Christian Louboutin’s ‘Lady Page’ pumps were one of my favourite styles from the past couple of years, and I’m pretty sure you can see why. They’re classic, elegant and oh-so-glamorous – in fact, Dita Von Teese seemed to wear her pair non-stop last year, which says it all, really.
The problem? They were almost $1000. Luckily, though, the good ol’d high street has come to the rescue again, and yesterday I spotted these Frida pumps at Spartoo. These shoes are £132, which isn’t exactly cheap, obviously, but which starts to seem cheap (well, almost) compared to their designer sisters.
Viewed side-by-side, you can easily tell which is which, but I think the Frida version still makes for a gorgeous, sophisticated looking black pump, with its similarly shaped ruffle detail and black patent uppers.
Like them? If so, you can click here to buy them. The Louboutins, meanwhile, are now out of stock, but the peep toe version (Miss ChaCha) came out last Autumn, so I live in hope of a re-issue of this gorgeous shoe. Maybe in red, say. Or green. Or anything, really…
I spotted these Schuh court shoes over at Shoewawa last week, and had the niggling feeling I’d seen them somewhere else. Finally it came to me: they’re dead ringers (well, almost) for the Dolce & Gabbana pumps I showed you back in August 2009, aren’t they?
So I guess this is really a case of Schuh Deja Vu.
(Sorry.)
If you like them, they’re £64.99, they’re also available in red, and you can buy them here.
I know it’s cherries rather than birds or cats, but every time I look at these shoes, I think of Miu Miu:
(Miu Miu)
Which I’m guessing is probably the whole point, really. They’re not the same shape, and they don’t have the same print, but there’s a definite degree of designer-inspiration going on there, which will make these a great buy for those of you who love (but can’t afford) Miu Miu’s current look. Those of you who hate it, meanwhile, are probably cringing right now: always the way of it…
Oh, Martinez Valero, could you be any more blatant?
Although these Valero slingbacks are more-or-less exact copies of Gucci’s tattoo slingbacks from a couple of seasons ago (right down to the colours and design of the rose “tattoo”, I don’t think anyone looking at the image above would have any difficulty telling which was the designer shoe, even if I hadn’t captioned it for you. The Gucci version is a far more elegant shape, a nicer colour, and just looks more expensive, as you would expect given that they ARE more expensive – or rather were. These are past season, so they’re no longer available unless you want to try your luck on eBay or somewhere similar. The Valero shoes, on the other hand, are available at Endless.com, amongst other places, and are $96.22.
I loved these Guccis when they came out, but, having tried on the originals, I don’t think I could stomach the copies. Could you?
This is a particularly shameless copycat, and aside from the fact that the fabric on the Paris Hilton shoes looks (and no doubt IS) much cheaper than that on the Louboutins, and the PH sole is pink rather than red, they’re more or less identical, which makes it hard to understand why Louboutin hasn’t tried to have these withdrawn, as he has with other copycat designs.
As with the Louboutin originals, these are also available in white.
As much as I dislike peep-toe boots in general and these Alexander Wang ones in particular, I think this is a good example of how the high street SHOULD emulate designer styles. The Dorothy Perkins boots on the right of the image above have the same kind of look and feel to them, and they also share the zips, eyelets, fold-over cuff and slightly strange “double ankle” design of the Alexander Wang versions, however they’re not SO similar that they could be accused of being knockoffs. What you get, then, is a shoes which is “designer inspired” in the true sense of the phrase, and a chance to get the same kind of look for a fraction of the price – these are just £55 to the £620 you’d pay for the Alexander Wang.
It’s just a shame it’s not a style that I particularly want to “steal”…
It’s been a while since we had a dose of Shoe Deja Vu around these here parts, so here’s a pretty clear-cut case, from Jessica Simpson and Gucci. The latter’s Babouska’s sandals are no longer available most places, but retailed for over $1,000 when they were first released.
Jessica Simpson’s ‘Alexandra’ shoes, meanwhile, are a different colour from the Guccis pictured, but also come in black, which Gucci also released their shoe in. They’re just £54.80 at Nordstrom.
Why is it that when celebrities “design” shoes, they tend to take “inspiration” so blatantly from other designers? Yes, Paris Hilton, I AM looking at you…
Remember the Giuseppe Zanotti tan and black patent sandals I showed you last year? I certainly do: they were one of my favourite shoes of the year, although I was forced to worship them from afar only, not happening to have a spare $650 lying around just begging to be spent on a single pair of shoes.
Topshop’s ‘Rae’ sandals, on the other hand, are only £60, which takes them out of the fantasy league. No, they’re not quite up to Zanotti’s standards, but the bar was set high there, and these have the same colours and style, without the same price tag. They’re also available in black, and you can buy them here.
