Louboutin copies - is it just me or do they make you sick as well?

S

snoozie

New Member
Jun 21, 2008
3
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#1
Hi everyone! I'm a first-time poster so apologies if there's already been a thread about this.

As a HUGE Louboutin junkie I've been really distressed recently to discover more and more cheap boutiques and stores blatantly ripping off Louboutin's designs. I mean, I know on Ebay you can find loads of fake Louboutins (and you lovely ladies are doing a brilliant job trying to stop this), but these are stores that are just ripping off Louboutin designs as their own.

I spotted the most recent outrage in Sportsgirl which is an Australian fashion chain store (I live in Melbourne). They've produced exact copies of the City Girl style. You can check them out here on their website: https://www.sportsgirl.com.au/index.html (just click on Shoes - the style is called "Racquel"). :wtf:

Surely this is illegal? Is there something/someone I should contact so that justice can be done!? Or am I just over-reacting and being far too precious about my own real Louboutins that I forked out a LOT of hard-earned $ for?

Anyway, thanks for letting me vent!
 
#2
Honestly, I dislike it, but don't really think it's a big deal. I personally don't buy the knockoffs because I know I wouldn't be satisfied, but to each her own. I think it's wrong for the cheaper brands to copy styles, but as far as people buying them, they can't help it, the shoes are pretty! I know mine are Louboutin, and that's enough for me.
 
#3
Ohmigod Betsey Johnson has a Louboutin look-alike. It makes me sad. But this totally looks like that shoe...forget what it's called:
http://www2.victoriassecret.com/com...C-227783&page=1&cgname=OSSHUPUMZZZ&rfnbr=2828

Unfortunately, I don't think it's illegal. Other designers are using previous designs as inspiration, but I don't think clothing in particular is patented or anything, which is why I guess so many companies like Forever 21 get away with copying designs.
 
#5
Ooh really? I don't remember what the rest of the Para La Cruz looks like, but I remember it having the same fringe, so it's good to know that they are a bit different. Thanks!

I usually love her stuff, so I was a bit saddened to see a shoe so similar, so it's good that the styles are different. :biggrin:
 
#8
i think there are some common classic styles that many designers work with but doesn't mean they're copying each other - i.e. the round toe pump, peep toe pumps, etc etc. however - i think when someone copies someone else's distinct, unique style exactly along with his/her unique signature (i.e. the red sole), then it kind of crosses the line. i'm all for couture styles trickling down into more affordable versions, but not when it's an exact copy including the original designer's signature.
 
#9
I personally don't mind. I know the quality doesn't even compare and whoever wants to buy 'inspired' shoes is their business. On the otherhand, if someone told me that I wasted an extra few hundred dollars on a pair of shoes that look like 'insert cheap designer name' shoes, then thats when I'll be mad.
 
#12
Hi Snoozie. Even though it doesn't bother me anymore, I can understand how you feel. There's nothing worse than seeing someone wearing a cheap, tacky knock-off of something you saved money for. That being said, I've learned to ignore knock-offs.
 
#13
It doesn't bother me. I recently saw a pair of Jessica Simpson shoes which were heavily inspired by CL's tiger patent decolletes. What's the saying that SJP uses for her fashion line? "Fashion is not a luxury" or whatever. I know that not everyone can afford CLs and that not everyone who can afford them would even want to purchase CLs for that matter. I would rather my niece buy a pair of $50 shoes than a pair of $500 shoes for where she is right now in her life. She actually has a Guess version of a pair of Giuseppe Zanotti shoes that I own! I think most people that purchase "inspired" shoes are not doing so with the intent to pass them off as CLs. It's like in The Devil Wears Prada ... They are choosing an item that has been predetermined for them and passed down the line from the fashion runways to a mass retailer like Nine West or Aldo. Sorry to get all rambly, I just find this topic very interesting. :shame:
 
#15
^^Yup, I agree, surlygirl! Not everyone can afford the real thing, so let them have their knockoffs. I actually didn't buy knockoffs back when I couldn't afford CL, but if I did, I wouldn't have known it. I wasn't the type to look at the expensive stuff and then look for a knockoff, I just looked around within my own price range. Everyone should be able to buy style.
 
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