Thursday, October 11, 2012

The Great Balenciaga Boot Quest


I am about the farthest thing from a brand whore that you can possibly think of. I obsessively FOLLOW designer fashion, yes, but if I can get a knock off for a fraction of the price I would pay for designer, I scoop it up. I'm addicted to Asian wholesale websites (despite their "one size fits Asian" sizing charts), and have acquired some amazing shoes and jewelry from them and eBay over the years.

Because of my obsessive bargain shopping (and the fact that I am a perpetually broke professional writer!), I have a really hard time EVER paying full price for clothes, no matter how badly I want them. I know if I go to Crossroads or thrift stores I can find something roughly like what I'm wishing for if I search hard enough, and there's no feeling quite so delicious as something awesome for a good bargain.

Back in 2006 when the above Balenciaga bootie was released, I felt myself frothing rabidly at the mouth for it. It had everything I've ever wanted in a shoe: a unique shape, textures, buckles, and punk rock attitude. I had a major boner for these shoes, but there was no way I could justify a price tag closer to 1k than 100... and even if I could, I would have had to have lived hand to mouth for about three months to manage it. I knew if I waited long enough, knock offs would happen.

Well, they finally did, in the form of the Sam Edelman Zoe boot which showed up on NastyGal.com a couple of months ago. I juggled back and forth if I wanted to spend $198.00 on a pair of shoes (by far the most I'd have EVER paid for shoes, ever) and by the time I had made up my mind to take the plunge they were out in my size. Ugh. (I wear a size 9 - I'm still debating on trying the 8.5 or the 9.5, which they still have in stock)

Then YESTERDAY I was poking around one of my favorite questionable but cheap Asian wholesale websites, Milanoo.com, and I FOUND THEM. I found my heart jump into my throat - literally. I felt excited in the way a teenage girl feels when she see Justin Bieber tweet back at her. I was almost crying when I frantically clicked on the link and went to select a size, already imagining the outfits I would wear these shoes I have been lusting after for SIX YEARS with. The sizes stopped at size 8. I scrolled desperately, hoping there had been some sort of mistake. Then I emailed Milanoo, begging them to find a way to get me a size bigger. They responded in broken english that they cannot fulfill my request.

I know it's stupid to be utterly gutted over a pair of shoes, but I am. I want these shoes like how I wanted the Pikachu Gameboy Color when I was little. I want these shoes the same way I want unicorns to be real. But 198 dollars is two days of work for me, and I'm just not quite sure if I can bring myself to do it.

Does anyone know anywhere else to get knockoffs that are 100 or less? Ones that actually come in my size? Have you ever had this sort of desperation over an article of clothing?


18 comments:

  1. Balenciaga & Milano looks almost the same !!!

    http://www.olastory.com/

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    Replies
    1. Milano like the UK shoe brand? I went to their website and didn't see anything that looked like these...

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    2. Oh, you meant the Milanoo shoes. Yeah, it sucks, I wish they came in my size.

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  2. omg do NOT order from Milanoo. They steal pictures from tons of designers and pawn them off as their own designs. There is a chance you will receive an ok looking pair of replicas but the horror stores about Milanoo orders outweigh the good. I encourage you to google Milanoo reviews before ordering these. :/

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    Replies
    1. Meh, I've ordered quite a few things from them before and the worst thing that's ever happened to me is that one of my zentai suits had some tearing along the seam that was easily fixed by sewing it. I've found the same Asian knock offs of these shoes on a few websites, including eBay, along with reviews of people who bought them and they look the same except more velvety. I can't order them anyway, they don't go up to my size :-/

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    2. I just feel like if you're ordering from Milanoo and expecting AWESOME QUALITY, that's when people get upset. I know what I'm paying for, and if it means I have to fix something when I get it but pay 10 bucks for a purse, it doesn't really bother me.

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    3. Ah ok, red flags just go up for me when Milanoo is mentioned. If you've had ok experiences in the past then I'm glad to hear it. It's not often I hear positive experiences when ordering from them.

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  3. Definitely have had this crisis before. There was an H&M faux leather fringe jacket that I HAD TO HAVE. I called every store in the Western US looking for it, I stalked eBay online for months and months, had friends all over the world going to stores looking for it. I was looking for it in different languages, lol.

    Almost a year later I found it in my size on the Yahoo!Japan auction site. I bought it, then the next day the earthquake hit Japan. Loong, long story short, it finally ended up in my closet. Don't give up! It'll come to you if it's meant to be. ;)

    amen fashion xo.

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  4. this is a great post. i've been looking for affordable wedge boots for awhile now. lots of good stuff here. thanks!

    - Anna

    www.melodicthriftychic.com

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  5. also, try Urbanog = http://www.urbanog.com/index_113_p1_s1_ipp80.html

    you may not find those strappy buckle boots, but who knows? they might have suitable substitute. their shoes are reasonably priced IMO.

    - Anna

    www.melodicthriftychic.com

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  6. Im excatly the same! I bought a pair of knockoffs from Nelly.com for 17 euros :)

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    Replies
    1. Darn, I went on their website and couldn't find them :-/

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  7. Balenciaga <3 wow .
    http://coeursdefoxes.blogspot.com/

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  8. I'm ALWAYS on the hunt for amazing knockoffs for one of my weekly blog features, I'll definitely keep these in mind for you <3

    LAME that Milanoo only goes up to a size 8, though! I was lusting after a ton of their giant lolita shoes yesterday and noticed that :/ Boooo.

    Bre
    http://bythe-throat.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. Oooh, yay! SOME of their shoes go bigger (actually a lot of the Lolita ones do), but the ones I really want don't. GRR.

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    2. So, I still haven't managed to find the knockoffs, but I *did* find the Sam Edelmans, sizes fully stocked, for $119. Just throwin' it out there :D

      http://www.6pm.com/sam-edelman-zoe-black

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