by Doyin Jaiyesimi

You know the deal: donning the iconic Christian Louboutin red sole is a badge of honour. So some women have decided to get it at all costs.

In the UK, sales of glossy red paint such as Durcoat’s ‘Flame’ and ‘Show Stopper’ have soared dramatically as compared to the same period last year and Homebase have claimed that the rise is due to women painting the sole of their shoes red. “Women are coming in to buy red paint and even asking how best to apply it”, a Homebase store manager said. “They have also asked staff for tips on how to paint on leather or rubber.”

Claire Stevenson, a PA from Croydon confessed to taking the DIY route when she wanted her dream pair of Louboutins to wear to her cousin’s wedding. “There was no way I could afford to buy a pair of Louboutin heels, but I had my heart set on them and felt the pressure to be fashionable at the occasion”, she said. So instead of brooding about the fact that she could not afford her dream shoes, Claire simply bought a £20 pair of black shoes, a tester pot of red paint and recreated the designer look at home. She carefully painted the black shoes, left them to dry overnight and by morning, they were looking like original Louboutins. Talk about dream come true. For her little effort, Claire received many compliments on how gorgeous her shoes looked. Did she confess that they were fake? Of course not. Now she plans on converting some of her other shoes to Louboutins.

This will definitely not be pleasant news for the owner of the Louboutin brand, Christian Louboutin, who holds the brand so dear. Mr Louboutin came up with the idea of creating shoes with a distinctive red sole after he painted an assistant’s nail polish onto the bottom of a pair of shoes, because he felt the shoes “lacked energy”. Mr Louboutin has since trademarked the iconic red soles and fought a legal battle with Yves Saint Laurent for imitating his beloved shoes by putting red soles on non-Louboutin shoes. Surely Mr Louboutin will be too busy to go after a group of resourceful women for infringing his trademark.

A pot of red paint will cost  you approximately £1.59 while an entire shoe collection upgrade will set you back £17.99.

What do you think? Would you be joining this party?