They’re convincing replicas, aren’t they? Honestly, these are the best damn copies of the Charlotte Olympia kitty cat flats I’ve seen on the Internet. I’ve finally been suckered into one of those tragic “blogger trends” and I’m not even mad, these are freaking adorable, and for a mere $50, they were a bloody bargain.
I bought these a little while ago on AliExpress and I’ve been so blown away that I had to post an “unofficial unboxing” on Carbon Chic (unofficial because I’ve already worn them for a few days.. oops).
They arrived in a somewhat smooshed Charlotte Olympia-branded shoe box…
Wrapped up in a Charlotte Olympia-branded dust bag. These people have gone to some serious A+ effort here.
And inside that dust bag were the most perfect pair of kitty flats in the world!
If the photos don’t give you enough of a picture, here’s a verbal description: Genuine leather uppers and inners with a gold embroidered cat face on the front and patent leather trimming around the entire shoe. Inside, there’s a scallop-border leather insole resting on top of some lining with the words “Charlotte Olympia” embossed onto the sole.
(Not to mention the shiny gold heel that most cheap replicas do not possess.)
Bottom of the shoe: A metal Charlotte Olympia gold spider-web logo stuck onto the sole. The writing on the sole says “Vero Cuoio | 40 | Made in Italy”. They came with a thin glad-wrap-covering for protection on the soles that you have to peel off (not pictured).
I was going to write a post about them when I first received them a few weeks ago, but I soon found that the seller I had purchased them from had packed up his virtual tent and moved elsewhere, so I didn’t bother. However, I have gotten so many positive comments about them from friends and strangers alike that I felt like I should share them regardless.
For those who want them now, honestly, I gave it my best shot but I couldn’t find ones exactly like mine. (Ironically, the ones I did find are probably closer to the real thing anyways.) They seem very similar to the ones pictured above and also genuine leather, but none of them seem to have the gold insole and asymmetrical gold spider web on the bottom, and the links keep breaking as sellers move stock around, so I’ve just posted a link to the search results page which has half a dozen or so of the same styles at different price points:
And while I’m personally a big sucker for genuine leather shoes and think it’s worth paying the little extra, here are a few low-budget pleather alternatives that I’ve found for those that swing that way:
There are heaps of fake designer, yet genuine leather shoes on AliExpress if you look hard enough (i.e. for these shoes, search for “cat shoes”, or in case of the Jeffrey Campbell Litas, just search for “hideous platform clonkers”, etc). You should have no trouble hunting them down from here. These links won’t last forever and I’ve had to amend some already where the listings have ended or been taken down, so if that’s the case with any of the links above, just look for them yourself, it’s not hard, I swear!
As always, exercise caution when buying from anyone online, and keep your measurements in mind. For example, the insoles of most of my flats measure 25cm long, so I know not to choose a number below this, no matter how much wishful thinking goes into my calculations. It is for this reason that the majority of shoes I buy from AliExpress must be a size 40, and not my usual 39–the make of those shoes is just smaller and narrower than the Aussie market. What that means is: long and wide-footed ladies alike, you’re out of luck on this one unfortunately.
Please note: I am NOT responsible if you buy something from AliExpress and you don’t like it when it arrives! The service I am offering today is “search engine”, not style advisor, and I cannot vouch for any of these sellers or shoes since I (unfortunately) have not purchased anything from them. Always use your best judgement when making a purchase from anywhere.
6 Comments
On AliExpress did the buyer show the detailing in the pictures or was that a surprise? I am looking at purchasing a pair and found a few sellers but the pictures don’t show too much detail. The price though has increased to are $70 USD. I love these shoes!
They showed it somewhat, but I didn’t know how accurate the pictures were going to be (they seemed like they were just taken from the original shoes’ photography). Give this link a go for a $52 pair: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2014-Fashion-cat-shoes-flat-heel-single-shoes-female-black-genuine-leather-flat-women-s-shoes/1825248687.html
SPECIAL FOOT NEEDS?! How dare you! I am considering this purchase veeeeeeeerrry strongly. VEEEEERRRRRRRY strongly.
Sorry, I meant giantfootitis. The politically correct form of what I meant. :D
Kitten flats are the best you know it.
I love these shoes! I’ve been wanting a pair of light blue ones myself c:
I found something similar on Amazon which has a light blue variety with silver detailing! Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Qupid-Womens-Salya-Ballerina-Kitty/dp/B00CR12FGM