Sure, this Pierre Hardy shoe’s from 2008, but the print’s so distinct that when we saw Nine West’s Bonfire pump we immediately knew what we were really looking at.

Prints on shoes are rare anyway, let alone 3D squares of bronze and black stacked upon each other. The size, the angle, the shadows of the square are all perfectly imitated (on an almost identical shape, too).

We’ll stop short of calling the shape irrelevant and focus on the fact that prints represent a danger zone for high street knock-offs, especially given the success of past print-based lawsuits from Anna Sui and Diane von Furstenburg.

Nine West makes the shoe in another print, one we haven’t seen before, no need for them to push it.

 
This just in:

Another bit to add to Wednesday night’s Little J revelations -

Once again, after the jump, so no crying if you click to regret it.

Almost every knock-off we see from Forever 21 raises the original from the dead and into a plastic-y patent leather evil twin - why does everything they make have to be shiny? - and this Chanel rip-off is no exception.

The criss-crossing straps along the front make a decent imitation but the buckles are lacking the Chanel’s extra oomph, plus the heel kind of looks like the Chanel’s frumpy cousin. And of course, the patent ‘leather’ completely changes the sophisticated tone of the original.

Nine West managed to do a bit better with the look. They, too, offer a version in black patent but also turned out a few suede versions in different colors. Like F21, Nine West opted for a shorter heel without the detail (we guess they drew the line at quilting), but with less criss-crossing straps and forgettable buckles.

We bet Karl’s pouring some Bacardi in that Diet Coke right about now…

—HAYLEY PHELAN

It looks like your favorite Nine West pumps might be getting just a little more comfortable come spring.

Nine West is teaming up with New Balance in a collaboration to produce active fashion footwear for Spring 09.

We’re predicting cute ballet flats and not-so-high stilettos - kind of like the look for less blisters.

The two are collaborating in both design and marketing but New Balance is slated to provide the materials while Nine West brings their good looks.

As long as this doesn’t mean a batch of sneaker wedges or performance peep toes, we’re all for cute shoes that feel good - so long as Nine West stays away from knock-offs.

—KYLE HAYES

Fact: Bloggers have been endorsing Polyvore like celebs endorse presidential candidates. But it took us a little while to jump on the bandwagon (blogwagon?) with this one. But thanks to Polyvore, now you, too, can play Rachel Zoe from the comfort of your own laptop.

If you’re new to the game/just bored like us, you should give it a try. Then spend all day not working, and instead mixing and matching your Net-a-Porter pipe dreams or taking your own wardrobe and pretending you have Cher Horowitz’s closet (so ahead of its time). Even the offical Polyvore Blog is addictive.

And retailers, take note: Polyvore is also a pretty genius marketing tool. Hot stops like Nine West have been holding contests and giving away merch to the users who create the best looks using their products.

Now let’s commence plotting on how to get Net-a-Porter to jump on board and give us free stuff…

— JAZZI McGILBERT

Quick!

How are these shoes different?

1. Length of ankle strap.

2. Angle of the back part of the shoe that covers your heel (sorry, we’re not cobblers)

3. Color of buckle.

4. Color of that little cap on the heel.

5. Oh, and the insole - One’s Jimmy Choo, $585; the other’s Nine West, $89.

But if either of these stomped past us down Madison? We’d think you were out $600…

We remember seeing a knockoff of Christian Louboutin’s Sarah B shoe a few seasons ago at Nine West, but we didn’t think much of it.

Then we saw another at Forever 21, which struck us as odd. Why are mass retailers knocking off a shoe that’s nearly four years old? Maybe the new strategy is to knock off old designs and hope no one will remember far back enough to notice.

The only real difference between the two is the heel - but we imagine 5-inch stilettos wouldn’t have gone over well at a $20 price point anyway - and, of course, the Louboutin red soles, which would have actually been kind of funny.

— JAZZI McGILBERT

I love Givenchy.

Their Fall ‘08 collection was one of my favorites and their Spring ‘08 Couture still pops up in my dreams.

But I cannot forgive them for putting open toe boots on the runway. Or maybe I should say I can’t forgive mass-market brands for attempting to make this trend affordable so that even people who don’t worship at the altar of Riccardo Tisci can walk around in open toe boots.

My mom used to say that the four inch wooden platforms with white, cherry splattered canvas that I ran around in the summer before high school were the most impractical shoes ever made. But she’d never seen open-toe booties.

In New York, it’s pretty much either cold and rainy, in which case your poor toes would fall off; or, it’s hot and sweaty, in which case your calves would probably melt from being stuck in a leather chamber all day.

Either way, you’re miserably uncomfortable. Someone please explain - why would anyone wear these off the runway?

Sticking a giant bow on any accessory is a risk that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Sticking a giant bow on an already huge satchel that’s either loudly metallic or patent leather, is probably not the best bet.

And charging $2,000 for that bag would just be ridiculous, since one could only wear it so often before being known as the girl with the giant bow handbag. But if anyone’s going to try, and maybe even achieve success with said oversized bag, it would be Valentino.

We’re not sure how successful Nine West thought their rip-off would be. Future note to them: There are some accessory details - giant bows, excessive ruffles, textured leather etc - that really do need to be exceptionally well made (read: expensive) to look nice.

Oh, and it’s a good thing they remembered that name plate.

Alice Pope found a criminal pair of shoes at Nine West this weekend, and not just because they’re tacky:

The Olavera shoes they’re selling for $89 are a broken version of Gucci’s Sevigny sandal, also out this season.

Of course, the Sevigny shoes have some odd properties of their own, most notably their name -

Doesn’t Gucci know that Drew Barrymore is their celebrity face, while Chloe Sevigny poses for rival brand Chloe?

Also, we’re not sure Chloe would ever wear these things, except maybe in a deleted scene of The Last Days of Disco… and certainly not for $725, their current price in boutiques.

And on that note, we’re out for President’s Day.

You might think Salavatore Ferragamo’s classic flats are a little old ladyish - but we’ve been seeing them on the feet of some of New York’s most fashionable girls.

They come in a rainbow of colors, have proper soles unlike most ballet flats, and give the most casual outfit a polished finish - basically they’re perfect for city living.

Nine West agrees. They’ve abandoned their tendency to copy uber-trendy, straight from the runway shoes and opted for a more classic and practical counterfeit.

If you have extra time on your hands, you could even take the time to get the metal plate in the middle of the bow engraved.

Either shoe would be adorable with cut-off denim shorts and an oversized tee, or even a floral mini-dress this spring.

And honestly, we’d never know which one you’re wearing.

(Bonus points if you actually know which shoe is which…)