Winklepickers – Nostalgia Central (2024)

Winklepickers: such a strange name for the pointy-toed shoe of the 50s and 60s. To understand the lore behind the winkle picker shoe, you, dear visitor, must understand two things:

1. A winkle is a shellfish that attaches itself to ocean objects. Its dye is used for the colour “periwinkle”.

2. A winkle-picker is a sharp, pointy tool to pry off the shellfish.

The sharp point of a shucking pin lent its distinction to a style of pointy-toed shoes dubbed winklepickers.

These crazy shoes were first popularised in the early 50s by a group of rebellious London teens called Teddy Boys.

The Teds characteristic outfits featured pointed-toe black oxfords with crepe rubber soles, radically different from the soft rounded toe of the times.

The 50s embraced the winks as the style of the decade, and women favoured the short stiletto-heeled shoe with an extremely pointed toe. Not the ultimate in comfort, but exotic in style, the winklepicker shoe periodically returns to the fashion forefront.

The 80s lore of gothic fashions dusted off the pointy-toed winklepicker, exposing a new generation to the extreme fashion of pointy-toed shoes and boots.

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