Legal Dupes vs PreLoved

[Sa26]

okay to all of us who can’t easily afford high end bags, do you prefer a legal dupe meaning a very similar bag from a Contemporary brand even lower like Zara and Aldo or you prefer to get your dream bag preloved ?

I prefer legal Dupes, I like going to a store try the bag on, see for myself what fits in and getting it brand new. Honestly I’m not a big fan of online shopping when to comes to bags or clothes.

 

[TC1]

No to "dupes" I have a strong dislike for that word. I would rather have a great quality bag, no matter the cost or brand.. than something that is an attempt to skirt the knock off narrative with a new word.

 

[880]

Preloved. But cost is not the sole reason for preloved. Sometimes preloved comes in discontinued styles, leather types, levels of patina etc, not currently available new

i do have two BV inspired pouches from Etsy (Great quality leather) I decided not to spend for BV simply bc I didn’t know if I would wear such a style. I love them, but I have one worn one only once, so I don’t regret my decision

 

[19flowers]

No dupes for me - if I can't have the "real thing" then I just won't have it. I have bought many bags preloved from a reseller that allows returns within 30 days.

 

[Joule]

I'm not a fan of dupes myself.

 

[liliBuo]

No dupes for me, if something is out of my budget then Its not for me and Im perfectly fine with that. I like quality and craftmanship so thats what I buy, copies and / or fakes are imho boring.

 

[Tuned83]

I think over dupes I would look for lower priced bags I love. So many nice bags out there that don't cost an arm and a leg. I don't generally buy Preloved. Always look but it's not for me.

 

[snibor]

If the desire is for a certain high end bag, in my experience buying something “similar” will not be satisfying. I’d rather buy a totally different lower priced bag. Buying a “dupe” is like settling but you really want something else. Whenever I’ve settled for less expensive than what I really want, I’ve always been disappointed.

 

[cerulean blue]

in my experience, the knockoffs from Zara and other fast fashion don't hold up as well as the original styles, like I've seen bags/shoes peeling, stitches popped, hardware losing its finish, wearing down too fast, etc. So in that case, I'd rather buy the original that'll last years and years over something that'll only last a fraction of the original's lifetime.

But with contemporary brands for the most part, I'd also rather buy the original like Bottega's Pouch vs Mansur Gavriel's Cloud. But sometimes there are moments where I like the knock off than the original, like Balenciaga's Ville over LV's Alma. I'd rather buy new from the boutique since I get aftercare service. I usually only buy pre-loved when it's an old style that's discontinued. Sometimes I wait for a bag to go on sale and it sells out before it has a chance to get marked down.

 

[Sa26]

No dupes for me, if something is out of my budget then Its not for me and Im perfectly fine with that. I like quality and craftmanship so thats what I buy, copies and / or fakes are imho boring.

i think knock offs are counterfeit. Dupes however are bags from legal brands highly inspired on designer bags. It’s a whole different thing.
dupes are perfectly fine for me And highly support them, replicas are not for me and these are what I consider them knock offs.

so these are my short definitions :
dupes : bags highly inspired on luxury brands.
replicas are knock offs.

 

[leechiyong]

It's all about the specific bag to me. I fall in love with the details of the bag, so it really just depends on what my options are. I love the neon pink of my Coach Dinkier far more than I've loved the pink of any other flap bag I've seen, but am also currently on the hunt for the Mulberry Teddy Lily on the second-hand market because only that clasp will do.

 

[Sunshine mama]

Dupes usually copy the vibe but not the quality, and luxury is all about quality to me. So no dupes. I'd rather have a quality no name bag.
On the other hand, all design houses high and low get inspired by other design houses. So as long as the quality is there, inspired bags are ok for me.
Plus, there are sooooo many beautifully made, quality bags that are not dupes that I want, that I wouldn't even want to put my money towards dupes.

 

[lill_canele]

Hmm, good question! If you asked me this question in my late teens and early 20s, I think I would have been okay with dupes because my style was always changing and fluctuating. I was trying and learning new things so having a “dupe” or a similar look was more about my current fashion at the time. To be honest, longevity and quality were not on my mind when I was young, but more about my current look.

Now I would not go for a dupe or a look-alike, just because I know I will not be satisfied if I did not have the real thing. I think one of my greatest regrets with purchases was buying something similar as a substitute for what I originally wanted. I would eventually not be happy with the dupe because it wasn’t exactly what I wanted and I would either end up not wearing it or eventually getting the real thing lol.

But for young people who are experimenting with or learning about their own style I can see dupes as a more affordable option.

 

[papertiger]

Even designers copy each other. It may be a trend and 'interpreted' their own way but there's always a leader and plenty of followers. That's why there're fashion trends.

I wouldn't buy dupes just because I am overflowing with bags 'till the next century. Every shape, size, colour and material. I'm good for generics. Whatever trend fashion dictates I'm sure I'll be able to source from my own 'archive'.

However, if there are a couple of bags I may have missed out on through the years, I'd happily do preloved. Hand-me-downs, inherited and buying vintage is where it started as a teen for me anyway. The quality of yesteryear cannot be compared to the highly available mainstream designer trends of today. I think you're talking about recent classics or trends so I won't bore you

I don't think contemporary bags are bad either, but some are untested for longevity if you're talking new brands/new models. Plenty of little bottegas in Italy and France, or independent leather makers in the US or UK all of who presumably follow trends too.

High-street - if you're a teen experimenting, have very little money/can't save or don't mind chucking after a season than maybe, but I have found buying the actual bag I really really want the best investment (new or preloved) and that's never been a dupe.

If someone wants a Chanel CF they are probably not going to be happy with a Zara copy, but if hey are just after the look, quilted pleather/leather chain strap with a ZZ where the CC should be, of course it's fine.

 

[Bagatha Christie]

I like both for different reasons. As others have said, a lot of preloved is better quality than available now and of course there are lots of cool designs that houses don’t make anymore. (I go back and forth on getting a YSL Mombasa but there’s no question you couldn’t easily get that shape in YSL or a dupe of it now- the thing that’s stopping me is how impractical it is )

However, I’m not immune to the appeal of trends and sometimes you can love an aesthetic today and hate it in six months & ithat’s you, then I don’t advocate buying designer at several thousand a go and taking the loss unless you have stacks of cash.

I think another thing to bear in mind is everyone on this site is highly handbag literate and knows things like this Michael Kors tote is a dupe for the LV neverful, for example, whereas the majority of people wouldn’t make that connection. MK is just a nice shop in the mall.
There are also people out there who prefer the dupe to the original. Like a lot of people on TPF love Coach and Rebecca Minkoff for example and aren’t actually interested in BV or Chanel some of their designs resemble.

so tldr I wouldn’t write off dupes or preloved I think it’s what works for you.