Can't quite afford a pair of Christian Louboutin's famous high heels? Then do what UK ladies are doing: Buy some red paint and turn your ordinary heels into Louboutins by painting the soles red. "I bought a [$30] pair of plain black shoes and a tester pot [of paint] and recreated the designer look at home," says one woman who needed a glamorous look for a wedding. "I carefully painted the soles, let them dry overnight, and by the next day they were ready to wear. I received so many compliments at the wedding about my gorgeous shoes."
The trend is so popular, the Telegraph reports, that sales of some red shades of paint have "rocketed" up 40% compared to last year, according to a manager at one chain. Louboutin himself came up with the idea to make his shoes' soles red after painting one pair with nail polish in 1992. For the uninitiated, a pair of those red-soled babies can set you back as much as a grand, whereas a tester pot of paint will cost you a little more than two bucks. (More Christian Louboutin stories.)