Can You Really Be A Baller In Your Knock-Offs

I had this discussion on Twitter the other day and thought it was only right to bring this over to my fam on BA. Let’s start with the story that brought on this subject. 

I was online, as usual, looking for celebrity news and doing a little online shopping. I always prefer online shopping over going to actual stores because it’s so much easier to find what you want. I actually happen to follow a LOT of Facebook/Instagram boutiques. Basically they’re online shops but they run off their Facebook/Instagram, rather than an actual e-commerce website. I’ve ordered jewelry and clothes from these types of stores before but on this day, a pair of heels caught my eye in particular. These heels were HOT! They were totally up my lane. They were my favorite color, they fit my personality, they were absolutely EVERYTHING I’d want until I noticed one thing…the bottoms were red. 

Bummer! One thing I was NOT going to do is knowingly buy some Christian Louboutin knock-offs. Although I adored the shoes themselves, I couldn’t fix myself to make a purchase knowing that they were created to fool the people around me. Let’s be honest, I wasn’t going to buy them based on them being “Christian Louboutins”, I wanted to buy them because they were cute. Let’s also face the fact that Loubs are hardly in my budget range. I have rent to pay. I just can’t see myself knowingly rocking fakes. Don’t get me wrong, I have worn designer inspired clothing before. The difference between designer inspired is that it doesn’t come with a tag saying that it’s a designer that its not and it also has many differences in the design to where you can tell they are not the same. They’re not meant to fool you, just be a cost effective way to grab the same look. Yes, I do own a pair of Fever Tiffany Heels which are inspired by Gianmarco Lorenzi disco ball heels. I don’t think of those as knock-offs because of the OBVIOUS differences. Nor did they come in a Lorenzi box. These “Louboutins” however, come in a Louboutin box, Louboutin bag, have the signature Red bottom and are everything but real Christian Louboutin. They don’t advertise themselves as Louboutins outright, but let’s be honest, what else are you insinuating with the red bottom?

For those needing further explanation on the term designer inspired, check out the pic below.

Obvious differences. The Dollhouse version borrows a few small ideas from Louboutin, but it’s obvious that it is not a copy, replica or knock-off. Just a cost efficient way to achieve a similar look. I will rock designer inspired. There are shoes out here that are made exactly like the Louboutins with red bottom and all, yet they weren’t made by Christian Louboutin, THOSE are knock-offs. The heels at the very top of this page are knock-offs.

Am I over thinking the situation? Many people say “No one will ever know” but it’s not that I care if they know, I still know. Is it that deep down I’m worried that some serial Louboutin wearer will know that I’m rocking knock-offs? Should I get them because I liked the shoes or pass on them because they’re fake? Deep down I’m torn because I love the heels but I just can’t find myself wearing fakes. I can’t determine if it’s the stigma behind it or if my pride is a factor. I have never been pressed to fit in so I don’t see a reason to wear shoes that will make me look as if I am. If I really cared about the bottoms of a pair of shoes, I’d go out and spend money on the real deal. But I don’t, so why is this a hard decision? lol Would you wear fakes or would you feel like less of a Baller?