Copy cat

It first happened while having breakfast in a small French café in Kirribilli. A very fake-tanned woman, dressed in a little mini skirt and a far-too-tight singlet teetered in. As my eyes scanned her outfit, I couldn’t help noticing the red sole on her sky-high heels. Christian Louboutin's! In fact, they were a pair of this season’s snakeskin peep-toe platforms. My first day in Sydney and already I’d spotted my first pair. Really? On her? I was intrigued.

When I overheard she worked at the boutique next door I thought I’d investigate. Immediately I spotted the offending shoes but when I turned them over, they weren't Louboutin's at all. The label read Peeptoe Shoes and they were about AUS$1200 cheaper than the real thing. Now I spot women running all over the city in them, every day.

Browsing the racks of Witchery the next day, a very pretty skirt caught my eye. After I picked it up I realised why I liked it so much (and why for some reason it looked so familiar). I had tried on the exact same skirt, seam for seam, and zip for zip, at Phillip Lim in New York only a few months earlier. Fake Christian Louboutin's, fake Phillip Lim, what the hell is going on?

I know it's normal for chain stores over our side of the Pacific to use garments they pick up in Paris, New York and London as inspiration; I mean that is their whole raison d'être, but isn’t this a tad illegal? It certainly brings a whole new meaning to fast fashion.

Phillip Lim Spring 09

Witchery skirt- in store now

Wittner Sassy pumps - which also come in black

YSL Tribute pumps

The real thing...Christian Louboutin's

The cheeky Peeptoe impersonators

Playing Cinderella

A pair of high heeled shoes has the power to make a woman lose her mind temporarily, where a casual flirtation becomes a love affair that can quickly turn into a full-blown obsession.

No where else is this more true than in Manhattan, where the world of high heels knows no limits and where shoes seem to be more addictive than coffee and cigarettes put together.

Angelina Jolie wearing Christian Louboutins for V magazine

The ultimate high heel, the most coveted in this city, are the Louboutins. Manhattan women save up for months for the now famous scarlet soles. So, in the name of research I walked into my first Christian Louboutin boutique in the West Village to see what all the fuss was about, I mean can a pair of shoes really be worth this much? And not just for their $600 plus price tag, but for all the worship they inspire? - Even Suri Cruise has a custom-made pair.

Katie Holmes in patent blue Louboutins at the Met's Costume Institute Gala

The boutique itself is a small, low-key spectacle. Made of brick, the store is on a quiet corner surrounded by other brown-stone houses, and is only known from the tiny pink neon sign in the window.

First off I picked up one-half of a heavily embellished pair of platform high heels. They were $4,500. Yes, $4,500. I, too, lost consciousness.

Suede Louboutins in pretty pastels from the spring 09' collection -
Harper's Bazaar Feb 09

Next I plucked a classic pump off the shelf, which were a more reasonable $695 (I can just see my boyfriend, Bruce, rolling his eyes at this observation) and popped it on. And yes, the tales are true. In an instant I felt different. Somehow more grown-up, graceful and elegant.

However, I am all too aware that maintaining a relationship with Mr. Louboutin, no matter how effortlessly chic I feel in his shoes, would be extravagantly expensive.

Like any addiction, you only end up wanting more.