Shopping Oct 30, 2007 @ 1:58pm

Faux Fighting

kate bag.jpg
We laughed so hard when we read Amy Claire’s article on designers who spot their own fakes.

She ran into Kate Spade at a party, and asked if Kate had ever confronted a woman carrying a faux bag.

Turns out, it happened: Once in Soho, she saw a woman with an obvious fake, raced across the street, and asked where the bag was bought.

“[The woman] said, ‘Oh I didn’t buy it, my husband did!… Anytime you ask someone, they say that… Oh, I don’t know, it was a gift.”

We’ve never designed accessories, but we have similar feelings - whenever we save for a designer bag, then hunt it down, it makes our skin curl to see its plastic evil twin on the subway or bouncing on a shoulder down the street. We seriously want to grab the girls and ask, “Don’t you realize you look totally varnished?”

Meanwhile, we once asked if you’d dump a guy who gave you a fake bag - almost all of you said yes.

But would you ever confront your friend about carrying one?

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posted by M

Oct 30, 2007 2:53PM

I dont think I would confront a friend about it. It isnt really any of my business where my friends buy their clothes or handbags. If I save up for a designer bag I dont really care if i see another girl with it, I dont care even if it is a fake version of the handbag I saved up for. I think the designer has a right to be angry about it because that is their creation and they are being ripped off, but I dont feel like I am being ripped off.

Oh and please, If my boyfriend gave me a fake bag I wouldnt dump him, especially if I cared a lot about him, which I do about my boyfriend. People are more important than designer handbags any day of the week...I know I might be barking up the wrong tree (or trees) but my boyfriend means more to me than some fake bag that he may or may not have known was fake when he bought it.

p.s. What do you mean by "varnished"?

posted by e

Oct 30, 2007 2:53PM

"Don't you realize you look totally varnished?"

Uhh..don't you realize you sound totally shallow and bitchy?

posted by brendastarlet

Oct 30, 2007 3:14PM

I have a friend who boasts about buying fake bags in Chinatown. I don't have the heart to tell her they look like fake bags bought in Chinatown.

posted by MH

Oct 30, 2007 3:23PM

I got my best friend to stop buying designer knockoffs, but not by telling her that her bag was ugly. It was only a matter of time before the finish dulled or threads started popping out and I could lavish praise on my bag for its quality and workmanship. Unfortunately, she went the other way and started spending all her money on $1000+ handbags, which is in a way, almost worse. Which led me to conclude that I should just stay out of it in the future--anyone who isn't born with taste or an eye for quality won't acquire it just because you tell them they're doing it wrong.

posted by La Van

Oct 30, 2007 3:43PM

I think maybe you meant "tarnished"?

Anyway I can't believe we're on this fake bag topic again. Honestly, I really don't understand why anyone gives an eff what other girls do or don't do. Just be concerned with how cute YOU look, it's all you can do anyway.

Anyone who breaks up a relationship with a great guy who innocently buys her a fake purse is a total nutball. And if Kate Spade is harassing people on the street over fakes of her boring-ass bags, she's a grade-A see-you-next-Tuesday.

posted by guest

Oct 30, 2007 4:11PM

Kate Spade wasn't really harassing those people. Also, she said she doesn't do it anymore, because people always say that the bag was a gift. I thought the story was cute.

I actually don't care if people buy fakes. Maybe they just don't care. It really is a kind of copyright infringement by the maker (and seller), but knockoffs have been around forever. Most of the originals are overpriced, though. So what I do care about is for me personally not to buy a ridiculously expensive bag just because it is fashionable.

Dropping a boyfriend because he bought you a fake bag? Not unless he made a practice of being cheap. More like, drop him if he bought you a fake diamond and didn't say it was fake.

posted by Brittany

Oct 30, 2007 5:29PM

I've always said that people who obsess over others having fakes are inherently jealous of the other person's ease to NOT CARE about whether or not their bag is true designer. Like, "Damn! I wish I didn't care that much! I wish I wasn't so stuck on something so shallow in the first place. Well, now I guess it's my responsibility to tear her down a little."

posted by sd

Oct 30, 2007 5:40PM

my bag may be fake, but at least im not an asshole, which is what you sound like in this post. who are YOU trying to impress? a bag wont gain you acceptance.

posted by Jenna

Oct 30, 2007 5:41PM

I'm sorry, what's with the elitest complex? If I can only afford the knock off and I like the design it's still complementing and advertising the designer isn't it? And isn't it sort of highway robbery to charge a person $3000 for a bag I can buy on the street that looks almost exactly the same for only $40?

posted by Kara

Oct 30, 2007 5:49PM

Actually, SD, it will.

posted by sd

Oct 30, 2007 6:48PM

actually, kara, it wont. ive been down this road before, when i was 16 years old. people that matter dont care what your bag looks like.

posted by Jac

Oct 30, 2007 6:55PM

Yeah, definitely wouldnt dump a boy for buying a fake. i think people said theyd do it if he lied and tried to pass it off as real when he was aware it was fake. That's kind of dishonest and a red flag in a relationship--also less vapid sounding. Part of the fun of this site is criticizing the authors for being shallow.

posted by chick3

Oct 30, 2007 7:26PM

Oh brother. I didn't realize we had a girl scout crowd here. So sensitive.... Almost all fake bags are ugly and I wouldn't ever buy one but I would never comment on a friend having one. In fact, two of my friends do and because they are adorable and put together, it doesn't even matter. Now a fake logo bag (excuse me, I think I threw up a little in my mouth), now that's a diff. story!

posted by ursula

Oct 30, 2007 7:47PM

i probably just bought a fake bag, i'm not sure. but considering the store was full of marc fakobs and louis fauxton, i'm sure mine is a knock-off. will be fun to keep my eyes open to see who made the original.

posted by Smarter Fashion Blog

Oct 30, 2007 9:01PM

It's been said before: if designers don't want people to knock of their bags, they shouldn't market them to people who can't afford them.
They shouldn't give them to celebrities and then whine about a frenzy of fakes.

Even if you "save up," that's still a ton of money for one item.

posted by Frank

Oct 30, 2007 9:08PM

People rarely mention integrity when discussing this issue. In buying a fake anything there is explicit support and reward for stealing. That there's such a prominent market for these products is sad. Marc doesn't *need* the money, so these people who buy fakes are so disconnected to him that they're able to justify stealing from him. This type of disconnect is the same mindset that fuels the cheap disposable sweat-shop made product market. These products would not exist if there were not a market for them. That's sad.

posted by Faran

Oct 30, 2007 9:08PM

I think that's a simplistic argument, and also a boring one.

Saying designers deserve fakes is like saying attractive women deserve harassment. It's a passive aggressive argument that makes it okay to ignore the larger issues.

Fake bags are produced illegally, so their factories have substandard conditions and their profits often go into criminal activity.

It's true some legitimate companies also fund bad things, and have apalling work conditions, but that doesn't mean we should buy fake bags - it means we should do more research about where our purchases originate.

And anyway, if you believe a fake bag will make you look more stylish than a vintage purchase or even an old tote bag that you found in your basement, you have bigger issues than how your LVs are upside-down and backwards.

posted by bigglassesgirl

Oct 30, 2007 10:02PM

The reason I take issue with fake bags is because those who buy them (from what I've seen) do so knowing that it's a copy they're purchasing. It's latching onto a trend just for the fact of fitting into that moment, and I'm not an advocate of that. Especially with so many interesting options out there that don't cost a month's salary, and in leather, canvas, vegan, and so on. The truth is, I do own a mj bag, but I treasure my vintage picks and hand-me-downs from the mother just as much, because they have stories behind them. What does a $60 copy have behind it? Probably just poor workmanship.

posted by La Van

Oct 30, 2007 10:39PM

I don't buy fakes, but I don't like designer bags either, because I like being elegant and discreet, and sadly almost all big-time designers feel the need to put their name somewhere visible. I'm not just talking about the big LVs either, but the etchings on metal rings or little labels that can't be seam-ripped without hurting the bag. Sue me, I buy for form and function and aesthetics and I HATE any sort of obtrusive advert on the outside that breaks up the line of what is otherwise a beautiful bag.

That's why I buy expensive "no name" bags. They look and feel like a dream and the zippers and snaps and linings are luscious. It's an investment I make once a season. They make me happy, and in the end, that's all that matters.

I sometimes feel like this designer bag obsession -- and the fakery that grows up around it -- is total insanity.

posted by rachel

Oct 30, 2007 11:54PM

remember when kate spade had an ad a couple of years ago celebrating an anniversary of sorts, and the image was of one of those street corner stands with the fake bags?.......it was pretty ingenious, the ad.

posted by gutyan

Oct 31, 2007 12:20AM

i love some bags, i know wouldnt be able to get them and even if i saved, i wouldnt convince myself to get them after working too hard to earn that money. especially the ones with celebrity influence. getting a classic designer bag, i am all for that. or a nice bag with no name but personality like La Van said.

I dont have any problem with other people buying from soho, or chinatown. I mean they're happy in their own way. they know expert eyes will know that they are knockoffs, and stopping and saying that its a knockoff is like showing off your better car when you stop at red light. that person just cant afford it, is it so hard to accept that?

posted by FWD

Oct 31, 2007 1:27AM

Hey La Van, where do you go for bags? I agree with you on all points, but I don't know where to shop. The ones I have are all hand-me-downs from the grandmas.

posted by Casey

Oct 31, 2007 6:30AM

We've missed the issue (mostly)!! Fake bags are STOLEN designs and trademarks and are imported illegally. It sounds silly, but the counterfit handbag trade is the new drug trade.

Do your research.

And yeah, hello. Anyone worth their salt can tell a fake bag from a real one. If you cant afford Marc Jacobs try Marc by Marc... or do something original.

posted by La Van

Oct 31, 2007 10:52AM

FWD, I like high-end department stores like Nordstroms, Neimans, Saks, etc. They always have some pretty, well-made things, especially right at the start of the fall season. I also like vintage, and grandmas must be best of all!

Oh yeah, the counterfit bag trade is just like the drug trade. The CIA pushed baguettes into Chinatown to get us all addicted. And I think they’re in cahoots with the Contras to trade bags for some of those dreadful Steve Madden Miu Miu knockoff pumps. I’m sure thousands of people will die and get locked up and there will be untold injustice for decades. It’s exactly the same! :p

posted by leia

Oct 31, 2007 11:02AM

Actually, if you talk to any FBI agent, or if you read "Deluxe" by Dana Thomas, you'll realize the counterfeit trade IS the new drug trade. The same crime rings that used to smuggle in drugs are now smuggling in counterfeit goods. The money is just as good, but the penalty if caught isn't as bad. This is a fact.
If you just read the counterfeit chapter in Thomas' book, the story about the children whose legs are broken to keep them docile will break your heart and keep you from ever considering buying a fake bag.

posted by La Van

Oct 31, 2007 11:06AM

PS. I realize the counterfeit bag trade has direct links to terrorism and organized crime -- I didn't mean to make light of it -- but hardly on the scale of the international drug trade. That's all I meant. No offense or anything.

also, I spelled "counterfeit" wrong, blargh

posted by Brittany

Oct 31, 2007 11:15AM

Why can't people just get over it? Women need to stop obsessing over what other women are doing and just focus on themselves. If it makes you feel good, so freaking what? And so many bags are copied in general, I guarantee a majority of people who buy copy designs from stores like Forever 21 or Urban Outfitters have no clue that there is some original, high-end design floating out there. This reminds me of a friend who talked about how so many girls were wearing some boots that looked like Louboutins, but obviously weren't. I had to remind her that this is the Midwest and most people can't even pronounce Louboutin, let alone identify whether or not their shoe is some copy.

Sheesh!

posted by Cynthia

Oct 31, 2007 4:22PM

I wouldn't like it, but I probably wouldn't confront her either.

posted by Lily

Nov 01, 2007 12:52PM

I'm actually more likely to confront the friend who saved up for the expensive bag. She'd be way smarter and better served to invest the money. I'd probably say something once or twice, but if she was the type to continuously choose to spend her money unwisely, I'd start to look carefully at the rest of her behavior and possibly reconsider the friendship.

posted by guest

Dec 01, 2007 9:36AM

I would never dump a good boyfriend over a bag!
It is sweet of him to buy a bag for me, and the chances are he didn't even know it was a fake... Boys dont realise how much a stupid label means to SOME girls.