Creepers

Creepers have been lurking, slinking and sneaking their way back onto catwalks and I like it. As with most styles of shoe they have a little history, so here is what our clever pal Wikipedia had to say about the soleful style:

They found their beginnings in the years following the WWII: 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 disreputable nightspots of London (Kings Cross and Soho) wearing the same crepe soled shoes. Those 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 and pompadour haircuts, and velvet or electric blue clothes. The brothel creeper was a hit throughout 50s and 60s.

They were invented 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 70s when Malcolm McLaren sold them from his Let it Rock shop in London's Kings Road. Teddy Boys were the obvious customer, but the brothel creeper still proved to be popular among regular customers when McLaren and his partner Vivienne Westwood changed the shop to more rocker-oriented fashion.

The shoe has since been adopted by subcultures such as ska, punk, new wavers, psychobilly, greasers and goth, Japanese Visual Kei, and was noted as the footwear of choice of Bananarama (their preference for the brothel creeper over prettier, girly footwear became emblematic of their tomboyish and rebellious nature).

All that and they make you tall.

top to bottom:
Chloë Sevigny for Opening Ceremony via openingceremony.us
Marc Jacobs f/w 09 via marcjacobs.com
Lanvin f/w 08 via gq.com
Jil Sander f/w 09 via shoelust

P.S. When I die I want to be buried in that Marc Jacobs outfit.