Is wearing a knockoff always a fashion faux-pas?

[5AvenueMarceau]

Trying to pass off fakes as the real thing is always tacky. Always.

Wearing obviously fake stuff can be very stylish if it's done with your tongue firmly planted in your cheek.

Practically anything can be worn and look great with the right attitude and styling.

I completely agree with everything in your post! And thats basically my attitude towards fashion

 

[travis_nw8]

colette has been known to sell fake jacob watches-i know several people who wear fake ones (despite their parents captable of buying large chunks of london).

however, fake leather goods is a no-no!

 

[TheSoCalledPrep]

I wouldn't buy a fake logo (I don't really buy the real ones either--they're tacky too), but I might buy a lower-priced item that "interprets" designer if I didn't feel like paying the designer price for that item. One example that comes to mind ... Nine West or a similar shoe brand interpreted Marc Jacobs' crocheted shoe in I believe an espadrille where his was a Mary Jane, in the same or similar colors. I don't see a huge fashion crime there with buying the lower-priced shoe. In my mind the good fashionista will know what she's doing though

And yay Kimkhuu as well..

 

[fashionista-ta]

colette has been known to sell fake jacob watches-i know several people who wear fake ones (despite their parents captable of buying large chunks of london).

however, fake leather goods is a no-no!

Unless you're a vegan

 

[Melisande]

Unless you're a vegan

That's right! Although even when I was vegan for 2 years I couldn't get myself to use fake leather; I still prefer canvas.

Anyhow I totally agree with Fashionista-ta and So Called Prep.

And Kimkhuu and Tott as well:

I once heard a funny story about some famous fashionista (forgot whom) who strode into Burberry's wearing a blatantly fake all-over Novacheck raincoat...and bought a real Burberry raincoat...for her accompanying pooch.

Heehee! Not that I have anything against Burberry's at all, but gotta love her sense of humor.

 

[fashionista-ta]

I would say it's a faux pas if the fake involved child labor or funded terrorist activities ...

 

[l'eau]

Like many here, if it's supposed to pass as the real thing, tacky tacky tacky. When I was 17 I bought a fake Dior bag in Italy (as a gift for someone) and you could just tell- the "leather" etc. I'm fortunate that I made that mistake only once and early on!

However, designer "inspired" pieces are fine. I carry a black leather bag for school in the same style as a Balenciaga messenger, but it isn't trying to pass as real Balenciaga. I can't afford Balenciaga, but for $70 I can rock a similar feel without compromising my style or my ethics.

BUT- Steve Madden and the knockoff CLs? Where he took a CL ad and photoshopped in his name/out the red sole? Nuh uh.

 

[Legyviel]

^ Exactly.
I wouldn't buy a knockoff, but catwalk inspired pieces are fine with me. Prada-ish dress or heels from Zara or Balenciaga-esque floral jacket from Topshop are my favourite clothing pieces. I would never buy a knockoff from ebay that actually pretends to be what it is not. It's cheap and tacky. Don't get me started with logos. I don't like logos in general (real or not).

 

[SusanSuperstar]

If not, which knockoffs can sometimes be acceptable to wear?

I'm going to assume that a logoed bag that is really obviously fake always says "tacky."

But what about?

- Logoed really believable fakes

- No logos, but clothing/shoes/bag very similar in style to a designer item

- etc?

I think fakes are tacky....but I guess most people wouldn´t even see it´s fake but I´d know it and I wouldn´t like it, but let´s say it, I´ve seen so many real chanels that look just tacky, I know some people that only wear expensive real things and they look really cheap

but things that look similar but are cheap are fine too me! I got a few bags or clothes from asos that are just fine and have a similar look. Expensive is not always good quality. But if I want a really good quality bag, I´ll buy Balenciaga and not a 50 fake bag.

 

[eternitygoddess]

Honestly, I'd rather pay 50 bucks for a very good knock-off then 500 for the real thing because ever since logomania took off and ruined every elite and fashionable logo known to man, the exclusivity of the 500 dollar genuine bag has died. And lets face it, the only reason anyone buys an LV or Gucci logo-ed bag is for the exclusivity associated with it, but since the chic-ness and elite status that goes with it is gone, go ahead and buy the fake.

agreed. I'd never dump bucks on a stupid bag just because it has some logos printed on it.

 

[ShuggaStiletto]

My friends and I discuss this quite often. I am totally against fakes. It's the ideology behind them that bothers me, in addition to the terrorism-funding, sweat shops, etc. Trying to pass off a bag as more expensive then it really is, or from a designer who it's not from, is just blatantly wrong, and IMO is disrespectful to the designer and the art of fashion design in general. There are so many other bags out there that are genuinely NICE bags and aren't super expensive. Personally, I'd rather have a well-made, attractive bag that isn't a popular/name brand designer, than have a cheap (cheap in terms of cost, cheaply made, and cheap as in tacky) designer knockoff.

Just my two cents

 

[Suburban Snob]

I would wear something that was "inspired" by or "in the style of" but never an exact knockoff and nothing with the name that is being knocked off on it.

 

[fashionista-ta]

My friends and I discuss this quite often. I am totally against fakes. It's the ideology behind them that bothers me, in addition to the terrorism-funding, sweat shops, etc. Trying to pass off a bag as more expensive then it really is, or from a designer who it's not from, is just blatantly wrong, and IMO is disrespectful to the designer and the art of fashion design in general. There are so many other bags out there that are genuinely NICE bags and aren't super expensive. Personally, I'd rather have a well-made, attractive bag that isn't a popular/name brand designer, than have a cheap (cheap in terms of cost, cheaply made, and cheap as in tacky) designer knockoff.

Just my two cents

I agree with what you're saying ... feeling the need to carry a fake also slights the many good mid-range bags that are out there that offer good value, & are exactly what they seem ...

 

[before]

Tacky is when a monogrammed "LV" graces the arm of a soccer mom wearing yesterday's sweatpants and scuffed tennis shoes...that just hits you right in the gut.

 

[fashionista-ta]

Tacky is when a monogrammed "LV" graces the arm of a soccer mom wearing yesterday's sweatpants and scuffed tennis shoes...that just hits you right in the gut.

Something I really can't get used to in general is huge opulent bags, dripping with hardware, paired with quite ordinary (e.g., Juicy) clothes. It's just unimaginable to me how that looks right to anyone Do we need better mirrors or something?

 

[daniellat]

a tacky person buys tacky things, designer or not, expensive or cheap. its not a mtter of brand or money. its matter of taste. good taste.

i recently bought a marc jacobs stam bag, fake as you would say.

a) because i dont buy anything leather
b) because i cant afford the real one
c) because i loooove the bag, marc jacobs or not, besides nobody where i live would know what brand it is, it hasnt a marc jacobs logo all over, plus, i dont think much people here would even know who marc jacobs is.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ You make an interesting point ... what if you have an ethical issue with leather, yet are really in love with a particular design. I would just say you probably want to be very careful about the bag's origins if ethics are what's at stake ...

 

[Alejandro]

I also hate when people say - you can't tell the difference there are mirror-replicas blahblahblah, there will always be difference between real and fakes.

you hate it cus you could easily be proven wrong in many times??

 

[Alejandro]

I personally think that its all a matter of personal style and what you believe on.

if you want to wear a goddamn chicken fur collared something cus some cutting edge designer threw it down the runway, and be a victim, good, you like it.

obviously this thread is going towards a different direction now, because logos arent hot anymore, so it isnt wearing something recognizable to the regular joe. you wear what you want to wear, regardless if its a rep or not, it is just a matter of being stupid for paying thousands for the same exact thing.

im abso****inlutely right.

 

[karina_zb]

I'm not even fond of authentic logoed items, to be honest. The idea of paying a designer to advertise his clothing has always seemed a bit stupid, really.

To answer the question, however, I do think it's tacky when it's very obvious that you're wearing a knockoff, but when it's something like a similar style, I think it can be pulled off.