A bright red sole is the signature trademark of Christian Louboutin’s high end line of fashion forward shoes. Ranging in price from a few hundred dollars up to a few thousand dollars, they can be seen on the feet of many celebrities. Louboutin is quoted as saying that his style blends sex appeal and beauty and his shoes are designed to “slow women down and give them a sexier gate.” The red sole was not planned, but added to a black shoe to give it “life.” It quickly became his trademark and has made the shoes instantly recognizable. The Luxury Institute, an organization that researches and reports on the luxury industry named Louboutin’s footwear the Most Prestigious Women’s Shoes in 2007, 2008, and 2009. Louboutin has retail outlets in Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and the United States. Though there are multiple online sites offering genuine Louboutin shoes, they are counterfeit. Louboutin only sells his shoes through high end retail outlets. Even though the company has gone to exhaustive efforts to shut down the fraudulent websites, they continue to thrive. Many celebrities have recently been seen wearing the sexy, red-soled heels. Jessica Alba wore a pair of gold strappy heels down the red carpet at the premier of The Little Fockers. Christina Aguilera wore a pair of black, spiked heel, Louboutin’s to a function for her new movie, Burlesque. And Blake Lively is reported to have purchased 40 pairs of shoes for friends and family at an invitation only sample sale of Louboutin shoes in New York recently. Celebrities just can’t seem to get enough of them. So, when you see a sexy, beautifully designed shoe with an impossibly high spiked heel striding down the street, climbing a set of stairs, or sliding into the back of a limousine, look for the red sole.