FAKE designer bags!!!!

[LouiseyPeasey]

Luxx, I'd love to see pix of Canal Street! I wonder if the sellers would be nervous about someone taking photos?

 

[brian]

please take photos, luxx... we beg of you ....

i need to witness these atrocities with my own eyes!

 

[Luxx]

I promise to bring my camera with me on Monday. I shall take as many photos as I can

 

[citychic90]

please take photos, luxx... we beg of you ....

i need to witness these atrocities with my own eyes!

Hi Gals, I'm quite new to TFS but you could check out these links,

http://www.thebagblog.com/bags/2004/12/canal_street.php

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/11/04/cache_of_knockoff_bags_triggers_federal_case/?p1=MEWell_Pos4

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/30/fashion/30FRON.html?ex=1259557200&en=4eb179313452703a&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland

My jaw dropped when I saw the picture of the fake bags in the second link!!

The picture of canal street via the link isn't that great but I would really like to see the pictures Luxx takes!! It'll be interesting to see.

 

[princessgem]

*sigh*

Why do they do that? Even though I'm not buying one it still ruins it for the people who love fashion.

The fashion industry intself has been accused of deliberately designing bags that can be easily copied. Why?? For the money they miss in sales, they are getting free advertising and brand recognition in every mall/shopping centre. Do you think ALL of the designers care??? Some don't. The people who buy authentic will probably ALWAYS buy authentic.
I am so not a snob. I but authentic myself, (I love Christian Dior and Chloe bags) but I have no problem with fakes. Some are so good these days it is almost impossible to tell.
Some people can't afford the original.
As long as my bag's real, I couldn'g give a f**k what's on everyone elses arm.
And if the replicas are that easy to produce, it makes you wonder if you ate being ripped off by paying the full price. I only buy bags that you rarely see fakes of. There are too many plain leather designer bags at the moment, that aren't worth the money. To pay money I want to stand out and have detailing.

 

[princessgem]

I really don't get the need for fakes. There are so many lovely no name bags out there, why waste cash on a fake? Its just a real waste of time and money in my opinion.

I agree.
I would rather have a lovely no name bag froma nice shop than a hideous fake.
But I have seen some amazing fakes! (Though they cost almost the same as the real thing)!

 

[princessgem]

Before I am lynched....
I was referring to the quite decent fakes / high street shop copies/inspirations that aren't so awful.
I know what cheap fake goos are funding.
All clothes, (bar haute couture, sp!) are copies of something else!

 

[Kalista]

I second that .....

 

[Yasmin]

princessgem, I am with you totally. Most especially when you write "I would rather have a lovely no name bag froma nice shop than a hideous fake." I would only add "or hideous real designer bag". A lot of these fakes can't be beautiful since the original bag looks like a logo-plastered nightmare itself (granted, cheap fakes can certainly make them look even worse). With designer and fake bags, there are good, and there are bad. There are reasons for some people to fork over a college tuition fund for a real bag, and there a reasons for some people to fork over an evening out's fund for a fake bag. We each must make the right choice for us, and since we don't want to be criticised for our decision, we should probably refrain from being too critical of others for making a different one.

 

[Yasmin]

PS. I don't think we have a thread for this but you should have seen the hideous REAL Fendi pants I found in a local consignment store about a month ago. They were my size so I tried them on. Not only did I feel like the world's biggest dork wearing monogram-covered pants (black on black, different textures, with a monogram gold button too of course), they were also the most unflatteringly cut pants EVER! The waist was just bizarre. Really high up and just...horrible. I couldn't imagine ANYONE looking good in those pants. And I am pretty confident these pants were "the real deal". They had all the little details on the inside and everything. Let us not imagine that designer always = quality. The horror!!

 

[kathyjeanc]

regarding the fakes on canal, the people who sell them are so shameless about it, just displaying it out on hooks and tables.

one time when i was passing by, a whole police squad was going to each and every stand, giving out fines and forcing each shop that sells fakes to close. it was pretty hilarious. there were tourists and locals who were crowding around to see the spectacle. you can literally see, from where i was standing, shops that were second in line to be inspected and the owners were scurrying to collect everything and hide it in the back.

another time, i was looking for NYC posters to give to my brother before he went away to college, and i thought canal st would have it (big mistake). so i went into a seemingly innocent souvenir shop and asked if they had posters. the lady runs to the back room and brings out a book and shows me pictures of LV multicolore fakes. i just gave her this look and ran out of the store before having a good laugh with my friend.

 

[Andro]

I was wondering if anyone has heard of reputable retailers that were fooled into selling designer replicas in their own store(s)?.... I remember reading an article online a couple months ago that said ' Maxfield's On Melrose ' in West Hollywood, CA; mistakingly sold fake Louis Vuitton bags believing that the items were vintage versions. As it turns out, the Maxfield's merchandising manager was mislead by the details on the replicas that are characterists of earlier Vuitton creations... Yikes! imagine that!!

As many people know, designer bags are priced much more than the actual costs to produce them... But does anyone know of any
company(s) that sell quality hand-bags, which aren't overpriced; but actually worth about the same amount it takes to make them? Give or Take??

I know Dooney&Burke sells decent priced leather bags but those are too ugly for my taste.

 

[cyberfruit]

Is this Vivienne Westwood Abstract Orb Chain wallet fake?

http://www.styledrops.com/handbags-10250.html

I've never had anything Vivienne Westwood and I don't know much about this site. You guys can probably tell.

 

[spiralsnowman]

I remember reading an article online a couple months ago that said ' Maxfield's On Melrose ' in West Hollywood, CA; mistakingly sold fake Louis Vuitton bags believing that the items were vintage versions. As it turns out, the Maxfield's merchandising manager was mislead by the details on the replicas that are characterists of earlier Vuitton creations... Yikes! imagine that!!

That's kinda hilarious, especially since Maxfield's is like one of the snobbiest "upscale" boutiques in L.A.
Their decor is all minimalist and abstract and they've been known to use security to forcibly remove regular customers when celebrities like J.Lo show up.

 

[spiralsnowman]

I didn't know whether to post this here or on the "Yay or Nay?" thread. It's by HYPE and sells on Bluefly for $186. It's not really a replica bag, but the Silverado influence seems pretty darn strong to say the least...

 

[maraschin0]

That's kinda hilarious, especially since Maxfield's is like one of the snobbiest "upscale" boutiques in L.A.
Their decor is all minimalist and abstract and they've been known to use security to forcibly remove regular customers when celebrities like J.Lo show up.

How conceited that they chase the regulars away. Haha well NOW they should be careful on ordering designer items... =P I wonder where they ordered the fakes?? Somewhere not too reputable I suppose

 

[ohoh609]

i bought a fake balenciaga bag yesterday lol...i think that fakes are fine as long as they dont have fake logos on them

 

[Luxx]

Ok I'm back with pictures from Canal Street as promised! I tried to snap as many as I could. Hopefully they'll illustrate just how many fakes are down there. I've blurred out the faces of the sellers and/or any people buying things/walking around since it would be unfair to put their pictures on the net. I don't think it spoils the photos though. I was surprised by how easy it was to take pictures. One would think that the sellers wouldn't want people to take photos of this stuff but they really did not seem to care at all. Fakes are a really huge problem here but seemingly the only people who get busted are the ones buying fake Vuitton or other logo print bags. Those are the ones that aren't sold directly on the street. Instead there are sellers with sheets of paper advertising which styles they have and they lure people back to warehouses or back rooms where that merchandise is kept. Everything else is sold right in plain view.

If ever you see a person walking down Canal with a big black plastic bag its probably because they've bought a fake bag.

I've included pictures of most of the stuff I mentioned as well as a few really hideous fakes. To try and gage price I asked one of the sellers how much a revolting fake Hermes Kelly cost and the price was $350!! It wasn't even leather! Alot of these seem to be made out of this horrid vinyl material. Really cheap looking.

Of course as I snapped these people were buying them. I saw alot of people looking at the bags and/or purchasing them. I really wanted to stop them but I figured I was being risky enough. Its really odd to me since alot of the people buying these seemed to not be from NYC. They came in groups from other places to buy these horrible really cheesy looking bags. What a waste of a vacation.

Sigh, and Canal is just a jump, skip away from Soho where there's some real damn good shopping. When will people learn.

 

[Luna]

All the Balenciagas and that sparkly spy is great.

I think LVMH is the only handbag company to legally take action against fakes being sold on the street... or maybe I'm making that up... I forget.

 

[LouiseyPeasey]

Wow, Luxx, thanks!! That was really above and beyond the call of duty. Great pix - it's kind of overwhelming...