Louboutin Might not be the Sole Competitor

Thanks to Christian Louboutin, style stalkers have been given another measurement of trendiness.  When a women passes by, if her rear view features a pop of red at the bottoms of her feet then she gets major points since red soles=Louboutin.  The instant recognizability of the soles has undoubtably fueled the line's major success.  Who could forget Ryan Seacrest's Louboutin shout out while hosting the Emmy's a few years back? Eva Longoria sat front row with her legs crossed with one red sole waving in the air and Seacrest instantly knew they were Louboutin's design. (Great for Christian’s image—for Seacrest’s? Maybe not so much.)

Having red bottomed feet has become a status symbol not unlike the Chanel quilt, the interlocking LV or the newly annointed Tory Burch sheild.  Louboutin was revolutionary in discovering a way to add a signature semblance to a shoe line.   Many designers have attempted to share in the sole success of Louboutin.  Below are a handful of the more interesting soles I found.  

 When Betsey Johnson sat down to design shoes her sugary fairytale take on fashion came not only through her shoes’ design, but the variety of printed soles they had.  From flowers to polka dots to animal print to plain hot pink—the soles correspond with the design of the shoe.

Mark Nason answers with a men’s line of boots and sandals with decorative soles.  Any man seen with boots with a hand sculpted dragon or “rock angel” on the bottoms will be well received.  Trouble is the design doesn’t stand out as much as a signature color or print.