Laughing at this! Saw a woman getting out of her car today with one of these gigantic bags. She had trouble handling it and I felt sorry for her.
What bag do you wish would go away?
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Pessie, totally agree with your sentiments. I agree that it's very unkind to make people feel bad about their choices.
This question is rife with the possibilities......however, I don't let others "feelings" about a particular bag that I am passionate about sway me.
I either love it or I don't and what someone else thinks about it is irrelevant.
I've no doubt the question was meant to be provocative for a reason.
Honestly, the question was simple - not intending to upset anyone, but I see how it could lead to that.
What made me think of it is my own Celine Luggage Totes. I've been carrying one of them recently and I realized that I loved these bags when I bought them but after it was so saturated, I stopped carrying them and really just put them away. I didn't like how so many people had them and because of that I was kind of over the bag.
I think everyone has the ability to share their thoughts while being respectful, but I can now see how that is hard - if someone is a fan of brand or bag X and another person bashes it, that can easily hurt someone's feelings. I'm sorry for making a question that lead to that and I'll monitor this thread and see if we need to close it.
Thank you to everyone who has been kind and respectful in this thread, and I'll be much more aware of my questions I pose going forward!
What made me think of it is my own Celine Luggage Totes. I've been carrying one of them recently and I realized that I loved these bags when I bought them but after it was so saturated, I stopped carrying them and really just put them away. I didn't like how so many people had them and because of that I was kind of over the bag.
I think everyone has the ability to share their thoughts while being respectful, but I can now see how that is hard - if someone is a fan of brand or bag X and another person bashes it, that can easily hurt someone's feelings. I'm sorry for making a question that lead to that and I'll monitor this thread and see if we need to close it.
Thank you to everyone who has been kind and respectful in this thread, and I'll be much more aware of my questions I pose going forward!
So true! I think it could work for the smaller sizes, but my GM is strictly travel only so I can bring onboard something like a mini-suitcase in addition to my carry on.
It's ironic that the VERY reason many can't stand MK is the reason many others love him!
So his bag copy/replicate other styles.....because of this reason alone many can afford to have the look they want without having to spend the money they don't.
This, to my mind, is a great thing.
I truly think the reason many don't like his copycat designs is because they've paid the big bucks to own those designer styles and don't care to see every other person walking around with one of them on their arm. And while I do understand that feeling, I'm as happy for the person who can afford the look they want as I am for the person who can afford the higher priced designer bag.
After all, they know that they have the 'original' and that alone should make them happy
That's not true. There is a difference between "inspired by" and a blatant knockoff, and MK definitely crossed that line. If I go into TJMaxx and get a nasty shock wondering why I was seeing Givenchy bags on the racks, it's a knockoff (true story!). If with only a passing glance I mistake a MK bag for a Gucci or LV, it's a knockoff. There has to be enough easily apparent differences to know it's not the original thing. If he wants flared gussets a la Celine, fine, but don't also have a robot face, the square-ish proportions. and rolled handles (see example below). If it weren't for the names, I'd have thought it was a cheap Chinatown fake.
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Totally agree! All those MK pieces above are knockoffs, period. It's one thing to "pay homage" or imitate another design by taking one or two key design elements. But what MK did was beyond that. If you took away the "Michael Kors" namestamp and initials, you could easily mistake his pieces for cheap counterfeits.
Not true, at all:
1. The Alma was around before the Bolide.
2. It's the other way around. The MK was a copy of the Totally.
3. The SDJ looks nothing like the Birkin, aside from the fact that they are both east-west totes. The SDJ doesn't have the belt wraparound, the three part top flap, etc.
4. The MG isn't a rip off of the Noe. They're both bucket bags, but that's it. What distinguishing design elements do they share?
+1 i agree w/your post
i was in Kohls last week and saw a complete no-name brand that looks almost completely identical to the lv alma bb -- it was even done in an electric-type patent leather, and was selling for $40. i stopped for a second and was like wth is this?!! but a lot of women shopping in Kohls don't even know that an LV Alma BB exists, so is it wrong for Kohl's to sell that bag? or for the company to make it? there is an audience for these knock-off designer bags and for the look of the designer bags w/out the price tag. The D&B Bitsy bag comes really close to being an alma bag, too. i don't fault the women for buying them b/c they don't know, and i really don't mind that other companies knock one another off b/c women want to look stylish at all price points and that's ok w/me
Exactly!+1 i agree w/your post
i was in Kohls last week and saw a complete no-name brand that looks almost completely identical to the lv alma bb -- it was even done in an electric-type patent leather, and was selling for $40. i stopped for a second and was like wth is this?!! but a lot of women shopping in Kohls don't even know that an LV Alma BB exists, so is it wrong for Kohl's to sell that bag? or for the company to make it? there is an audience for these knock-off designer bags and for the look of the designer bags w/out the price tag. The D&B Bitsy bag comes really close to being an alma bag, too. i don't fault the women for buying them b/c they don't know, and i really don't mind that other companies knock one another off b/c women want to look stylish at all price points and that's ok w/me
The larger issue with fakes is that those responsible for them are typically involved in illegal activites, thus funding violent activities, and don't follow any type of manufacturing laws or policies. Child labor? Enslavement? All a high likelihood when it comes to knockoffs.
Are certain designers infringing on other's IP? I'm inclined to say yes, but there's distinguishing factors between that and counterfeits and fakes. Stating that these bags are no different than the fake trade pays no attention to the human cost of counterfeits.
Are certain designers infringing on other's IP? I'm inclined to say yes, but there's distinguishing factors between that and counterfeits and fakes. Stating that these bags are no different than the fake trade pays no attention to the human cost of counterfeits.
This is very true, there is "inspired by" and there is the blatant counterfeit, complete with the original designers name to try to 'fake' everyone out.
If I'm in a store and I see a bag out of the corner of my eye that 'looks' like a high end designer bag (but obviously isn't because it has another name on it) then it's not a counterfeit bag, it's a bag inspired by another designer and those bags are all over the place.
I don't get all huffy about it because I thought I saw a Givenchy but what I actually saw was a MK bag. I have eyes and can figure that much out.
Still find it amusing that this bends people out of shape. So many more important things to get upset about.
Pretty much all of the MK bags - the blatant imitation of other brands PLUS the horrible MK medallions (I thought subtle branding has been in for a while now...?) They also look plastic-y. I don't actually believe that they are leather.
Just my personal opinion.
Just my personal opinion.
To be fair, MK wasn't the first or last company that took 'inspiration' from other bags. But I have never seen any other brand that has invoked this much dichotomy of passionate following on one hand AND utter disdain on the other. I find that phenomenon very interesting.
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