08.17.12
Thank God for Customs!
It’s a crime of fashion even worse than wearing a white bra under a white T-shirt: The U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized a shipment of more than 20,000 pairs of fake Christian Louboutin shoes yesterday!
As ABC News reports, “U.S. Customs and Border Protection confiscated 20,457 pairs of counterfeit Christian Louboutin shoes at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport. According to the CBP, the knock-off shoes that were transported in five different shipments on a cargo ship in large boxes from China had a domestic value of more than $57,000, meaning it cost just less than $3 per pair to make them. Officials said there were enough of those red soles to add up to a suggested retail value of $18 million, an unbelievable profit.”
So, what tipped authorities off that the stems were phonies? “The original [Christian Louboutin] shoe is made in Italy,??? said chief CBP officer Guillermina Escobar. “Once we saw it was coming in from China, we knew there was a problem with the shipment.??? The fakes are also pretty awful, if you ask us–check out the photo above, where they’re clearly labeled “made in China” of “all man made materials.”
Thankfully, all 20,000+ pairs will be destroyed, likely by burning.
