#1 Like your mother told you, if it seems too good to be true it probably is. Always be suspect of so-called Coach sneakers that are way too inexpensive for such a high-end, designer product. The quality workmanship and top notch materials Coach uses for their leather goods and accessories mean they aren’t going to be cheap. Anything made by Coach is an affordable luxury, and you’ll never find a pair of their authentic sneakers being sold at a rock-bottom price.

#2 Check the stitching on the sneakers. Pick the sneaker up and examine it closely. Each stitch should be tight, the same size and sewn in a straight line. If you find broken stitches, uneven stitching, stitching that is bleeding color onto the body of the sneaker or any other flaw in the stitching, you might very well have a knock off in your hand because a sneaker so poorly made would never pass the critical eyes of Coach quality control inspectors.

#3 Turn the sneaker upside down and look for signs of flawed workmanship. Look at the rubber sidewalls and check for an excess of glue or globs of glue. Look at the body of the sneaker, there should be no drips or specks of glue anywhere. Feel the rubber to see that it is flexible and not brittle.

#4 Check out the leather trim. Coach only uses leathers--whether patent leather, matte leather or suedes --of the highest quality. Coach signature leathers are very soft to the touch, but strong and durable. Touch the trim on the Coach sneakers and it should feel supple yet sturdy. If you suspect the trim is not leather, but rather a synthetic material, or if the leather feels thin, flimsy or stiff--you most likely are looking at a fake.

#5 Coach makes many sneaker styles that display the signature Coach jacquard “Cs” on the upper part of the sneaker. Some fakes mimic the style of an authentic Coach design, only they use different letters, Os or Gs, to copy the look of the pattern of Cs. If you look carefully at your sneakers’ upper and see any letter other than a C, then it’s easy as ABC to know that this sneaker is a fake.

#6 Look to see if there are any bleeding colors or ghost patterns on the fabric as this would be a sure sign the sneaker is a knock-off. Look for faded colors, streaks or blots or drops of color where they shouldn’t be and spots of missing color too.

#7 Examine the quality of the metal hardware: snaps and buckles for example. The metal used in Coach sneakers is a heavy-duty, high quality metal that withstands the wear and tear that occurs to casual shoes. Hardware should be firmly attached to the sneaker with reinforced stitching if necessary and look and feel substantial without being weighty.

#8 Get familiar with Coach products by window surfing online, but also by visiting a Coach store to see how easy it is to spot a fake if you are familiar with the real deal. Authentic Coach sneakers, or any of their fine products, will definitely be superior to other name brands, never mind cheapo fakes.

#9 A simple “Made in the USA” tag does not ensure this is an authentic Coach sneaker. Quality speaks many languages and the Coach-brand family of products may be manufactured in countries other than the USA.

#10 Don’t buy Coach sneakers at swap meets or flea markets because many fakes end up at these locations and few real Coach items will ever be found sitting on a makeshift table being sold for peanuts.

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Jess said she had on a pair of Coach high-tops when she and her boyfriend Andrew were chilling on a Saturday afternoon eating hot wings in a Tampa, Florida neighborhood bar when in came a deejay from a local radio station. He came up to them asked them if they wanted to see Jimmy Buffet in concert and told them he had VIP tickets, a back-stage pass and a bus outside waiting to drop them off right at the gate. Only thing was they’d have to leave right away. There wasn’t even a contest, Jess said. The radio station was just visiting bars and giving out tickets.

They had a super time, great seats and Jimmy Buffett was amazing. They got to shake hands with Jimmy and got their picture taken too. Unfortunately Jess’s cool Coach hightops didn’t show in the photo.

Christy said her most fab time in Coach tennis sneakers happened last year when she was just walking down the street with her cousin and best friend Eve inFairfield,Conn. Even though it was October and chilly, the two cousins decided to take a walk down to the nearby beach and try out their new Coach sneakers they’d bought earlier in the day. They were close to the entrance of the beach when Christy saw something fluttering in a Beach Plum bush. As she got closer she told Eve she thought it was a dollar bill, but Eve said no way and picked it up. “This is a hundred dollar bill,” she screamed, “let’s go back into town and spend it.” So they did and that’s where Christy met her boyfriend Trevor, so she says she’ll never throw away her “lucky” Coach sneakers.

My friend Dani said she’ll always love her first pair of signature jacquard, black and gray Coach sneakers. That’s how she refers to them and if asked, she could probably tell you the model number too. She said she was wearing them the day she adopted Barkley, her now two-year-old, 90-pound bull-mastiff mix that she found at her local animal shelter. She had just moved into her first apartment, had her first after-college job and decided she was ready to adopt a pooch. With Barkley, just like her Coach sneakers, it was definitely love at first sight. Now every time she wears those Coach sneakers she can remember seeing that woebegone puppy in the pen all sad and droopy eyed and the excitement she felt signing the adoption papers that made her a first-time dog mommy.

Anna said she was wearing Coach Barrett sneakers, when all of a sudden her boyfriend Ben got down on one knee right in front of her. She thought her shoelaces had become untied, but that wasn’t it at all. Ben had dropped to one knee to ask her to marry him. Ben didn’t tie her sneakers, but they both "tied the knot" last July. Anna says when she wears her Coach sneakers she can't help but think of the day she got engaged.

One of my readers who went by her online name "pink-panda-77" told us about the time her sister wore a pair of White Sequined Coach Hope Sneakers under her wedding dress on the day she to got married.  Because her sister Breanne and her soon to be husband, Micheal were both outdoor sports nuts, Breanne wanted to make make a statement with her choice of athletic footwear that would actually look cool with her gown. Breanne's parents were pretty conservative, and Breanne didn't think her mom would be diggin' the idea of the "wedding sneakers". Breanne's choice of gown was actually dependent on it's ability to cover her feet completely during the ceremony.

At the beginning of the reception, the DJ pointed out her sequined sneakers to the whole party - but to Breanne's surprise, her Mom stood up and cheered.