Go REAL or Go Home!

-Author: Rosalynn (@rozfashionista)

I think most people have an axe to grind about a particular issue close to their heart. For me, it’s the issue of fakes. They make my skin crawl.

A lot of people will say I have more money than sense to spend the amount of money I do on clothes and shoes, but to me you can’t put a price on a pair of classic Louboutins. They’re beautiful and worth every penny.

Every time I see somebody wear fakes, a little bit of me dies. It cheapens the brand I love as much as it cheapens the style of the person wearing them. Sit somebody wearing a well put-together outfit from a budget high street shop next to somebody wearing fakes, and I’d save my compliments for the high street hero.

I believe people who buy fakes fall into one of two categories; those who are tricked into buying counterfeits, and those who knowingly buy them.

Those who are misled into buying fakes I genuinely feel sorry for.

Scammers are clever people – their websites lure you in with their huge discounts and promises of guaranteed customer satisfaction. I can’t blame anybody for believing that they’re anything other than legitimate.

Those who knowingly buy fakes I don’t feel sorry for.

Their argument is that designer accessories are overpriced and you’re just paying for the name. They’ll also claim that buying counterfeits is a victimless crime.

This, of course, is not true. According to the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, the trade of counterfeits costs US businesses up to $250 billion every year with over 5% of the world’s trade being counterfeit goods.

You’re buying from criminals – they claim they’re selling real designer accessories via a factory outlet, and their money has been linked with the drug trade and even terrorism and all you’ll get for your misplaced trust are poorly-made fakes that make you look like a cheapskate.

It’s all very well me standing on my soapbox in my stilettos, but what advice can I give? Well, my advice to those who knowingly buy fakes is simple – don’t. If you can’t afford the real thing, don’t pretend you can.

But to those who fear they might be mislead? Well, the more websites you visit, the more honed your sixth sense will become to working out sites are legit and what’s not.

Address sense

The official Louboutin website is http://www.christianlouboutin.com/ and their online store is us.christianlouboutin.com – anything else which has Louboutin in their website address is fake. Often a cheeky little 's' (christianlouboutins) is enough to lure people into thinking it’s official.

Picture ‘perfect’

Counterfeiters don’t have real stock to take pictures of, so they steal pictures from other websites. You’ll notice images are inconsistent in style; some have backgrounds, some do not, shoes will be at different angles and high quality pictures are rarely available.

Contrast this with a legitimate website like Net-a-Porter. The photography is consistent, you can zoom in, look at different angles etc.

Empty vessels make the most noise

Genuine Louboutin websites will make very little fanfare, yet fraudsters will be desperate to coax you into thinking they’re trustworthy. Their websites are normally littered with designer brand logos, credit card logos, Paypal logos, stock images of telephone operators who are happy to help etc.

Wherever they can, they’ll mention Christian Louboutin. A lot. This is a genuine sentence from a website that’s anything but genuine:

“[website name] is supplying Christian Louboutin, such as Christian Louboutins, Discount Christian Louboutin, Christian Heels, Cheap Christian Louboutin, luxury Christian Louboutin wedding shoes, and Christian Louboutin Platforms. Buy Christian Louboutin”

These people are desperate for your custom, and will do anything to slither their way up search engine results.

Chinglish

English is often not the first language of these shady characters. Never trust a website that says “we hope you have a happy shipping”. Chances are when you get sent the wrong shoe, it doesn’t fit or it stinks of glue, they may conveniently have problems understanding your complaint.

Research, then search

There’s plenty of other ways to establish the authenticity of a website and the shoes it sells. Louboutin’s ‘Stop Fake’ website lists hundreds and hundreds of websites selling fakes. Use this to complement the advice in this post (and others) to establish whether the seller is genuine. Don’t be afraid to speak to Louboutin owners on Twitter or forums and ask their advice. If you’re unsure, it’s not worth the risk.

If in doubt...

The best place to buy Louboutins is in one of their boutiques worldwide. Department stores in major cities across the globe also stock Louboutins, while there are online stores such as Net-a-Porter and Luisa Via Roma, while if time is on your side, it’s worth holding out for a sample sale on websites such as The Outnet or Gilt.

To read more about fakes visit Roz's site here.

*Photo courtesy of Harper's Bazaar