There’s a spring shoe trend afoot (ha!) that includes beaded, patterned styles fit for Pocahontas. Balmain’s spring repertoire includes a thick strapped, beaded flat sandal that could have been made at summer camp, while Nicole Richie’s House of Harlow just released a pair of destroyed suede, beaded moccasins that look like they walked off a reservation.

These shoes are all good and fine. But the imitation pieces don’t hold a candle to actual Native American footwear from the late 1800s, as we recently discovered while flipping through the amazing book Native American Clothing: An Illustrated History by Theodore Brassler during a recent visit to the Hennessey + Ingalls bookstore at Space15Twenty in Hollywood.

The Sioux had some of the most gorgeous, elaborately beaded designs with colors of mint green, cobalt blue and vibrant yellow dotting both the tops and soles of their shoes. Moccasins with beaded bottoms were worn by wealthy horse owners to show that they didn’t need to walk. Teenage girls also made them for the boys they were crushin’ on and sometimes the favored child in a family would be the lucky wearer of the lavishly adorned footcandy. Guess Christian Louboutin’s red soles don’t seem that innovative after all.

While Richie’s design is cute and Balmain’s sandals are quite fun, they look weak next to the real deal — which will set you back upwards of $1,200 if you can find a pair at auction or at a Native American artifact gallery. And truth be told, neither modern day pair looks worth their price tag. The House of Harlow version is $225 and, though not yet in stores, it’s a safe bet that Balmain’s flats will be, uh, more than that. We expect many Steve Madden-esque versions to appear at the mall as the weather heats up, too.

We’re gonna pass on the beaded shoes thing for now. Thankfully we still have our old beaded necklaces from camp.

Photos clockwise from top: House of Harlow moccasins, Sioux moccasins circa 1885 and Balmain’s spring 2010 beaded sandal.