Winklepickers or winkle pickers are a style of shoe or boot worn from the 1950s onward, especially popular with British rock and roll fans such as Teddy Boys.
However, winklepickers with traditional sharp-point styles made a comeback of sorts in the late 1970s and early 1980s (either as previously unworn old-stock, second-hand originals, or contemporary-production attempted copies) and worn by several subculture groups including mods, rockers, teddy boys, rockabillies, punks, rock'n'roll revivalists, and in the goth scene, where they are known as "pikes".
They were often manufactured in Italy, but the handmade versions, notably those from Stan's Shoes of Battersea, were the most extreme, if somewhat bulky-looking at the toe compared with the Italian styles.
In most cases, too, the modern shoe toes lack the length of the true 1960s winklepicker and bear more resemblance to the less pointed mass-produced versions of the era.
[5] By the middle of the first decade of the 21st century, winklepickers were worn with 1960s mod blazers, Western shirts, vintage T shirts, and skinny jeans by many indie pop bands and musicians, such as of Kings of Leon, Kaiser Chiefs, the Kills, Jack White, Mod Fun, Neils Children, Blanaid Montague, Klaxons, and Daniel Johns.