Christian Louboutin is celebrating 20 years in the shoe business; in the two decades that he’s been working, his shoes have set a new standard in the fashion industry for his uber-sexy, ultra-edgy towering shoes. He’s even garnered a song about them – J.Lo’s song, Louboutins, that she performed (and fell) during the 2009 AMAs. But how has he achieved such mainstream success? Blahnik and Jimmy Choo both had the help of Carrie Bradshaw during the glory days of Sex and the City. Vivier designed shoes for the Queen of England’s coronation and Ferragamo championed the stiletto during the height of old Hollywood glamour. But I think the key to Louboutin’s success is that glossy red sole that’s on every pair of his shoes.It’s bright and easily recognizable, as opposed to other designer brands that are only distinctly designer to those that follow couture. Which is probably why they’ve been so hot in pop culture – they’re easily identifiable, like a Louis Vuitton handbag or Gucci’s signature stripe. His red soles have become a trademark of his beautiful and at times, whimsical designs. In fact, Louboutin’s even involved in a lawsuit now with YSL due to their use of red soles on their shoes in their recent collection.

I’m not going to lie; there have been times that I’ve been tempted to grab red nail polish to paint the soles of my basic black pumps to create my own look-alike Louboutins is that just sad? Let’s be real. These shoes are awesome and red soles are genius. Happy 20 years in the shoe biz, Christian, and hopefully there are many more years to come!