Brothel Creeping in a new pair of shoes

A bonus to being a student with as much disposable income as a Darlington footballer, is that if you want to purchase anything beyond the low-market apparels, you must ogle for weeks until you've saved enough to commit to buying. This gives you time to really question and eventually decide whether or not this is something you truly desire and prevents those impulse buys. 

Making impulsive choices and decisions can often end in disarray and when it comes to fashion, nothing can trump that feeling that you've spent too much money on an item that you will only wear when feeling adventurous in front of the mirror. Fortunately, a purchase I made recently did not leave me feeling this way.  

Whilst pondering over a new pair of desert boots and gazing at some of the interesting outfits worn by users of lookbook.nu, I couldn't help but notice the frequent inclusion of creeper shoes. These shoes, more commonly referred to as 'Brothel Creepers' (at least by my mother and grandparents), have a long-standing heritage in the UK. They feature large metal rings for the laces, Gothic style detailing topped off with huge crepe soles and despite and are possibly one of the ugliest pair of shoes I have ever seen.

They were originally issued to soldiers fighting in Africa during WW2 to help their feet cope with the harsh terrain and when soldiers returned home, still wearing their creepers, they took off in London as Brothel Creepers. Since then, they have been adopted by the Teddy Boys during the late 50s and again by Vivienne Westwood's late partner and Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren in the early 70s. Today, they appear to have a cult fan-base with popularity growing ever since chart-whore 'Rhianna' wore a pair last year.

Styling with a pair of creepers can be difficult as the uniqueness of the design demands a particular outfit in order to compliment. My intention is to follow in the footsteps of previous owners like the Teddy Boys and wear black skinny jeans with something grungy like a denim jacket or parka on top.

The shoes' ugliness is also what gives it huge character and is a shoe, like Dr Martens, that has a long history in the UK.

The pair I bought come from the British shoe and boot maker T.U.K. They stock loads of colour and design variations, website link;

http://www.tukshoes.com/brand