Take a good look at the woven label attached to the top of the tongue. Counterfeit Jordans may not have a circle with the registered “R” trademark, while Nike's original shoes use a doubled “R” on that tag. Embroidery should not be too thick or too thin. There should be no bulging or protruding threads or “bald” spots.

The iconic red and black hi-top Jordan 1 debuted in 1984 and each time Michael Jordan wore them on the court, he was fined $5,000 because they broke the league's uniform rules. The rule book stated that each player “must wear shoes that not only matched their uniforms, but matched the shoes worn by their teammates”.

If you're looking at Jordans online and no style number is included, email the seller to inquire about it. Confirm that the shoes come with the right box. Fake Jordans are often sold in boxes that list details which don't match the shoes themselves.

If you haven't worn the shoes out completely, you should be able to find inside each shoe a tag with a upc barcode as well as a number. That number is the identifying number for the model.