Fancy Footwear Whodunnit
The mystery of the fake Louboutins is solved: What really happened
The mystery of the fake Christian Louboutins from Neiman Marcus online that arrived in the unsuspecting hands of a Houston customer has taken a sinister turn. Keen fashion sleuthing by NM detectives has revealed an unsavory customer in another city who was responsible for getting the fakes into the online warehouse. (Powers-that-be at NM don't want to reveal the exact craftiness employed.)
"There was a hole in our system," Neiman's veep of corporate communications Ginger Reeder tells CultureMap. "We believe that was an isolated incidence and we believe that we now have safeguards in place to prevent this from happening again."
"When I opened the box, the first thing I smelled was glue, not leather."
It all started when Farah Nasser ordered red patent Louboutins online, a birthday gift from her husband. When they arrived, they were not the style she had requested. So she packed them up and took them to Neiman Marcus in the Galleria and asked for an exchange. But no. She was informed that the shoes were clearly fakes and even with her receipt, there was nothing customer service could do.
According to a KHOU Channel 11 report, Nasser returned home and reached out to a Neiman's online representative. That individual eventually returned Nasser's call and, after the in-house investigation, agreed that the shoes were fakes and that the customer would be reimbursed. As an apology for the inconvenience, Nasser received not only a credit for the $625 fancy footwear but also a $50 gift card.
"They were very good fakes," Reeder added, saying "I'm delighted to have them back in our hands as they serve as a learning opportunity and for training in our warehouse."
How to spot the knock-offs from the real deal? Reeder says there are several markers, including the width of the heel, the shallow imprint of the shoe, the craftsmanship and probably most obviously, "When I opened the box, the first thing I smelled was glue, not leather."
See the KHOU Channel 11 report:
The new FIGS store will offer a Color Clinic and Customization Station to let shoppers personalize their FIGS uniforms. Photo courtesy of FIGS/Instagram