Tartan creepers (also known as plaid depending on where you’re from) are the ultimate in punk footwear statements – a combination of the popular chunky soled creepers from the 70s, worn by tons of punk rockers for example The Clash, mixed with an always popular punk style element – tartan!

There’s quite a few different styles of tartan creepers to choose from in our catalogue, the most common style being red tartan creepers, but there’s also blue tartan creepers and green tartan creepers. Check out out our recommendations below:

Demonia Tartan Creepers

We’ve been advertising Demonia creepers for the last 5 years and they’re one of the main big name brands making tartan creepers. They produce both Mens Creepers and Womens Creepers, and a lot of the mens creepers can be considered unisex, so there’s lots to styles to choose from.

Demonia’s plaid creepers have a chunky sole and an unusual metallic zip feature around the front and around the heel. These creepers lace up through D-Rings on each side.

TUK Tartan Creepers

TUK tartan brothel creepers have a thinner sole than Demonia creepers and the usual chunky creeper sole, which might make them more wearable as ‘every day’ footwear. Their range of creepers includes a cool strap around the back of the shoe attached with metallic clips and D-Rings.

Underground Creepers

Underground Shoes are a UK based footwear brand specialising in footwear inspired by punk, rock and rockabilly music subcultures.

Underground Shoes produce lots of different types of punk creepers so it’s definitely recommended to check them out too.

- Shop for Creepers now

Fashion was big in the 60s.

In the 1960′s young people were finding their independence and starting to spend their money on looking cool. The mods and the rockers had their own styles and people invested a lot of time in getting the right look.

If you’re aiming to re-create a 60s look or just want to incorporate elements of the sixties in to your fashion choices, you won’t be disappointed with the modern variants of 60s shoes:

Chelsea Boots

Chelsea boots actually originated in the Victorian era and began life as riding boots before being incorporated in to every day fashion, eventually becoming a staple of mod fashion in the 1960′s.

- Shop for Chelsea boots

Beatle Boots

Beatle boots were a must have item for hardcore Beatles fans of the sixties! But since then they’ve been worn by all kinds of cultures – the mods, punks, rockabillies, vogue goths and Rock’n'Roll revivalists.

Beatle boots are tight fitting, ankle high boots with a cuban heel and a pointed toe, and usually made from leather.

They’re a variation of the Chelsea boot but the difference is the cuban heel which was added as a result of the influence of ‘flamenco boots’. Beatle boots feature either zipped or elasticated sides.

- Shop for Beatle boots

Winklepickers

Winklepickers were a stark contrast to the brothel creepers worn by the teddy boys of the 1950′s. Pointed toe winklepickers and “chisel toe” winklepickers have been equally popular over the years, although the pointed toes are the more iconic and memorable style.

Winklepickers were a favourite of the “modernists” of the 1960′s, the early mods, and their popularity has continued ever since with alternative sub-cultures, in particular goths and punks.

Recently winklepickers have gained even more notoriety after being worn by popular quirky celebrities such as Noel Fielding and Russell Brand and their popularity continues to grow. As such, more and more interesting variations are appearing from many of the ‘alternative’ footwear brands.

- Shop for Winklepickers

Good luck in your hunt for the perfect 60′s shoe! We’re going to keep researching different retro styles because we love them too, so don’t forget to check back soon for more great product suggestions.

Thanks for reading

How cute are these Converse low tops with rainbow love hearts?

I love these! They’re very unusual and eyecatching shoes perfect for girls (or guys) who like the cute side of emo/punk culture.

It seems like quirky Converse designs are getting harder and harder to find these days so I figured these definitely deserved a post before they were all sold out.

They’re white low top Converse trainers with a sweet love heart design on over the uppers. The love hearts are made up of rainbow stripes that give them a retro (70′s) look. They have blue trim around the join between the uppers and the sole, and around the bottom of the sole.

The usual Converse logo is in blue on the tongue of the trainer and on the back of the heel, and they have white laces (although these would look funky with coloured laces too so you could switch them up if feel like it). The interior of the shoes are a pinky-red.

These are currently available in UK sizes 3-8.

Because they’re Converse you know you’re getting the same great quality that Converse always provide with their shoes (you can go for a cheaper brand but I know from experience they will not last as long as Converse).

Converse are also very affordable, with this style being just over £30. Well worth it as they last for years, even with every day wear.

But there’s loads of different styles of womens creepers and unisex creepers too.

Shopping from the US? Shop for womens creepers in our US catalogue

Demonia Creepers for Women

Demonia have been one of the main ‘names’ in alternative footwear for many years and Demonia creepers are always popular, such as their Suede Creepers and Leather Creepers.

»View all creepers from Demonia

Underground Creepers for Women

Underground Shoes make a wide variety of womens creepers in some interesting styles and colours, for example these bright purple or pink suede creepers with leopard print uppers! Funky:

» View all creepers from Underground Shoes

TUK Creepers for Women

TUK provide another great selection of unisex creepers, some with a thinner sole and a softer edge around the toe:

» View all creepers from TUK Shoes

Creepers for women

The great thing about creepers is that they’re kind of a statement shoe. They’ve been worn by a lot of popular punk musicians from the 70s and still to this day.

In the 70s creepers were worn by The Clash and other big names. In the 90′s and 00′s they’ve been seen regularly on male punk acts like Rancid and Green Day, but they were also popular with women of punk like Brody Dalle from The Distillers (and now Spinnerette, although nowadays she seems to be more of a heels gal). These days Creepers are also really popular in ‘rockabilly‘ and ‘psychobilly‘ fashion.

Womens creepers remained fairly unusual until recently when they’ve gained a boost in popularity after being worn by modern pop acts like Rihanna. But don’t let that put you punks off! Alternative sub-cultures regularly get copied by the mainstream, and it’s usually a passing phase as so many things are with mainstream culture, they have to sell next years lines so this years favourite’s won’t be on the shelves for long.

Quick links:

- Cheap creepers (lower cost alternatives)
- Brothel creepers
- Pointy toe creepers

Browse the US alternative footwear catalogue

By shopping in the US version of our alternative footwear catalogue, American customers can get speedier delivery, lower prices and access to many popular American footwear brands that aren’t available in our UK catalogue.

Often the USA has a wider variation of punk and alternative shoes but a lot of our favourite brands are available to both UK and USA customers:

• Shopping from the USA
• Converse sneakers
• Demonia shoes
• TUK shoes
• Iron Fist
• Pleaser shoes

• Shopping from the UK
• Converse shoes
• Demonia shoes
• TUK shoes
• Iron Fist
• Pleaser shoes

We’ve categorised the US catalogue in the same way as our UK footwear catalogue so you can quickly and easily find the style you’re looking for:

• Popular styles for shoppers from the USA
• Combat Boots
  • Combat Boots (Mens/Unisex)
  • Combat Boots (Womens)
• Converse All Star
• Creepers
  • Leather Creepers
  • Suede Creepers
  • Demonia Creepers
    • Demonia Womens Creepers
    • Demonia Mens Creepers
  • T.U.K. Creepers
    • T.U.K. Womens Creepers
    • T.U.K. Mens Creepers
  • Underground Creepers
• Gothic
  • Demonia (gothic)
  • T.U.K. Shoes (gothic)
• Heels
  • Demonia Heels
  • Pleaser Heels
  • T.U.K Heels
• Skate shoes
  • Skate Adults
  • Skate Kids

• Popular styles for shoppers from the UK
• Combat Boots
  • Combat Boots (Mens/Unisex)
  • Combat Boots (Womens)
• Converse All Star
• Creepers
  • Leather Creepers
  • Suede Creepers
  • Demonia Creepers
    • Demonia Womens Creepers
    • Demonia Mens Creepers
  • T.U.K. Creepers
    • T.U.K. Womens Creepers
    • T.U.K. Mens Creepers
  • Underground Creepers
• Gothic
  • Demonia (gothic)
  • T.U.K. Shoes (gothic)
• Heels
  • Demonia Heels
  • Pleaser Heels
  • T.U.K Heels
• Skate shoes
  • Skate Adults
  • Skate Kids

As most fans of old school fashion will discover – it can be difficult to find the shoes to fit the outfit when you’re dressing in a ‘retro’ style, whether it’s 1930′s & 40′s fashion, 1950′s fashion or even as recent as 1970′s & 80′s styles.

Sadly, in some cases – once an item is out of style, you just cannot get it again. Ever! 

But luckily, some styles manage to stick around through the years and manufacturers will continue to produce them (or at least something similar) for decades beyond their time.

The Classics…..you NEED these in your wardrobe!

For example – take a look at these absolutely beautiful patent mary janes from Pleaser:

These gorgeous patent mary janes are a very versatile style because you can create an authentic retro look by teaming them up with a 1950′s style dress or a smart pencil skirt, but they’d also look stylish with a modern outfit, like jeans, trousers or a shorter skirt, so you’re not limited to only wearing them with certain items, you can share them with your whole wardrobe!

Pleaser provide a whole range of retro shoes…

Pleaser also produce a whole range of classic ‘court shoes’ which have been in style since forever and are perfect for any retro outfit…

Want smaller heeled retro shoes? 3 inch heel retro court shoes…

The heels on most of these styles are approx 6 inches and that’s fairly high! So if that’s a little too much for you – check out these gorgeous Pleaser court shoes with a 3 inch heel

Could small heels be making a comeback for punk footwear?

This is great for those of us who love the shoes but don’t love the height. It’s a fact that not everyone feels comfortable in heels at 5 or 6 inches. Perhaps you have trouble walking in them or feel uncomfortable, or you’re already pretty tall and 5 or 6 inches makes you feel like a giant! It’s such a shame to have to miss out on the great designs available.

Say hello to these beautiful small heeled styles from TUK Shoes…

» View all heels from TUK Shoes

Some really interesting designs and lively colours to choose from there including some with art prints such as the TUK Octa Alien style, the ‘Señor Musica’ shoes showing Senor Musica with his guitar – custom drawn art by Kimberley Holladay, and the peacock style print shoes with artwork by Brad Hansen.

These TUK Shoes styles have an approx. 7.5cm (2 3/4 inches) high heel. They’re comfortable to wear due to a padded foot bed and they’re made from man made materials – vegan friendly!

(Note: This style of heel fits about a 1/2 size small.)

Iron Fist

» Browse Iron Fist footwear

Iron Fist have some amazing designs on their products, they really bring something no one else does to the world of alternative footwear.

About Iron Fist

Iron Fist are a relatively new brand on the alternative clothing ‘scene’, but they’ve been active for over 10 years providing mens and womens clothing and alternative footwear.

Many of their shoe designs are outrageous and totally one of kind. They fuse punk fashion, comic book and tattoo style artwork with retro shoe styles – all combined to make gorgeous footwear! They use colour in a unique way and their designs are colourful, vibrant and exciting.

Iron Fist specialise in women’s shoes and have a wide variety of styles available such as high heels with platform soles and peep toe shoes, chunky heels with wedge platform soles (circa 1970s punk!) and also flats including canvas sneakers.

Always exciting – bright, bold and daring. Iron Fist shoes are something special!

Iron Fist are an American brand based in the USA, however, there shoes are very popular here in the UK and lots of punk, alternative outlets are stocking their products across the UK.

Shop for Iron Fist footwear

Browse our collection of Iron Fist footwear and feel free to get in touch if you’re looking for something specific and we’ll do our best to source it for you.

The skate ‘style’ trainer has become a staple in many non-skater’s wardrobes and for good reason.

Skate shoes are usually:  comfortable, hard wearing, they look great and there’s such a huge selection to choose from, lots of different styles and colours, produced by lots of alternative brands.

As they’re made to withstand lots of skating action such as hard knocks to the ground and gripping the board, they’re a very durable style of shoe.

There’s so much variation when it comes to skate shoes it can be hard to pick a pair that are right for you. If you’re new to the world of skate trainers, at first glance a lot of the brands can look very similar, but to the hardened skate shoe pro there are very noticeable differences in terms of designs and in terms of quality.

A few of our personal tips about choosing your skate trainers:

1. If you’re looking for really chunky skate trainers, the type that rose to massive popularity with the ‘skate wave’ of the 1990′s and early 2000′s, – we recommend browsing the Circa, Vans, DC Shoes or World Industries shoes.

2. If you’re looking for something a bit more ‘old skool’ skate, browse this selection of  ‘old skool skate shoes‘, or how about some Vans canvas slip ons? (adult and child’s styles available)

3. If you’re looking for the 80′s style with the high ankle and the velcro straps (plus some extremely funky colours and designs!) – check out Supra skate shoes. This style is really popular with teenagers and the younger generation right now.

The most popular brands in skate trainers are:

• Adio
• Adidas
• Airwalk
• Circa
• DC Shoes
• DVS Shoe Company
• Emerica
• Element Skateboards
• éS Footwear
• Etnies
• Fallen Footwear
• Globe International
• Gravis Footwear
• Habitat Footwear
• Ipath
• Lakai Limited Footwear
• Nike Skateboarding
• Osiris Shoes
• Supra Footwear
• Vans
• Vox Footwear
• World Industries
• Zoo York

• Adio
• Adidas
• Airwalk
• Circa
• DC Shoes
• DVS Shoe Company
• Emerica
• Element Skateboards
• éS Footwear
• Etnies
• Fallen Footwear
• Globe International
• Gravis Footwear
• Habitat Footwear
• Ipath
• Lakai Limited Footwear
• Nike Skateboarding
• Osiris Shoes
• Supra Footwear
• Vans
• Vox Footwear
• World Industries
• Zoo York

So – which style of skate trainer is your favourite?

(Note from the editor – Personally, I like to wear Vans trainers when I’m walking the dog as they’re so comfortable with their thick soles, I can walk for hours without any kind of foot ache. Totally recommended to fellow walkers!)

Tartan Mary Janes

These mary jane shoes are perfect for casual and everyday wear but they’re fancy enough that they would also work with a special outfit or on special occassions where you want to look smart but still show off your quirky alternative personality