Fashion houses spend a lot of time creating a quality, highly crafted handbag with intricate stitching using the highest quality materials. They know that when they come to the marketplace that their reputation travels with it. They often offer guarantees & will teach you how to care for the product once you make a purchase and will even offer a warranty should something go wrong with your new purchase. Many of these same fashion houses are now finding themselves competing with replicas of their items.
There are advocates that say if your goal is to have this look and save money that you should purchase a replica. First, you should know that to purchase or sell these items is illegal. These replica or knock-off items are the product of
copyright infringement and while you may be saving a few dollars, your participation in the purchase is not unlike buying a stolen car.
Many designers have been known to crack down on the selling of knock offs using their names, and rightfully so. The purchase of a designer handbag is more of an investment and these purses can last for years if cared for properly. Replica handbags are made with less care and the materials are not high quality and they tend to come apart a lot sooner than their original counterparts.
In this economy, I fully understand the temptation to purchase a replica but there are other ways to obtain an original of the designers that you desire. Genuine purses can be purchased online, while you take a chance when you buy online, anytime you are going to spend money on a designer purse, a little research is warranted. If you are concerned that your online purchase may not be genuine, you can visit
The Purse Forum and they can authenticate pretty much any designer handbag for you. There are also designer
consignment shops that carry authentic items. Many online boutiques such as
DesignerImports.com guarantee their authenticity and they offer their handbags at less than the retail value. Lastly, many designers have a presence at
outlet malls where not only are the purses offered for less than the full retail value but many will even have additional money off when you arrive. Carrying the authentic item shows the designer that not only do you respect the brand enough to want to carry it but you respect their work enough not to deny them payment for their hard work by carrying a replica.
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Names like Betsey Johnson (I like her, she’s quirky & usually has some great conversation starters), BCBG, Junior Drake & more. I’m looking forward to seeing what others will be on the list.
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