To Knock Off or Not Have
Recently a friend of mine pointed at my fuscia Dooney and Bourke Anniversary Signature barrel bag and asked if it was a “knock off.” My reply was “I don’t do knock offs. I’d rather not have than have a fake one.” Days later, I thought of this and wondered what kind of person that makes me.
The first time I can recall spotting a knock off would be in high school and it was a t-shirt. A student wore a t-shirt that read “Nik Air” as opposed to “Nike Air” (I think the Nike swoosh symbol may have even been backwards.) Now don’t get me wrong, I am totally down with bargain shopping (Target is one of my favorite stores) but I couldn’t help giggle every time I saw the shirt and wonder “Why not just get a regular t-shirt with no design?” Oh well, he was wearing it, not me.
After high school came college, credit cards and weekly trips to the mall. Not-so-Cosmo (my roommate at the time) and I are certified shopaholics. It was then that I started to acquire a taste for the finer things in life. No more RAVE or Charlotte Russe for me. I was all about Express, Nine West and Burdines. Clothes are just clothes, but let’s just say anyone can cook a sirloin and serve it up as filet mignon but after that first bite, you’ll know the difference. I had to eventually realize that I could not have filet every night and that when Target became my new favorite (the sales rack at Macy’s is a close second.) That’s when my then boyfriend, now husband, introduced me to the heavenly world of Dooney and Bourke and thus forth created a monster. (I now check all D & B bags for authenticity.)
I have subscribed to Elle magazine for the past 3 years and every month I would open it up, flip through its glossy pages and drool over the beautiful Louis, Chanel and Gucci bags that are WAY out of my price range. At least they were for now, unless I wanted to buy one from the guy who knew a guy whose cousin works for the distribution factory and can get some off the truck. Mind you, these were in a huge bag Glad bag. Did he really think I was that stupid or desperate? Save that for someone else. Part of getting such an extravagant bag is the trip to the store, the quality and the service. Why else would anyone pay that much for a purse? After that ricockulous experience, my sweet boyfriend got me my first D&B, a white IT medium bucket satchel. It came with a few words also. He wanted me to know that he realistically see spending $1000+ on a purse but $300 was A-OK. Sigh. What a man! I don’t blame him. Since then all purses and wallets have been strictly D&B. I just found out there is an outlet store near me and IT IS ON!
One day I will have my Louis. For now, D&B is serving me just lovely. Choosing not have over knock off so far has worked beautifully and I never have to think if someone knows whether or not my bag is real (by the way, women who have a real one or chose not to get the fake one, they can tell.) A real one is going to cost whole heck of a lot more but it looks so much better, lasts so much longer and in the end you should get your money’s worth. I think that makes me a sensible, practical, shopaholic woman.
Respectfully,
Daphne
The first time I can recall spotting a knock off would be in high school and it was a t-shirt. A student wore a t-shirt that read “Nik Air” as opposed to “Nike Air” (I think the Nike swoosh symbol may have even been backwards.) Now don’t get me wrong, I am totally down with bargain shopping (Target is one of my favorite stores) but I couldn’t help giggle every time I saw the shirt and wonder “Why not just get a regular t-shirt with no design?” Oh well, he was wearing it, not me.
After high school came college, credit cards and weekly trips to the mall. Not-so-Cosmo (my roommate at the time) and I are certified shopaholics. It was then that I started to acquire a taste for the finer things in life. No more RAVE or Charlotte Russe for me. I was all about Express, Nine West and Burdines. Clothes are just clothes, but let’s just say anyone can cook a sirloin and serve it up as filet mignon but after that first bite, you’ll know the difference. I had to eventually realize that I could not have filet every night and that when Target became my new favorite (the sales rack at Macy’s is a close second.) That’s when my then boyfriend, now husband, introduced me to the heavenly world of Dooney and Bourke and thus forth created a monster. (I now check all D & B bags for authenticity.)
I have subscribed to Elle magazine for the past 3 years and every month I would open it up, flip through its glossy pages and drool over the beautiful Louis, Chanel and Gucci bags that are WAY out of my price range. At least they were for now, unless I wanted to buy one from the guy who knew a guy whose cousin works for the distribution factory and can get some off the truck. Mind you, these were in a huge bag Glad bag. Did he really think I was that stupid or desperate? Save that for someone else. Part of getting such an extravagant bag is the trip to the store, the quality and the service. Why else would anyone pay that much for a purse? After that ricockulous experience, my sweet boyfriend got me my first D&B, a white IT medium bucket satchel. It came with a few words also. He wanted me to know that he realistically see spending $1000+ on a purse but $300 was A-OK. Sigh. What a man! I don’t blame him. Since then all purses and wallets have been strictly D&B. I just found out there is an outlet store near me and IT IS ON!
One day I will have my Louis. For now, D&B is serving me just lovely. Choosing not have over knock off so far has worked beautifully and I never have to think if someone knows whether or not my bag is real (by the way, women who have a real one or chose not to get the fake one, they can tell.) A real one is going to cost whole heck of a lot more but it looks so much better, lasts so much longer and in the end you should get your money’s worth. I think that makes me a sensible, practical, shopaholic woman.
Respectfully,
Daphne
posted by Will Work For Shoes @ 7:48 AM
2 Comments:
At 4:44 PM,
Not So Cosmo said…
MY Soul Mate:
Oh my God, do I agree with thee. Before being halfway into your post, I realized I could confess to you more so than any other being: I FUCKING HATE KNOCK-OFFS!!! I'm not one of those elitist that won;t have a friend who carries a non-name brand bag. However, I tend to roll with a calibre of woman who knows better than to bring some fake Louis in my presence. I don;t mind that one can't afford what they want; on the other hand, i loathe people who pretend to have what they can not afford. Stop chasing the dream! You can;t want every accessory of a superstar because you don't make superstar money. Not to mention, sometimes the designers give superstars those items to promote their line. Oh, ye of little faith! Just hold out and one day you'll get your Louis Vouitton purse, and it'll come with papers of authenticity, the salesperson will KISS YOUR ASS, and each bag comes with a satchel to protect the quality of the bag. Whether you can afford to buy it for yourself (preferably), or it is a gift from your man (divine), it makes for a great ego fluffer. Just you wait and see...
Not~So~Cosmo
At 4:56 PM,
Not So Cosmo said…
LOL!!! It would appear that writing after the FRA vs ESP game is not wise. Most of the semicolons (;) should be commas (,) if you didn't notice. Ah, dump it. GO FRANCE!!!!
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