The first thing of note is that Tory Burch made a print without using her logo.

The second thing is, Old Navy ripped it off.

And it's not really that cute.

Tory covered half her Spring 07 line with rainbow colored butterflies - shirts, bags, dresses, even flip-flops - and almost a year later, Old Navy followed suit.

Their butterflies are a little paler, a little more spread out and just on a dress and top - literally watered down. Though the shape of their dress is infinitely more flattering than the shape of Tory's top.

But the real question is, butterflies? Seriously?

To: Britt@fashionista.com

From: sandra@iheartvintage.com

Hello Fashionista ladies!

I write debutanteclothing.com, a blog about vintage clothing and runway style. I wanted to fill you in on a juicy bit of copyright infringement.

I found an exact replica of Anna Sui's beaded bag she showed for Fall 08, only this bag is the original vintage inspiration. Though "inspiration" is quite generous since the bag Sasha carried down the runway is exactly the same as the vintage original - no thinly veiled changes, nothing!

I actually know the original owner of the bag and wasn't surprised to learn the vintage piece was purchased by one of Sui's assistants. I've tried emailing Sui's studio to find out if the original bag was used for styling, runway inspiration or if it's actually been put into production. No word yet - but i'll keep you posted!

Best,
Sandra

You guys have a soft spot for knock-offs when the designer being copied doesn't enjoy the world dominance of say, Marc - so this should get you riled up.

Steve Madden's ripped off Loeffler Randall's Bianca Flat just a year after ripping off their beloved Kit boot.

The Brooklyn label made the slightly wedged, pointed toe flat last season in patent, snake skin and a sandal version.

It's available for pre-order on Steve Madden's site now. He threw in a few more ruffles on top of the toe and made it in a couple of extra colors - but we're on to him.

Also, does Steve Madden really get away with selling $200 dollar shoes under the Steve Madden label? And, do people really pre-order them?

Fact: Blood is the New Black makes funny shirts.

Fact: ASOS waits until other people make funny shirts, then pounces.

A New Fact (to us, anyway): ASOS will copy any designer, not just the big ones, including this indie brand - as long as a star wears it.

So when a reader sent in that Blood is the New Black's Blood Gang shirt was copied, we were a little surprised that ASOS even knew BNB, and that some star wore a shirt by them (anybody know who? Our guess goes to Ashton.) It's also kind of funny that the copy retails for more than quadruple the price of the original.

But here's another thought - could the actual Bloods gang claim rights to the design? Might be tough to hold up in court...

If Victoria's Secret knocked off an Elle MacPherson bra, even we probably wouldn't realize, (until we tried it on, of course).

But if Victoria's Secret knocks off Marc Jacobs' Fall 07 runway booties, we notice. Especially when readers email us their own investigative work.

We're not really sure who buys shoes from Victoria's Secret in the first place, in fact we kind of forgot they've turned themselves into an entire brand empire hawking everything from lipsticks to teddy bears to teddies, but we'd never guess that the girls who do are looking for the perfect grunge ankle bootie to wear with their military socks and PVC leggings or knit tights and velvet coat like Tao Okamoto.

We'd also never guess they'd wait over a year to knock them off, after fashion's taken a turn for the ladylike and even Marc's getting ready to show Spring 09.

But we would guess they'd only cost $88 instead of almost $600

Almost every knock-off we see from Forever 21 raises the original from the dead and into a plastic-y patent leather evil twin - why does everything they make have to be shiny? - and this Chanel rip-off is no exception.

The criss-crossing straps along the front make a decent imitation but the buckles are lacking the Chanel's extra oomph, plus the heel kind of looks like the Chanel's frumpy cousin. And of course, the patent 'leather' completely changes the sophisticated tone of the original.

Nine West managed to do a bit better with the look. They, too, offer a version in black patent but also turned out a few suede versions in different colors. Like F21, Nine West opted for a shorter heel without the detail (we guess they drew the line at quilting), but with less criss-crossing straps and forgettable buckles.

We bet Karl's pouring some Bacardi in that Diet Coke right about now...

--HAYLEY PHELAN

We had on odd tip waiting in our inbox this morning and it went like this:

"A store across from Ben Sherman at Spring and Mercer took one of Lanvin's drawings and put it on one of their hoodies. The funny part is that it still says Lanvin."

We were confused and very curious, so we headed straight down to the medium-sized store, Unpomela.

After several minutes of unsuccessful searching, we decided to consult the shopkeeper. We tried to explain to the sweet but confused girl how Lanvin is spelled and exactly who Alber Elbaz is. We thought we must have landed in an alternate universe.

But then there it was, a funny looking tee with a very familiar drawing printed on the front; a drawing that is an exact replica of the image that appears on Lanvin's own new line of tees.

But wait, what? How did this happen? Doesn't copyright infringement apply to frumpy, red hoodie-shirts? Does Alber know his face is smiling on the front of an imposter?

And who copies Lanvin anyway?

--AUDREY SMITH

We went to Gen Art last night and did some serious damage to our already weak wallets. On our way out, we approached a rack of chain jewelry, wine in hand and announced, "Wow, this looks just like Erin Wasson's."

We were impressed, just like we were when we first saw Erin's pieces, until the girl standing next to the rack, Bliss Lau, looked like she might cry. Apparently, allegedly, her work looks like Erin Wasson's because the model bought one of her necklaces, re-cast it and threw the copies over Alexander Wang's Fall 08 collection on that dirty Chelsea runway.

All would have been forgiven, maybe, until Wasson wore the original Bliss version in her Nylon write up.

We love Erin, and now we kind of love Bliss, and it's impossible to know exactly who's right or who's wrong, (though Bliss has been making her body chains since Fall 2007).

So we sighed, bought the necklaces from Bliss because they're super pretty and got the hell out of there before we spent any more money or heard any more scary stories.

Sometimes we see an adventure in copying and wonder, after our usual head shaking, why, if someone took the time to rip something off, they didn't do it better and faster.

Like this Topshop star necklace sent in by reader MaryAnn - it's a descendent of YSL's, but why are they making it now? We've already seen it around Meredith Melling Burke and Anne Slowey's necks so you'd look plain silly wearing a copy six months after everyone else wore the original. (They might not be your everyone, but they're ours).

More importantly, if Topshop can manufacture and sell red plastic stars for $24, why couldn't they throw in some different colored stars? Blue, purple and silver can't be too much harder to make than red, right? And then they'd have a legit rip off instead of a half-hearted watered-down version.

In related star necklace news, Faran found a real YSL one in a thrift shop in the East Village. We'd like to be happy for her, but we're way too jealous.

Sent in by reader Moye:

We know the Marc by Marc dress at left would be difficult for pretty much anyone to wear.

But the Mod Cloth rip-off to the right? Impossible for everyone.

The even more impossible part is that it's $75, considerably more than the Forever 21 send-up from a couple months ago (though yes, so much cheaper than the original Marc by Marc).

But we're wondering - who would wear a knock-off of an already unsightly dress?

And why are people still knocking it off?

Since Topshop seems to be pretty bow-obsessed these days, it comes as no surprise that we came across this on their site today - this bowtie top that's very déjà vu of this Marc by Marc blouse.

Now we know what you guys will say: This is just a white shirt with a bowtie! But notice the similar pleating along the front, the color scheme of black bowtie and creamy white, the slight ruching around the collar, and of course, the final nail in the coffin for most knock-offs, the timing. All these add up to safely declare this a copy of the Marc by Marc, regardless of how much we're anticipating the Topshop opening in New York.

Not to mention that sleeveless, pleated, georgette silk tops with black bowties are actually harder to come by than you might think.

--HAYLEY PHELAN

Every day, we troll the online stores to know what's cute, what's ugly, and what's just bad. And every day, we find ourselves staring directly into the face of Forever 21's cap-locked logo.

So today, while doing my daily clicks, my dear friend Jyll glanced at my screen and exclaimed "Fendi rip-off!" It took me a second to notice, probably because the Fendi original walked the runway last Fall, which was basically like eons ago, but Jyll couldn't have been more right.

The Forever 21 version on the right features nearly the same color-block design as the Fendi original, right down to the rectangle shape near the zipper that, in the Fendi, handily allows you to convert the clutch to a shoulder bag - but in the Forever 21, well, just tries to look like it's the Fendi.

That being said, the cheaper colors are considerably uglier. The dark green and muted yellow look far less cute than Fendi's original zippy yellow, blue and pink. Not to mention the cheap patent leather looks, well...

-- HAYLEY PHELAN

Imagine being an independent designer known for your beautiful clothes - not for plastering your name all over shorts or being on a reality show.

You've received great press, you have a cult following, celebrities love your clothes - good celebrities - and your store is a cornerstone of NoLiTa's indie-mall.

Now imagine Forever 21 ripping off your dress, your design and your embroidery.

Are you pissed?

We would be, and we're sure Jane Mayle is, since Sarah from her office just e-mailed us this link.

Sure, the one on the right is black and missing the drawstring, but the design on the front is exactly the same.

We don't approve - as if you didn't already know that.

What would happen if Forever 21 sold original Marc by Marc dresses next to all of their rip-offs?

Chaos would surely ensue.

Reader Jasmine alerted us to this black and white scalloped Matty M dress which originally cost $148 at Nordstrom. It's simple, cute and its retro design is actually an exact copy of the Karta dress to the right - which debuted a full year ago and, though now sold out on Nordstrom's website, cost around $225.

Which means you could have bought the original, well made, independently designed dress for about $75 dollars more and supported an up and coming brand. Or you could have bought the barely cheaper version without the extra details - stitching, a-line shape etc. that you need to see in person - that set it apart from the racks of summer dresses at H&M.

But, well, you know where we stand on this one.

To be honest we were sort of waiting for this moment.

Ever since Luella's eclectic punk Spring 08 show, the collection has been making ripples through retail stores. First, there was the resurgence of floral ra-ra skirts, and the prominence of cat-eye glasses, then the sudden popularity of neon Docs. So it really came as no surprise when Topshop put up this replica of Luella's yellow and black batwing tee.

Besides the label, we really can't tell what the difference could be between the two - both feature black batwing shapes of exactly the same size up against the same shade of yellow. And between the rest of Topshop's collection (read: floral ra-ra skirts, neon doc martens, punked up prom dresses), the London shop seems to be taking a lot of 'inspiration' from Miss Bartley.

Then again, we're not exactly sure if Luella can claim rights to a superhero symbol that's been around for decades...Still, she got there first this season.

-- HAYLEY PHELAN

We love Prada. We love black. We love gold. And we love the 70's.

Unfortunately, a combination of all of the above doesn't necessarily make for a fabulous pair of shoes. See Prada's Fall '08 stompers. They had us asking "Why Miuccia, why?"

That's when we decided to explore another aspect of 'Adventures in Copyright'. As in, what happens when the fake is actually better than the original?

A perfect example of this can be found at Topshop, where you can buy a similar shoe to the one that marched down Prada's spring runway. The directly inspired, less expensive shoe improves upon its more dramatic muse and not just because it's more wearable.

We still won't buy it. And we don't think it's ok. But we're man enough to admit, it's just a bit cuter.

Let's call it 'Improvements in Copyright'.

--AUDREY SMITH

Those cool kids from London may need to do something besides signature t-shirts.

On the left, you'll see a tank from David David, the British line hyped by rave babes and shown during Topshop's New Gen celebration last year.

David David has partnered with Fred Perry and Henry Holland on various projects and parties, and sells for $75 - $100 per shirt.

It's in Vogue UK a lot, and in Super Super and Dazed, and on the kind of kids who sleep on a mattress of old Kate Moss photos.

On the right, a $19.99 tee from Forever 21.

This shouldn't be surprising, and it isn't, it's just, well...

Bummer.

People seemed uneasy about Stefano Pilati's use of heather gray jersey on YSL's spring '08 runway - until Kate Moss wore this dress in the ads and everyone else wanted to wear it, too.

The thing that keeps it from being a glorified American Apparel-esque sweatshirt tube dress is the expert tailoring, the thin fabric and the sharply cut front 'V'.

Unfortunately, when Topshop decided to copy it, they left out those important factors. The color's the same, so are the darts and the length, but you can tell, just from seeing it float in internet space, that it won't be flattering on anyone.

Not even Kate - and that says a lot.

p.s. Olga's shoes are way on sale at Barneys!