It seems like every shoe worshipper has a special radar for falling in love with the most expensive heels imaginable! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve held my breath while turning over a pair of beautiful stilettos, only to be met with a price tag that amounts to my monthly budget. It’s quite a humbling sensation, to put it lightly!

So, when a trendy high schooler fell in love with a pair of $6,000 (yep, you read that right!) Daffodile Strass Louboutin’s, she obviously recognized that she wouldn’t be sporting these pricey pumps to prom.

These blue beauties come adorned with crystal iridescent Swarovski crystals that are tightly packed onto an intimidating 6-inch heel. I mean, these shoes ARE absolutely gorgeous, but who in the heck has six grand to drop on some “ankle breakers” like these?

Luckily, this budding fashionista’s sister stepped up to the plate, and found a way to make the prom-bound teenager her very own pair.

You see, the high schooler’s sis got the brilliant idea to make her own knock-offs with both upcycled and affordable materials. The awesome crafter bought a $25 pair of Steve Madden heels, red and blue paint, a lot of blue rhinestones, and some really strong glue!

The skilled bedazzler, who goes by the username ethical_rhyme, shared her shoe decorating journey with the Reddit community. She modestly writes that she did the best she could do with what she had to work with, but it’s obvious that this woman did an unbelievable job. Just check out the dupes!

Yep, they look pretty close to us, too. And though the gems might not be Swarovski crystals, the blue rhinestones she scored off of Amazon are pretty gosh-darn sparkly!

Of course, no real Louboutin-inspired pumps would be complete without that signature red sole and heel. To achieve that super-saturated scarlet color, ethical_rhyme purchased some acrylic paint, and sealed it up with two layers of liquid polyurethane.

And because these shoes would make any seasoned high heel aficionado want to throw them across the dance floor after a few painful songs, the gracious sis even bedazzled a pair of comfy flats to change into later in the night. How smart is that?!

All said and done, ethical_rhyme only spent about 40 bucks on all of the materials for this project, shoes included! Not bad considering you can’t even find these stilettos anywhere for under $1,700, and that’s USED. Yes, we are picking our jaws up off the floor, too.

To read more about this generous sister’s brilliant shoe crafting story, be sure to check out LittleThings’ article here. And if you would like to take a look at her full step-by-step tutorial, click here. Bring on that red paint—I’m ready to make a pair of these dupes on my own!

What do you think of these high fashion DIY knockoffs? Have you ever completed a project like this before? Do you own a pair of real Louboutin’s? Tell us all about your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below!