Wellingborough, 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]
The shoes were taken up by the Teddy Boys–along with drainpipe trousers worn with exposed socks and drape jackets.[3]
The Bikini 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 on slanina" (buty na słoninie) due to the thick white soles resembling slabs of slanina, which was a popular traditional food in Poland.[5][6]
The brothel creeper also proved to be popular among regular customers.[7]
The shoe has since been adopted by subcultures such as indie, ska, punks, new wavers, psychobillys, greasers, goths and Japanese visual kei, and have been worn by Bananarama, the Cure frontman Robert Smith and Saffron, singer of Republica.[8]
In 2015, Puma and Rihanna launched a collaborative shoe line called the Puma Creeper, which won an award for Shoe of the Year in 2016.[9]
