Please pay detailed attention to the pics below when purchasing a pair of these boots or other CL shoes. Feel free to check IOFFER.COM that is one of many sites that sell replicas and that will give you a REAL GOOD idea of all the replica brands out there that are many times being passed right on to you. However if you see some of the SAME pics and listing for shoes on IOFFER that you see on Ebay please don't think that all Ebay seller are selling fakes. The IOFFER.COM site is very bad about copying the pictures and listing from Ebay sellers authentic listings to sell their replica items. This has happened to me several times as well as other Ebay sellers and it's almost impossible to get resolved. When in doubt please ask questions.
Please see pics below:
**FAKE BOOT IS ON RIGHT**FRINGE IS MUCH LARGER AND A LOT LESS FRINGE**
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- THE BOX: You may think this tip is silly but sometimes the little things you look for pay off in the end. This is one small tip but a good one to look for. The authentic box is on the left . The fake box on the right is smaller and the Louboutin logo on the lid is much larger, also the box is often made of cardboard and has a slight color difference than the authentic ones. This is of course hard to tell by the pics since your not going to have two boxes side by side to compair but... when looking at listings with the box pay attention to the word "PARIS". The Authentic box has the word "PARIS" up close near the CL logo NOT over in the bottom corner. Also ask for the item description on the box. If there is no description or just the CL logo with a bunch of sizes across the top of of the label such as "36,37,38,39," ect. then take precautions. There should be a white label with "Christian Louboutin", the model name of the shoe, and the eur size printed in black on the label.
**NOTE FRINGE SIZE ON THE FAKE BLACK BOOT IN THESE PICS & HOW THE REPLICA PAIR IS ALSO A LOT BIGGER IN THE PIC OF ALL 3 PAIRS**
**FAKE BOOT IS ON RIGHT**FRINGE IS MUCH LARGER AND A LOT LESS FRINGE**- THE FOREVER TINA FRINGE BOOTS: In the picture of all 3 boots, the authentic pairs are the Magneta Purple and the Black ones on each side. The Black ones in the middle are FAKE. The ones I see listed for sale are most always this black replica boot and they look just like the one in these pics. I have seen the brown and purple replica boots being sold also but its more often the black ones. The fakes are much taller and have a larger leg circumference than the authentic pairs. The authentic boots are right at 16" from top to floor no matter what size you need. This replica is 18 1/2" from top to floor and other replicas may differ in height as well but the authentic pair will be 16". Also pay close attention to the fringe. Fake boots have much larger fringe strands with less fringe. The authentic boots have very small 1/16" wide fringe, the replica boot the fringe is 1/4" wide and is very easy to spot. The inside of the boots should have tan leather lining, not black. If you see an item for sale with stock photos please ask for photos of the actual item. If in doubt ask questions of height, fringe size, and so on.
- FYI: There is also a smell on a lot of replicas that is unpleasant and for sure noticable. It has a chemical/moth ball/stored for a long time kind of smell and not the nice new leather smell of a shoe. Many that have emailed me have also complained about the smell of thier shoes. I'm not sure how else to explain it, you will just know when you open the box. I had purchased a replica pair with this smell once before and I thought how in the world did CL's became so popular with a smell like this. The whole car would smell when I wore these things. This was before I knew about fakes.
- THE DUST COVERS: The authentic dust cover is on the left and has a nice bright red color with cotton material with the Louboutin logo written straight across the dust cover. The fake one's has a light red color that looks almost as if its sun faded and the Louboutin logo is written sideways on the dust cover. The material also has a faux, silk feel to it. I have seen listings where the authentic dust covers are used in pics with fake boots. Authentic covers are also made just big enough to fit one boot per cover. The fake covers are large enough to fit two pairs per cover and any weekend packing as well for those last minute getaways:-)
- STITCHING: Authentic Louboutin boots/shoes are made with excellent detailed stitching. Fake Louboutins will show bad stitching on the inside and the outside of the boot or shoe. You can see on the fake black ones how bad the stitching is on the inside lining of the boot. On authentic Louboutins the stitching is very neat, close together and very detailed which follows the lining of the boot or shoe and does not show any breaks, gaps, or big snags in various places. If you catch yourself wanting to grab some sissors or a needle and thread to tuck in those snags sticking out on your expensive new purchase then you have a fake. If your going to invest in a pair of Louboutins go and see a pair in person and become familiar with the brand and the excellent quality before spending hard earned money on a possible fake. Once you become familiar with the brand you can most always spot a fake.
- FYI: ON THE FAKE BOOTS THE RED SOLES BROKE LOOSE FROM THE BOOTS AND THE HEEL BROKE OFF AFTER 2 WEEKS.
*AUTHENTIC SOLE *FAKE/REPLICA SOLE
- SIGNATURE RED SOLES: This goes for all Louboutin soles....The authentic red soles on the left have a bright red color with a nice high gloss finish and it may be hard to see how glossy the soles are in this pic. The fakes on the right will have more of a dark deeper red color with a low gloss matte looking finish. Pay attention to the designers name as the authentic pair will have "Chrisitan Louboutin" "Made in Italy" on the soles with the EUR size (ex. 38, 39.5) on the bottom. Fake Louboutins will have "Chrisitan Louboutin" also with "Made in Italy" and the EUR size but... you will many times see all one word "MADEINITALY" as seen above. The Christian Louboutin signature logo does not quite match the authentic logo by size of signature and spacing. On authentic CL's the top of the "L" loops around to where it looks as if it's touching but there is a very small space. The replica "L" does not loop nearly as much and you can easily seen the space like in the pic above. The soles of authentic CL's are slick to walk in especially on carpet. Any replicas that I have come across do not have the slick, bust your butt feel to them. That is one reason why many people add the rubber soles to their authentic CL's in addition to keeping them protected. The disatvantage to authentic soles is the red will scuff off very eaisly with limited wear especially on hard surfaces like concrete and replica soles are much harder to scuff up.
AUTHENTICITY CARDS: This is a another HUGE clue that the item is a replica. Christian Louboutin DOES NOT send out red plastic authenticity cards nor do they send out the black authenticity cards with information on the card stating they guarentee the materials are of "high quality" materials. This is FAKE! Designers such as Gucci, Versace and Chanel have booklets that come with their shoes and Prada also has a plastic auth card they send with the item description but Christian Louboutin does NOT send booklets or authenticity cards with any boots or shoes.
- REFUNDS: Please note that if you think you have purchased a replica item or your item is not as described in the listing and the seller states "NO RETURNS' you can still request a refund thru the dispute process thru Ebay. It is NOT the buyers responsibility to get proof the item is authentic. It is the sellers responsibility to show proof their item is authentic. Just follow the steps of the "Item not as described" dispute process thru Ebay. Please search in the help section on the top of the Ebay page for "Buyers Protection Policy" for information regarding disputes and coverage of purchase. Please make sure your dispute is valid and not buyers remorse. If you are shipping an item back to the seller for a refund add tracking to your return so there is no question your item was returned.
Hopefully this guide will help buyers in what to look for. I am not affiliated with Christian Louboutin in any way other than a big fan of the designer. Also remember that just because a seller has a high performance rating that can sometimes be used to gain trust in the buyer that all their items are authentic. Sometimes a seller may not even know their item is a replica. Ebay DOES have very good sellers with many good authentic designer items but just do research and compare pictures. If a seller has several of the same item for sale in many different sizes and colors or they are current season especially on pre-order in the department stores by all means ask questions. If a seller is not responsive to your questions or responds with "I don't answer questions about authenticity" or they don't have your size and the response is "let me check with my supplier" then take precautions. If I can be of any help your more than welcome to email me. Please feel free to vote if this guide has been helpful or not or if you have any suggestions that would improve this guide.
I want to thank those in the press who have verified and used information in my guide for thier press release news articles.
Tracy
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