Don’t get fooled!

Here’s a couple tricks on how to spot a fake Christian Louboutin heel and, better yet, how to authenticate whether a pair is REAL.

Logo

Whenever you see the Christian Louboutin logo, check the following to quickly filter out fakes:     

1. There should be a space between the “C” and the “h”
2. There should NOT be a space between the “L” and the “o”
3. Clarity should be fine, not blurry

Details

Always check the quality of the product. Christian Louboutin shoes have fine, straight, and tightly woven stitching with no gaps. Poor craftsmanship, such as frays, uneven lines, or gaps between stitching are signs of a fake.

Familiarity with the brand’s products is crucial in authenticating whether a product is real. When in doubt, pull up the product online on the brand’s website and do a side-by-side comparison. More likely than not, counterfeiters will get something wrong. Take, for example, these Christian Louboutin platform heels. Can you spot the difference between the placement of the straps between the authentic (on the left) and the (fake on the right)?

Packaging

Christian Louboutin shoes come in brown box with the logo centered on the lid and the word ‘Paris’ in the bottom right corner. A red, cotton duster (although it feels like velvet!) should be included along with a mirroring, tiny, ‘bit and pieces’ bag. BEWARE counterfeiters often overlook this detail and use a plastic supply bag! Eyes out for that.

Unlike some other legacy brands, Christian Louboutin does NOT provide an authenticity card with its shoes. Counterfeiters will try to fool you into thinking its real by toting an authenticity card. But don’t be fooled, Christian Louboutin doesn’t provide an authenticity card – so if someone is purportedly marketing a pair with such a card, RUN FOR THE HILLS. It’s fake.

Insoles

Check the insoles for the Christian Louboutin logo, which should be stamped in gold ink with the word ‘Paris’ centered below. If the word ‘Pairs’ is missing or placed too high up (almost butting-in on the logo itself), then it’s a fake. Many counterfeiters will overlook or omit ‘Paris’ to save costs during manufacturing.        

Outsoles

The infamous Louboutin ‘red sole.’ A brand identifier in itself. Christian Louboutin outsoles are made of pure leather and finished with a red lacquer, which is what gives it that iconic red coloring. Counterfeiters will often use plastic (or other resin-based material) as the soles to drive down its cost. This often results in a plastic-like appearance that is too shiny.  

Within the outsoles check for the following three embossings (in this order, from top to bottom): (i) Christian Louboutin logo, (ii) ‘MADE IN ITALY’, and (iii) size.

As always with logos, double check spacing and proportions.

When inspecting the ‘MADE IN ITALY’ embossing, make sure there are spaces between the words. For whatever reason, counterfeiters will omit the spaces running the words together as so: ‘MADEINITALY’. Further, there is a lot of confusion regarding the Vero Cuoio stamp, so let’s put that to rest. Vero Cuoio translates from Italian to English as ‘real leather’. As a brand, Christian Louboutin formerly embossed ‘Vero Cuoio’ framed in a shield to the outsoles below their logo, which could come in several variations (see authentic examples below). However, the brand has since stopped using the Vero Cuoio embossing. What does that mean? It means older styles can have the Vero Cuoio stamp and be real. It also means newer styles can have the stamp and be fake. In sum, the stamp itself it not conclusive of a fake. Rather, it requires further diligence to identify whether the model and vintage of shoe was made during the time period when the brand still used the Vero Cuoio embossing.

Regarding the size embossing, remember: Christian Louboutin is an Italian brand and, therefore, their sizes are always expressed in Italian sizing. Counterfeiters target the American market and will often present sizes in a familiar format, meaning, in U.S. sizing. However, that’s a dead giveaway of a fake. Always double-check the outsoles to make sure the size is expressed in Italian sizes (such as 37) rather than American sizing (such as 7). Further, Christian Louboutin always expresses their half sizes in fractions, not decimals! Keep an eye out for that – the size should read 37 1/2, NOT 37.5.

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