BREAKING NEWS: Cathy caught in knockoff scandal!

 

Oh, the shame of it.

Imagine my distress when a commenter yesterday noted that a nearly identical dress to TED, which Cathy looked so lovely in, had been posted yesterday on Pattern Review!

And sure enough -- look.

Only that this dress -- identical in every way to the Simplicity dress, mind you -- was a vintage Vogue pattern from the same era:

Look familiar?



Loyal followers of MPB, I knew in my heart of hearts that Elaine was a selfish b (as she reminds us daily) but I never, never thought she would stoop so low as to send me a designer knockoff.  I'm not sure how to proceed: Do I call 911?  311?  

How did Simplicity get away with this?

There's a section in "The End of Fashion" -- which I finished yesterday by the way and highly recommend -- all about the famous lawsuit between Yves Saint Laurent and Ralph Lauren over a tuxedo dress.  You can read about it here.

When is a knockoff a knockoff and when is it "inspired by" or a "tribute"?  I think this topic is more and more relevant these days as retro looks are just about everywhere.  But if you read "The End of Fashion" you'll know this problem has been going on for many, many decades.  

Then there are websites like this one:

Or this.

They don't even try to hide the fact that they are ripping off the originals.

I'm a little torn, frankly, because, while I obviously want to protect my cousin's reputation, I myself am not beyond picking up a pair of knockoff sunglasses on Canal Street.  There, now you know.

In this day of the Internet and globalization, are we really getting something better when we buy the original?  Are we supporting fair labor practices when  "Made in Italy" can mean made by Chinese immigrants in some Italian sweat shop.  Are we allowed not to care?

Have you ever purchased a knockoff, or knocked off a look yourself in your sewing?

I'm curious to know where you stand.

Jump in!