Comments on: Guilt-Inducing, Or A Good Idea?

By: Lynne

Lynne — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 18:42:04 +0000

Re: brands
I was mega disappointed with two (not one, but TWO) Betsy Johnson watches — a jewel fell off one, bands fell apart on both. The company did not stand behind their products. Thrifting is one thing in BuyerBewareLand, but these were full-price retail purchases. As a result I will NEVER buy anything from Betsey Johnson again. The best watch I ever bought was $10 at Wal Mart.
Re: knockoffs
It’s wrong to make a stitch-for-stitch copy of someone else’s design. It’s okay to be inspired by a design and turn it into something else.

By: Larue

Larue — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:14:06 +0000

Basically, if I am looking for a long-lasting item (say a jacket) I will pay more if the quality is good. If I need T’s for the summer, I will pay less. Who cares if they are Michael Kors or not? I certainly don’t.

I respect others for their brands, and I do not believe in copying someone’s work and passing it off as my own. But I do agree with Lis – if I am inspired by something and make it, and then get tired of it, I will sell it. But not make 25 of them for sale all at the same time. And something I make is NOT going to be exactly like what I see offered by someone else. What is the fun in that?

Also? You, my friend, may have a time share in Costumelandia, but I have a vacation home. Heh.

By: Tashi

Tashi — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:25:23 +0000

I feel bad for designers of items who get ripped off. But if it’s any consolation, oftentimes, if I know I am looking at a faux version of this or that, or a copycat version of something, the quality just isn’t there. Sometimes, it’s very obviously bad. If I can’t get an original, I’ll try to find a reasonably-priced copy/similar version, one that’s good enough quality for my liking. Sure, I’d love to buy a Betsey Johnson dress too. But like Erin said, sometimes not even the high-end brands mean you’re going to get anything better than you would at, say, Kohl’s or Target, etc., etc.

By: Alisa

Alisa — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 03:30:05 +0000

I’ll copy for my personal costuming use – because I can’t afford to buy the real thing. $450 for a corset I MIGHT wear twice is way too steep for my budget when I can make a similar one for $30. And if I get tired of it (which rarely happens, since I’m possessive about my costuming stuff!) I’ll sell that one item. However, I would never copy someone work and make items just to sell. Even though items of apparel can’t be copyrighted, and are therefore fair game to anyone who isn’t bothered by the unfairness to the original designer.

By: DK (AKA Probie)

DK (AKA Probie) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:46:18 +0000

Knock-offs are precisely the reason we never pitched the Cozy Corset Cuff to the likes of Caribou and Starbucks. We KNEW they’d say, “Hey, that’s great! We’ll be in touch” and then turn around and find someone in China to make it for them.

As far as brands go, they mean squat to me. I care about one thing, and that’s the $$. Like you said, so often the big name isn’t any better quality. We’ve already discussed that I will buy almost anything generic, and the same goes for clothes. The only time I splurge is on shoes, specifically shoes for work. $15 Target shoes are not going to cut it when I’m on my feet for 8 hours. They just aren’t.