The Bapesta is probably one of the more recognisable trend shoes for the past few years. One simple key to note, is that it looks exactly like the Nike Air Force 1 low. Thats the whole point of the bapesta, it was designed to emulate the shoe of choice among the fore runners of streetstyle in Japan. The classic "uptowns" are worn by a great majority of the trendsetters, be it nostalgia, hip hop or b-ball influences.

Nigo simply wanted a shoe that was like the Air Force 1 low, but re-interpreted in the bathing ape way. Hence we have the iconic swoosh replaced by the "sta-swoosh", the trademark sole pattern re-worked, and the heel tab featuring the bape embroidery.

The famous words from Spiderman: "With power comes great responsibility"
As with bape and other fashionable products, "With popularity comes mass immitation." Early bapesta fakes were done using the fake Air Force 1's that were already in the market. The most noticeable flaw are the ankle and heel shapes, not mention an ugly boxy toe-box.

Lately,there have been fakes that are better-made, with well-made boxes and shoebags as well.
Take a look at the detailed pic of the REAL bapesta


Note the following:
* Overall shape is exactly like the nike AF1 low
* Heel tab embroidery shows the "bape" logo clearly, the tail of the "A-star" that intersects the letter "P" is not joined to letter "E".
* The "registered R" does not touch the letter B, and the word "sta" and "bape" should not be connected.
* "Sta swoosh" is cleanly made and stitched, the jagged edge of the swoosh is parallel

Now lets look at the FAKE bapesta



Compared to the pic of the REAL bapesta,
* Toebox is chunkier, and shorter than the real bapesta
* Ankle area is lower
* Heel tab shape is off
* Heel tab embroidery is different
* Sta swoosh has wrong shape, the tail is too short in the 1st case
In most cases, the fake bapesta is made with poor workmanship and low-quality materials.

Next, the box details

Note that the REAL bapesta box has:
* Size Label located at bottom right corner
* The Box top lid when closed, should not cover the Label
* The box print should be clear and made of hard cardboard material
Shoes bought from the official Bape stores will come with the nylon "Footsoldier" shoe bag. Most Fake bapestas come with purple "Footsoldier" shoe bag. (Don't ask me why purple)
edit
NOTE: Most fakes come with purple/red shoe bags, but that does not mean that bape sta's with purple/red shoe bags are fake!!!

go

or check out how to spot Fake Nikes here

EMAIL ME if u have any enquiries
I shall try to update this page with more pics as and when i can find them.

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