My Furla on vacation on Harbour Island
Purses are like orgasms: a good one can knock your socks off, but when you bust out a fake, trust me, you’re not fooling anyone.
I don’t get the appeal of fakes. Are you trying to convince people you’re rich? Because when I see you sitting on the subway wearing an Old Navy hoodie and running shoes, I really don’t think you spent $3500 on that “Vuitton” bag you’re carrying. But you know what’s even sadder? When the person I’ve just described actually does have a real bag! Seriously, if you got rich selling credit default swaps to suckers, or your dignity to reality TV, go to town, and spend all you want on your accessories. Get all the Speedys and Birkins and whatever else you need to advertise your money and justify your facelift. Whatever. But if you’re middle class (or lower), and you scrimp and save, maybe blow those hard-earned dollars on an RRSP or something. Don’t hand it over to a super rich designer to try to convince everyone else on the bus that you’re wealthy.
I say this as someone who loves to shop (see blog name), and loves purses and shoes, but there are considerations of proportion and appropriateness. My every day bag is a $200 Fossil, bought at Sears! I get compliments all the time. It fits my needs, it’s good looking, durable, and it’s not meant to be “saying” much about me. It’s meant to be big enough to take a pair of nice shoes to the office for the day. The most I have ever spent is maybe $400, on a Marc by Marc Jacobs bag, or a Furla bought in Italy for much cheaper than they are sold in North America. The Furla (and tiny Longchamp bought in Paris) came out of the vacation budget, not the clothing budget. Where others pay for rides at Disney, or stake themselves gambling money, I build the shopping money into the vacation cost. I suppose I could use a burlap sack, but remember, I am arguing for proportion, not against fashion. I can afford the bags I buy.
For $250, you can get a nice leather purse, made in Canada, from Roots. For $650, you can get a nylon piece of crap from Prada, the sole advantage, for those who see it that way, is that it has their logo on it. Please.
For $50 you can get a knock-off, but it’s well documented that when you buy a fake, you are supporting a shady underground economy. Think about it: the people making the real bags barely make enough to get by; what sort of pay and conditions do you think apply to the poor souls making knock-offs and sold on the street? And the money you spend isn’t going to shareholders or into the company pension fund; it’s going to gangsters and drug lords.
Remember that for everything we buy, there are people attached. Someone sewed your clothes, made your shoes, constructed your ipod. We should think of these people when we decide how we spend- think of who gets the money. In these mean times, with pressure to roll back labour laws, or worse (see Newt Gingrich’s Scrooge-like solutions below), and the rich telling the rest of us “be happy you even have a job” the only power we have left is how we disburse the money we do have. Vote with your money. Vote by shopping at stores that pay decent wages, don’t import everything, and don’t lobby to cut back workers’ rights. Vote by not giving your money to criminals so you can try to convince people with your “Chloe” bag that you’re in the 1%. You worked hard for your money- spend it wisely.
Bonus:
Some simple equations and stereotypes to determine reality of merchandise:
Chanel bag+Good Facelift+Rich Husband =100% Real
Chanel bag + Good Facelift= 90% Real
Chanel bag + Bad Facelift= 70% Real
Chanel bag+Job With Hourly Wage + Live in Parents’ Basement=40% Real
Chanel bag +Job With Hourly Wage + Mortgage=0% Real (Or you’re just nuts.)