'Designer Inspired' Bags: Your opinion

What is your opinion on 'designer inspired' bags?

  • They cheapen the value of the real bags people buy

  • They are a good way for people who cannot afford authentic bags to keep up with trends

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extremelove

Member
Jul 25, 2006
21
0
#1
So, I think I can guess the opinion on this but I thought I would post this anyway!

For the record I am in no way condoning the buying of fake or 'inspired' bags, and please do not post any links to sites where you can purchase such bags :smile: thankyou!
 
#3
I HATE knock-offs - to me, it's blatant plagiarism of a designer's creativity (ie. especially LV, and those TACKY fake MB bags).

Someone once said that it's like buying the no-name/store-brand of food, but I disagree. A ketchup recipe is just that - a recipe, and in no way does it have the word Heinz written on their bottle... but someone had to go create a design, and for fakes to actually try to replicate the logo, to me that's really misleading and wrong.
 
#4
some or them really do look quite real, id be SO annoyed if i had spent like £1000 on a bag and saw a cheap imitation. I would also wonder if people thought my bag was a fake, even if it wasn't! Some of the 'inspired' bags however look truly awful, especially the paddington ones, tiny locks and cheap cheap fake leather, it makes me quite sad actually :sad:
 
#7
Since many, many design houses have versions of "inspired" bags, I am not having as many issues with this anymore. The Hermes Birkin seems to take a hint from the LV Steamer, the LV Alma is a smaller version of the Hermes Bolide, Hermes has edited at least one Gucci style, and now Ralph Lauren and LV have bags reminiscent of the Birkin. Of course the Chloe lock may have been inspired by Hermes, and one of the new Prada leather bags when carried looks a bit like a Balenciaga. Chloe's new "Big Edith" looks like the YSL Muse,which looks like a larger modification of the Bolide. Need I go on? So with everyone copying everyone (or no one having a REALLY original idea), why not have inspired bags? I don't think they cheapen the originals. You pay for a NAME, and usually the quality that goes with that name (although I know of some recent quality control issues with $1K+ designer bags), so don't expect your $49 inspired bag to last more than a season.

I have a friend who refuses to buy a nice, quality bag. Last year she fell in love with shearling trimmed bags and ended up with one for around $49--the most she had ever paid for a bag. Several months later, the handle had ripped and there was cording coming out, and the bag itself was seriously falling apart. Of course by then the whole shearling look was out, and she ended up getting a refund on the bag. But you get what you pay for...usually...and if you want a quality bag that will last, you go for the real deal. If you want a bag that will never go out of style and never have to be replaced, you go with a classic like Hermes. But if you just want to have the "IT" bag for a season, or a similar style, you can get it inexpensively. Just don't expect to have it for long!
 
#8
I have nothing against designer inspired bags....there are people out there who are not fortunate enough to be able to buy a real authentic designer bag...and if they just want to have the style and design of a bag...then by all means that's their decision.But I personally would never buy a inspired bag...I prefer the quality and authenticity of the real thing!!!!:yes:
 
#9
There is a difference between knock-offs and "inspired" bags. Let's make it clear:

Knock-offs try to say they are the real thing. They go out of their way to stamp the designer's name all over the purse. They even try to match the tags/fonts/prings. That is just wrong and people who carry those bags are posers. I HATE fakes!

"inspired" purses are bags that share the shape or model of a designer bag but in noway do they claim to be LV, Gucci, etc. It is a good alternative for those who want the shape/model of a certain bag but don't want to resort to straight knock-offs. There is nothing wrong with that.

Besides....designers mimic each other all the time! Who do you think came out with the all over designer initial monogramming on purses? GG's, LV's, CG's...even D&B's. Would you call that knocking off? The MJ Denim bag looks just like the LV Manhattan PM! Is that a knock off? There are just too many limited possible shapes/colors a bag can have and to say that a designer has exclusive rights over that shape is silly.
 
#10
lordguinny said:
There is a difference between knock-offs and "inspired" bags. Let's make it clear:

Knock-offs try to say they are the real thing. They go out of their way to stamp the designer's name all over the purse. They even try to match the tags/fonts/prings. That is just wrong and people who carry those bags are posers. I HATE fakes!

"inspired" purses are bags that share the shape or model of a designer bag but in noway do they claim to be LV, Gucci, etc. It is a good alternative for those who want the shape/model of a certain bag but don't want to resort to straight knock-offs. There is nothing wrong with that.

Besides....designers mimic each other all the time! Who do you think came out with the all over designer initial monogramming on purses? GG's, LV's, CG's...even D&B's. Would you call that knocking off? The MJ Denim bag looks just like the LV Manhattan PM! Is that a knock off? There are just too many limited possible shapes/colors a bag can have and to say that a designer has exclusive rights over that shape is silly.
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I totally agree.
 
#11
lordguinny said:
Besides....designers mimic each other all the time! Who do you think came out with the all over designer initial monogramming on purses? GG's, LV's, CG's...even D&B's. Would you call that knocking off? The MJ Denim bag looks just like the LV Manhattan PM! Is that a knock off? There are just too many limited possible shapes/colors a bag can have and to say that a designer has exclusive rights over that shape is silly.
Click to expand...

Actually, both were designed by Marc Jacobs, hence the near identical clasps. Marc Jacobs is owned by LVMH, which spreads common parts over several brands, such as GM's Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, etc. A good example of this are the two bags below (Fendi and Dior, respectively), both of which could be described as speedy-like but besides the fabric and minor hardware discrepencies they are the same bag.
 

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#12
I personally believe that as long as the bag isn't claiming to be the "inspired by" bag, and the person carrying it isn't claiming it to be the "inspired by" bag, then it's perfectly okay. I recently bought a very nice leather Paradox "inspired by" version of a Stam bag. I don't want the real MJ Stam because as usual, it's Too!Damn!Heavy! But this one is a soft thin quilted leather instead of heavy quilted goatskin, so it's perfect for me. Plus it's reasonably well made, esp for the price, so it doesn't look like just another junky knockoff (F21 and JCP, I'm looking at you!) Most importantly, it doesn't have nasty fake MJ marks on it anywhere, and you're not going to hear me claiming that it's anything other than a reasonably priced variation of the similar style. :smile:
 
#15
tweetie said:
I HATE knock-offs - to me, it's blatant plagiarism of a designer's creativity (ie. especially LV, and those TACKY fake MB bags).

Someone once said that it's like buying the no-name/store-brand of food, but I disagree. A ketchup recipe is just that - a recipe, and in no way does it have the word Heinz written on their bottle... but someone had to go create a design, and for fakes to actually try to replicate the logo, to me that's really misleading and wrong.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry if I misunderstood your post. Fakes and inspired bags are not the same. Selling fakes are illegal, selling inspired bags are not otherwise big department stores like Nordstrom wouldn't be carrying them.
 
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