BY PRESCYLLA VERONIQUE

Lately, I have been going crazy for shoes. It makes sense since my New Year’s resolution was to build-up my shoe collection.

But here’s one little problem: the shoes I’ve been loving have all been designer. If it’s not the Gucci platform sneakers, it’s the Louis Vuitton star trail ankle boots (the ones that lace up). These shoes, however, usually cost a thousand dollars and up — which is a price point I’m not ready for.

So I have to face reality and look for dupes. Looking for dupes is not as easy as it seems, especially if you have designer dreams but are also ballin’ on a budget. Although, this shouldn’t stop you from finding your dupes.

I had my eye on the Miu Miu pearl fur slides. I first saw them on Instagram. And I knew they were going to be apart of my destiny.

For some designer items, I legitimately contemplate buying them. I decided to search up the price of the slides.

The slides are around  $1050. Very cute price but that wasn’t happening for me anytime soon. So I decided to look for a dupe.

When you looking for dupes you have to go check all the brands that are infamously known for dupes.

They start with names like Jeffrey Campbell, Steve Madden and sometimes Forever 21.

Lucky for me Jeffrey Campbell had an amazing replica of the slides I was looking for. They were around $200, which for me is somewhat affordable. If I work hard. Really hard. So I decided when the time was right and I had my money up a little, I would purchase them.

🙏🏾 Then God really came through. 🙏🏾

I decided to go to my local Winners and check out what they had. I searched through the beauty section, clothes etc. I then visit the shoe section. After some good staring at the shelves, I saw them.

An exact replica of the velvet version of the Miu Miu pearl slides. Which is just as nice.

At the moment I probably shed an invisible tear. 😢

I picked up my size and checked the price. The shoes were $24.99, and at that point I just thought Jeffrey Campbell who?

There were only three left so I knew I had to buy them. The brand was Catherine Malandrino. Never heard of it but I now love Catherine Malandrino.*

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the slides online or else I would’ve hooked y’all up with the link.  But this is just a lesson to learn about finding dupes for favourite shoe, clothing item etc. You will always find it. If you believe and try, of course. 

Designer things are always heavily copied for those who are not ready to drop thousands of dollars in a second. It’s the foundation for fast fashion.

Here are some quick tips just go over when looking for dupes.

1. Always check your fave fast fashion brands.
   1. Usually, they always have a dupe of what you’re looking for. Online is sometimes a good way to as well but you just have to be careful about sizing. Places like Steve Madden, Jeffrey Campbell, Asos, Zara and UK websites like Misguided are good places to start.
2. Be ready to search for a while. Remember you may not always get lucky right away.
   1. Research is so important. All the way down to the fabrics, the reviews (if you’re going the online route). The longevity of the product etc. Those things matter because if the quality of your dupe is bad, it’s really not worth it.
3. Have an open mind
   1. You may not always find the exact item you’re looking for. You may find a similar one, a way better one or you may not even find a dupe for it at all. But that shouldn’t discourage you. It’s always important to have an open mind and most likely things will come up positive for you. Take me for example, I didn’t even know Miu Miu sold a velvet version of the slides until I found a dupe, and all was good.

 

 

 

 

*Picture of the Catherine Malandrino slides in the header image.