Sure, for many people a fake Gucci Dionysus seems like the best and sometimes only option for a low budget and I fully understand it's totally unreasonable for a lot of people to splash out £1000+ on a handbag and you really want to have that bag in your life. But is forgery really the best way?
For me, no.
Let me explain why I have a problem with this.
1. Quality issues, this is an obvious one and if you're buying knock offs I'm sure you've already accepted this reality, the quality wont hold up against the real thing. It's incredibly obvious looking at a fake bag that's supposed to be hand stitched and seeing the perfect sewing machine stitches. The dodgy printed logo and the slanted text...
2. Lack of respect to the brand. There is so much hard work that goes into designing, manufacturing and creating a product. For me handbags are art, for someone to come along and completely rip off an extremely heavily thought out design and vision absolutely breaks my heart. That said, I have no real problems with 'dupes', The design has to be changed atlas 6/7? (don't quote me) times before it's allowed onto the high street and it's often obvious that it's not the real thing, but looks 1000X better without the wonky Gucci logo printed and a great way to work out if you should invest in the real deal.
3. The out of box experience, again if you're intentionally buying a fake you will have accepted you're not going to receive the out of box experience. For me I had a distinct goal of buying a Chanel Classic flap by the the age of twenty one, it was the only bag I ever wanted growing up. I saved, I worked hard, And here she is... There's an unexplainable feeling of complete satisfaction knowing you worked damn hard for something and you got the real deal.
4. The industry you're funding, for me the most serious point, and it should be for you too. The money you're spending on the counterfeit bag will be most probably funding child labour, unregulated factory conditions and even terrorist groups. For a bag, really?
Alternatives:
I get it, you want the designer look for less but thinking "I'll never be able to own that" is a terrible mindset, be optimistic, work hard and the reward will come in a glossy black box printed 'CHANEL'.
Want a short term fix?
Let's talk unbranded: There are tons of amazing leather shops and companies that do unbranded leather handbags that absolutely will rival the likes of Louis and Prada in terms of quality.
Almost there?
SALE! Sale and outlets are a great place to snag a bargain designer bag. Also, the resale market (now be careful) you don't want to accidentally buy a fake! I suggest websites like Vestiaire Collective that have in house authenticator.
J x
