posted by e

May 15, 2007 10:46AM

The materials are always really poor--at least on the ones I've seen. Otherwise they look quite similar to the untrained eye.

posted by Jue

May 15, 2007 12:09PM

Fakes are bad, but in the current addition of Adbusters (I care more about the artistic photography in the magazine than about the anti-political views expressed, though my boyfriend loves it) there's an article about how some fakes are actually made out of better material than the actual thing taking for instance Chanel. When Chanel first started making jewerly, they actually mixed in fake diamonds but still were able to sell them off as if they were the real thing only because people still bought it because it was an original Chanel design. And this shows that people could care less if the material was real or fake as long as it was actually Chanel or another designer. And translating that into nowadays, designer handbags cost so much because in reality people are just buying for the brand name, the original "designer name" design. Material is important, but in the case of Chanel Jewerly it didn't really matter. And nowadays, some fakes are made from better material than the original just because 1) they're either trying to get as close as the real thing as possible and 2) can still sell them for much cheaper because they're not truly designer (well obviously).

But I've really just rambled and I still don't know how I feel about the article myself yet but I thought it was interesting.

posted by Jue

May 15, 2007 12:10PM

it also seems as if i can't spell jewelry correctly ... oops

posted by MH

May 15, 2007 12:35PM

I think it raises a really funny point about what it means to be "fake." If it's made from the same material, has the same design, and is made to the exact specs of the actual product, is it really a fake? It's not like most mass-produced designer bags aren't made exactly the same way...

posted by dawn

May 15, 2007 1:17PM

I was just at Shecky's Girl's Night Out. (way overpriced and not that great) They had a vendor that had amazing Coach knockoffs. They looked really good. But they were still $100. They had others like prada and stuff but I don't know enough about those to tell if they were good.

posted by Fashion Industry Ceo

May 15, 2007 6:17PM

Man that is kind of scary! they will do anything

posted by Kris

May 16, 2007 11:50AM

Well, the fashion industry made this bed, and now they will have to lie in it. They glamourized their products, made them exclusive and coveted, charged exorbitant prices so to be unaffordable to 98 percent of the world. Then the fashion magazine made it look like everyone should own a designer handbag, but what do poor people do when they can't afford one? Sit in the corner and cry?
History has shown us time and time again, when the divide between the rich and the poor get to be excessively large, crime rises and the poor eventually rebel until reforms are made.
This time, the poor have gotten crafty, and now they can feel great because they can carry around a nice Louis Vuitton purse, even if it's not the real thing. The fashion magazines said that you have to have one to be cool, and now even the poor can feel good about themselves. Is it a crime to strive to be fashionable?