When I was younger, about middle school age, I didn’t really care about whether or not my purses were knockoffs. I just bought them because they had the label, and in the back of my mind, I thought maybe it might not be real because it was so cheap, but I brushed off that feeling anyway. I wanted THE brands, meaning Coach, Louis Vuitton, just to name a few. I was young; my friends probably didn’t know any better anyway. It’s not like they were going to call me out on having a fake Louis Vuitton purse, even when the handle started peeling. Some of them didn’t even know the brand anyway. It just had pretty colors.
Even at a young age, I was entrapped by consumerism … wanting brands I could not afford at the tender age of 12 and wanting to take part in a lifestyle that I’d only seen in magazines and on televison.
Now, if ever I want to buy something designer, I opt to save up (or am surprised on Christmas or birthdays). I haven’t bought a “fake” in quite some time, especially after taking this class and another class on world trade. After giving it some thought, I’ve come to question what’s the point of having a counterfeit good when the “elites” can probably tell which is fake and which is real? I admit that I can’t tell for a lot of brands, but it’s definitely possible if you do your research. Not only is counterfeiting often noticeable, but it “undermines the integrity of business, hinders economic development, and disrespects the rules of competition” (Decker 2004). There are plenty of good designs out there … designs that you could make yourself, even. Why waste the money on counterfeiting when money is so hard to come by these days?
Courtney Lorca
Blog #5
1. Decker, Melissa A.. "Knockouts of Knockoffs: The Global Implication of Fashion Piracy". December 1, 2004.
2. Picture: http://demicouture.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/louis-vuitton-fake-bag.jpg
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