RICK OWENS - Shoes: ss08 Creatch Hi-Tops

On the 'most wanted' list of many guys this year are these leather hi-tops from Rick Owens' spring/summer 2008 collection. However, the $1,200+ price tag can be a little hard on the wallet, so, a lot of guys turn to eBay and other online sources in search of a bargain. Because Rick Owens is more of a niche label, unknown to the average Joe on the street, people often assume it isn't faked. Well, there are knock-offs of just about every label out there, and the more underground the label, the more money the counterfeiters can get for the fakes, simply because people assume they're real.

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They don't look bad at a glance but the fakes are, of course, poor quality and not worth the $200-600 they sell for. The real ones should last you a lifetime. In this first photo you can see the difference in the sole, the shape of the toe, and the shape and distance between the stripes. Also, note that the authentic shoe has thinner laces.

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Here is a close-up of the toe. You can see how the rubber part of the sole is molded differently. The cap of the toe on the fake recedes farther back than the authentic one.

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This detail shot of the side illustrates the difference in the quality of the stitching. Note how some of the fake's stitches are different sizes, and how they don't follow the curve of the leather very well. You can also see how the stitched rectangle is more squared and shifted on the fake shoe. There are also variances in the shape and proportions of the leather pieces throughout the shoe.

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The authentic kicks have a silver zipper vs. this fakes' copper colored zipper. The zipper itself is also a different shape. The real one is a bit longer and skinnier. The size should be printed on the leather flap inside the zipper (in this case they are a euro size 42).

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There are different varieties of fakes out there, the one above does have a silver zipper but it doesn't have the correct toggle. The fakes tend to use cheap hardware (such as generic zippers). Sometimes they mold their own but it is usually a very poor casting. In this comparison you can see the difference in the shape of the toggle better.

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This is the patch on the back side of the tongue. Compare the width of the patch to the black tab above it in the first set. The real tab is wider than the patch. However, some fakes are correctly proportioned, as demonstrated in the second set. In both examples the stitching across the black tab varies from the original.

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Last, but not least, the insole. Notice a difference? Yeah, you guessed it, they didn't bother to stamp the Rick Owens logo in these fakes, which makes it a little easier to export them without alerting customs agents. The real ones also have a serrated edge along part of the insole.

As with all knock-offs remember that the fakes can vary, and there may be more than one factory/company producing the knock-offs. As a result some fakes may look more real than others. Use your best judgment and follow my 'hunting basics.'