“Fashion is not necessarily about labels. It’s not about brands. It’s about something else that comes from within you.” — Ralph Lauren
How interesting that a fashion designer, who makes their living off creating a brand and image, with his name on the label, would think that fashion isn’t about labels and brands. Ralph Lauren says fashion comes from within, so I guess it doesn’t matter if I buy a silk blouse from him or Marshalls, right?
Last week, I talked about appearances, and fashion is just one area where appearances seem essential. I’m a girl on a budget, so while I have enough clothes (none of them designer) and too many pairs of shoes, there is one purse that I get compliments on every time I carry it. The most common question is “Oh my god! Is that a Kelley bag?” Well, since I’m an actual Kelley, and it’s mine, sure, it’s a Kelley bag.
Wrong.
What I failed to realize is that there is a very well-known designer bag made by Hermés. It got its name from Princess Grace of Monaco, aka Grace Kelly (a distant cousin of mine, I’m sure, even if she does spell it wrong). During her first pregnancy, she carried the bag strategically while being stalked by papparazzi to cover the fact that she was expecting.
Mine was just a cute handbag I saw on Amazon, so I bought it, not realizing it would attract so much attention. Who knew purses had names? I’ve never cared that much about brands and labels, at least not in clothes or accessories. The clothes I wear are pretty basic, and I am a girl on a budget, so unless some Jimmy Choo shoes show up at the Goodwill, they won’t be in my closet. Still, it surprised me that so many people know what a Kelly bag is and will comment on a purse if they think it might be one of the famous brands.
I guess that’s an indication that certain designs in fashion and accessories matter a lot to some people. If we are talking handbags, a life goal for me is a Louis Vuitton “Neverfull” tote bag. Perhaps someday I will come across one at a discount, but it’s unlikely. I’d love to own one, but I won’t go into debt for it.
Now, if we are talking shoes? I might have a slight problem with footwear, so I’m very aware of those brands and styles. A vision of a pair of Christian Louboutin pumps with the iconic red soles lives in my head, but that’s about as far as they’ll ever get. Could I buy a standard pair of black pumps and paint the soles red? Sure, but they wouldn’t be Louboutins; they’d be “dupes.”
A dupe is a product that’s supposed to be “just like” something else, but at a lower price and without the designer label. My little red, “not a Kelly” bag from Amazon is a dupe, but I’m only just realizing it. Dupes are a thing. Everything from the elegant black, beige, and white plaid scarves with the instantly recognizable pattern, to jewelry that webpages call “Designer-inspired” is copied and sold, either on street corners in big cities or on websites and by “influencers” on social media.
As a writer, I know how authors and others feel when their personal work is copied or used by people who didn’t put the blood, sweat, and tears into it that they did. Do not mess with someone else’s art, words, or creative pieces; we will come for you. Still, somewhere in the past, a designer sat down and created a bag, a pair of shoes, or a classic piece of jewelry, only to have dozens of factories and sellers produce copies, putting fake labels on them and passing them off as authentic. It really is a kind of theft, so if, as Mr. Lauren says, fashion comes from within, does that mean people who wear knock-offs are intrinsically criminals?
I wouldn’t go that far. I never strutted about with my little red purse, flinging it around like, “Look at me!” I didn’t sneak into a Hérmes store and steal it, but once I found out it was a dupe, I tell people, “It’s a no-name from Amazon; they have a ton of them, mostly around $30.”
Authenticity is essential in everything we do. With relationships, business dealings, career strategy, and so much more. Can we wear and buy dupes as long as we don’t misrepresent them as the real deal? That’s a question each person needs to answer for themselves. I will continue stumbling around designer bags and shoes, hoping to find something similar in my budget, but without a fake label. For now, though, I still love my little red purse, even if it wasn’t named after my famous cousin Grace.
