« Next entry

Adventures in Copyright Jan 26, 2009 @ 2:49pm

Adventures In Copyright: Take a Bow

valentino inspires jcrew and everyone else.jpg If you’re going to copy someone, this is how to do it.

Valentino’s Bow Clutch is classic with a fashion forward touch. Most girls would carry a metallic clutch but most would shy away from this particularly dramatic bow.

So, if you want to sell that design to the masses and make a lot of money off of someone else’s idea, tone it down a bit. Make the bow a bit smaller, maybe a touch floppier so it’s more subtle.

Offer it in a few more colors, stick to a simple silk instead of a statement metallic leather, and charge 90% less.

Guaranteed success.

« Next entry

Fashionista Main

Megan's Roller Derby »

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 3:10PM

BE & D had an amazing bow clutch too that came out before the Valentino one...

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 3:26PM

why is it ok for some one like j crew to copy a designer but not forever 21 or Jessica Simpson

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 3:44PM

I think the Valentino is much better designed and looks much more expensive...as it should. Cuteee

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 3:45PM

The valentino looks like Aretha's hat!

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 3:48PM

Guest 3..it is because the Fashionistas are snobby snobs who poke fun at F21 and Jess and think they are not good enough while J. Crew is more acceptable and expensive so it's okay for them to copy. Ugh....there are those of us that want to be stylish but can't afford $500 clutches...

posted by Britt Aboutaleb

Jan 26, 2009 3:54PM

you guyyys! it's sarcasm. it's SO not ok!

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 3:56PM

As long as it interests you in buying it, who cares if it's J.Crew, Valentino, Forever, or Jessica Simpson?? Mix it up. Wear your $1300 Gucci shoes with a $50 clutch. That's fashion.

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 4:24PM

i am so so tired of stupid people ruining the experience of reading this site - it's usually fun, until i read the crap left by idiot 12 year olds who obviously need a lesson in reading comprehension. if you don't get it, go away.

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 4:34PM

Oh please, save your sarcasm. These "copyright" posts are beyond annoying. Did you ever stop to think that there aren't actually that many ways to design a clutch? or a shoe? or a handbag? or a pair of jeans? You pointed out that it's a "classic" design, i.e. it's been done before. Besides, these two examples don't actually look at all similar and each one would appeal to women with vastly different styles.

And yes, #5, it is snobbery. Because deep down, they really do think that it's o.k. for Valentino to be unoriginal but when a less expensive brand with less cache does it it's "copyright Infringement".

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 4:48PM

a bow clutch is hardly innovative and new. YAWNNNNN

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 5:02PM

Haha I agree with #4! I thought of Aretha's Hat too..

- Amanda

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 5:21PM

definitely snobby
and plus why wouldn't a young girl be carrying a shiny metallic clutch
well i think it's mostly that she can't afford it
other than that, why not?
this is indeed quite yawn,

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 6:11PM

I don't love the J. Crew version but the valentino looks out of proportion.

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 6:11PM

Really scraping the bottom...

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 6:16PM

I love Valention Bag! I would definitely wear it.

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 6:55PM

These posts are lame, get over it, yawn yawn yawn.

Don't you guys notice how many comments you get on these things telling you that your readers in general think they're pointless, boring, and a waste of e-space? Give it up, god. WHO CARES. These two don't even look that similar and really? It's a fucking bow. How many decades have people been making things with bows?

I would love your website if it wasn't for these posts. They bug me to no end. If you're going to insist on doing them, at least pick items that actually probably were copying one another.

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 6:59PM

buy the jcrew and paint it silver.
that solves the problem.

and really
its a BOW CLUTCH

not a knock off, innovative couture gown selling on ebay as "the real deal"

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 7:33PM

Fashionista, you seem to attract negative comments every time you do an "Adventure", please don't stop them just because the haters are more vocal. I know I'm not the only one who thoroughly enjoys them.

posted by sparksflyy

Jan 26, 2009 7:44PM

i agree, it's not a particularly innovative idea.

and besides, hasn't fashion constituted a kind of trickle-down effect since like, ever?

remember that scene in the devil wears prada? when they're talking about her blue sweater... "And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of 8 different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic casual corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. "

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 8:08PM

hi ladies! i think it's amusing to read the same comments about "*yawn*" copyright infringment and i enjoy the posts-- please keep them coming! sometimes i'm not in on all the fashion news/names, and these are posts that a silly midwestern girl like myself can actually understand :)

posted by guest

Jan 26, 2009 9:29PM

i don't think the valentino clutch is very fashion foward: bows, metallics, and clutches... nothing new.

posted by Peter

Jan 27, 2009 3:18AM

I think this one is kind of too generic to be a copy, per se, but they do look similar.

posted by guest

Jan 27, 2009 9:20AM

I've seen this Valentino clutch copied a million times. I wrote a blog post about one of the copies last year as a cheaper option for a very expensive bag. This is old news.

posted by bastylefilegirl

Jan 27, 2009 10:48AM

Ummm I get it, but seriously J Crew isn't the only company that has made a bag similar to the VAlentino's this bag has been done 100 times over.

posted by guest

Jan 27, 2009 6:11PM

The two clutches do not look the same. J crew is frame one and Valentino is not, right?

posted by guest

Jan 27, 2009 6:12PM

The two clutches do not look the same. J crew is frame one and Valentino is not, right?

posted by guest

Jan 27, 2009 6:23PM

agree with #4 & #7..
it really looks like her hat!!

#7: i think u r partially right. how u mix up things are fashion.
but i don't really like ppl copy others' design.

posted by guest

Jan 28, 2009 10:19PM

i actually like the jcrew version better! but maybe that's because metallic leather seems so overdone that the yellow satin version is refreshing. i'd rock this out, j. crew, proudly!