Comments on In My Bag: Just say no...

This is all very true! This only leaves me to ques...

2008-03-29T00:30:00.000-04:00

This is all very true! This only leaves me to question who is making bags in certain boutiques and for different companies not only for name brands and designers.. it could be children working in sweatshops..

I think a world where there are no people who can ...

2008-03-27T13:00:00.000-04:00

I think a world where there are no people who can be exploited is a worthy goal, but one that is most ikely never going to happen. A legitamate company guilty of such exploitation can and often will (Hi, Kathy Lee! - and so many others) be called to the carpet and pressured to change. The same can't be said for an illegally operating entity. A smug look, and cash in your wallet is ultimately not doing anything.

Great post! Very informative. Hopefully it will op...

2008-03-26T22:13:00.000-04:00

Great post! Very informative. Hopefully it will open the eyes of consumers.

you're a smart girl, i'll give you that. i didnt m...

2008-03-25T16:11:00.000-04:00

you're a smart girl, i'll give you that. i didnt mean to sound patronizing and i probably debated for the sake of debating, but you cannot deny that bags arent such a big issue. the issue that we must look upon is the people who actually work to produce the cheaper bags. by helping those people (usually children) we are stopping the problem at its root and not shoving it under the carpet.
An expensive bag, both of us now, is much more than just a bag. and sometimes, people thinking that you've payed more than you actually have, plasters a smmug smile to your face and not that big of a hole in your wallet. but we both know that a fake cant get you anywhere. and those who know, know. and a fake is frowned upon a lot more than a cheap bag of no particular brand.

I can appreciate that we don't agree. I don't howe...

2008-03-25T12:33:00.000-04:00

I can appreciate that we don't agree. I don't however, appreciate being patronized, and called 'honey" by a total stranger.
That said, I have no delusions that if the counterfeit market were to dissapear overnight it would solve the world's ills, but I also don't think that the justification "well the real one is so expensive, so I'll just help break the law..." The truth is, that it's the person who is so insecure that they have to purchase (and justify) a counterfeit designer item rather than just buy a more affordable bag that is similar in style...and legal. This happens to include plenty of $20 street bags...licensed street vendors, with bags that look similar to designer bags, but without designer labels, are usually legally manufactured.
I don't think it is the women "working like dogs" who fund the counterfeit industry (which extends beyong handbags, but that's the focus of this blog). It is the women who think it's a right of passage to add a trip to the back of a grimey canal St stall with a strange man to buy a real enough looking Marc Jacobs bag for $100 to bring back home so their friends can ooh and aaaah at their shopping savvy. It's the women who forge connections with those criminals to buy quantities and take them home to host "bag parties". People who "work like dogs" probably aren't concerned with carrying a Louis Vuitton or something that looks like one.
And yes, as a whole, the counterfeit industry does rob the economic infrastructure of funds...even if you don't approve of how they are spent.
This is not an issue of "you're a loser for trying to pretend that's a real bag" it's an issue of supporting and taking part in the funding of criminal activities.

well that sounds all nice and dandy.But the thing ...

2008-03-25T04:31:00.000-04:00

well that sounds all nice and dandy.

But the thing is that when you pay $3,000 for a bag that actually costs $100, well that isnt fair, is it??And when you can purchase the same exact bag for $2000 less, why not do it??
I see that you, like most of your fellow americans have fallen for the multinational company propaganda, thinking that if they buy a fake we'll all die a terrible and painful death.

I'm sorry honey but that just ain't the case.

1.When a bag is so expensive, not so many people are going to buy it, are they?You see, when an individual works like a dog to provide food and healthcare for his/her family they are NOT going to purchase an hermes/louis vuitton/prada bag. Those who are however, are possibly spoilt brats or even hard working individuals who actually save up to buy such an expensive bag. And trust me they arent that many.

2.Even if they are the tax that goes to your beloved government isnt as big as you'd like to believe. BAGS are not the source of money for the government's whole budget for healthcare and education and so on. it is extremely naive of you to believe that the taxes from BAGS fund the system. And dont give me the "everything counts" counter argument you're thinking, because as much as we'd like to believe that our precious jimmy choos help poor kids get an education taxes on stuff like,uhm, i dont know, COMMODITIES, CARS AND OIL are just a TAD more helpful.

3. Most people who actually bother to buy expensive bags are usually people who narcissistically call themselves "fashion addicts" and are only interested in major life issues, such as, lets say, bags. Those people are NOT going to purchase a fake. They are not going to care if a fake is the cause of every evil in the world. They are not going to buy it because a fake is always out of style. You are forgetting an issue paramount importance here. Why are brands so coveted to begin with. Brands make individuals think they above the rest. And that is something a fake cannot provide.Now that we have removed the posh people who buy expensive bags, the people that are left are people like you and me who cant afford or cant be bothered to pay for such wicked expensive bags. And that is where the fakes come in.They arent so many after all, are they??

If you want to save the world honey, you better focus on the drug market, not the bag market.

Bravo! That's a great take on it. Some estimates...

2008-03-24T03:20:00.000-04:00

Bravo! That's a great take on it.

Some estimates indicate only one in 100 Louis Vuitton handbags are authentic. Additionally, U.S. customs in 2002 indicated they estimate 900,000 to 1,200,000 fake Rolex watches were flooding the U.S. every year. The annual production of authentic Rolex watches is half that.

My take is: only a phony carries a phony.

If someone isn't ruffled by the issues you've indicated, how about this: I let them know what I think of their efforts to trick others into thinking they're a part of whatever branding schtick they've fallen for and are trying to fake they're way into, so they know how much I appreciate it when they try to deceive me. I simply respect someone who owns up to what they are and what they have to work with. The vanity game is mindnumbingly shallow for a lot of people, and for many others, it seems like a pretty innocent purse party souvinir until they run into someone like me.

The worst is the rationalizer, the unrepentant one who knows the issues at hand and continues to carry the fake item with the intention of deceiving others into applying their superficial but often weighty snap judgements as well. "The original is such a rip off" they'll say. Or "Can you believe they charge so much?". This is not anything close to a sound argument, the person holding the fake item is still a cheat and a phony and a liar every minute they hope to broadcast their so called 'status' via their false item to the world in the hopes that others will give them the extra credence they so desire.

I will continue to go out of my way to tell others of that certain unrepentant, non-contrite someone with the false item, so others understand what a pretender this person is.

Thanks for touching on this topic.

Great post. I'm working on a post that briefly men...

2008-03-22T16:18:00.000-04:00

Great post. I'm working on a post that briefly mentions this issue -- I will definitely link back to you.