A quick WIW with a knockoff - YouLookFab Forum

I have mixed feelings about knockoffs of iconic designs. I have drooled over the Issey Miyake Bao Bao bags for years but never sprung for one because they are pricey for a bag I wouldn’t carry all the time.

But I ran across this IM-inspired bag for $24 and couldn’t resist. I love the design and the color, regardless of the label. It helps me justify the purchase that the design is not an exact copy. How do you all feel about this?

Worn with my oooold quilted Zella jacket, R&B Dre jeans and Sorel boots today for some errands and hopefully squeezing in a manicure. The Missoni (a real one :-)) scarf picks up the blue of the bag.

If I ever spring for the IM version, this is one I love:

http://needsupply.com/lucent-o.....gKBc_D_BwE

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6 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

This is so cute!

Anonymous

Cute bag! I'm not familiar with the Miyake original , so it wouldn't have bothered me But I do know what you mean. I have a Rebecca Minkoff that's a knockoff of the classic Balenciaga moto. And the RM was a $350 bag! I guess the knock-off thing happens at all levels..

LaPed

I don't fret over knockoffs vs originals. If I like the way it looks, I'll take it. The beauty of fashion is that it goes both ways -- high borrows from low, low borrows from high. The Miyake is a work of art, for sure, but yours is such a great colour -- I think of cobalt as one of your signatures.

Scarlet

1.) I haven't seen the (utterly awesome) original before so I wouldn't get the reference.
2.) It is significantly different.
3.) Love your outfit with all the zigzags talking.

jill58

I wasn't familiar with the original either--great bag, but I would have bought the knock-off too.

MsGreer

Active Member

Heck yeah, the bag is great..killer price! Designer bags are way over the top in my opinion. Go with what looks great. Love the blues in scarf m bag.

approprio

(website)

Yeah, those Bao Bao bags are gorgeous! There do seem to be some good copies around. I find it hard to get too worked up about knock-offs in general if they're well done, but as with any artwork, context is everything. The original is lovely and of course I want it, but your version with rhomboids looks very fun too.

Bijou

I like your bag and don't have an aversion to knock offs. The original Bao Bao bags are beautifully constructed, and I do love their artistic and modern lines which is why I think this is one bag that is worth the money (and I do own a Bao Bao as a souvenir from Japan).

The reality is, I can't always afford the original and accordingly, I think it is great when other designers are inspired by the original and make a more affordable (yet not a deliberate copy) version.

I like owning bags at various price points too, sometimes it is good to have a bag that you don't have to be too precious about.

skylurker

I did not know the Bao Bao bag, I bet most people don’t.
I think there’s no copyright in fashion, and everyone gets inspired and copy each other and that’s fine, there’s room on the market for both Hermès and Zara.
Love your jacket and how the bag echoes its pattern.

Janet

Thanks, ladies! I’m glad no one seems too bothered by the copycat. The bag got a lot of compliments while I was out yesterday! I ended up doing some Christmas shopping at a local arts marketplace and then a couple of local boutiques, and one of the SA’s in a favorite hometown shop (they sell SHOES AND CHOCOLATE!) was quick to comment on the bag and how all the diamond and triangle shapes in the scarf, bag, and jacket played together. My kind of pattern mixing, I suppose.

Angie

Fashion Stylist

FABULOUS. Thumbs up on the copycat.

Loving the wavy hair with the straight fringe, Janet. You look EVEN prettier.

Thank you, Angie!

Emily K

Oooohh...I like this a lot--and that is a really great bag!

Chris987

in my view It's all good...knock off or original...as long as it's your decision and you know what you are getting. I see a lot of women carrying knockoff coach bags in colors that coach doesn't sell and of course not coach quality but it seems totally ok to me. The bag is very cool in both iterations and great with the outfit!

Stagiaire Fash

Count me among those who would not have recognized any precedent unless you had pointed it out. I see a cute bag that coordinates with the scarf to complement your outfit. You look great.

I agree that fashion flows up and down, from high-cost designers and from people on the streets who do things like rip off the waistband of their jeans and start a trend. (That's part of what makes the conversation on cultural appropriation interesting, imho. After the intellectual property thefts, on top of theft of land and of people themselves, there is reason there to be more guarded about "sharing" and when it becomes something else.)

I think we often don't know which way trends are moving. There clearly is something going on with iridescent "mermaid" footwear, but who is copying from whom, and is there any connection to the lovely iridescent bag you linked to?

And I want those "Jazzi" boots!

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Jaime

Well I know and admire the Bao Bao bag and this is at best inspired by rather than a copy. Copies are really popular here (via Aliexpress I am pretty sure), and not many if any seem to know about the original. (I have even asked owners of second hand stores that are selling them.) I would not knowingly wear an exact copy, but inspired by is what fashion is all about.
That said, you look fantastic here!

I agree (and meant to include in my comment) that the difference between a copy and being inspired by something is huge. Everything is inspired by something else, even flashy metallic footwear. I don't see any problem with that, as long as it's acknowledged to be that maker's, not passed off as the "original". Counterfeits are simply lies, attempting to profit from someone else's well-regarded product.

Lisa

What a fun bag! I like how it picks up the blue in the scarf.

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