Fashion Fraud: Take It or Leave It?

Face it: every woman would love to open up her closet to a sea of designer clothes — I know I would. Yet somehow I never fail to fall short of coughing up the $1500 necessary to score my favorite looks. What’s an average girl to do? Score a spin-off, naturally.

Retailers are no doubt in tune with the average woman’s desire to wear the latest looks and so to satisfy the masses out comes a bunch of knock-offs that most women couldn’t tell from the real things if they tried. I love the fact that I can dress like I’m wealthy without dishing out the Benjamins, but what happens on the designer’s end?

The case in question is mass merchandiser Forever21′s fervent quest to seemingly steal Diane von Furstenberg’s designs. Take the Cerisier Shift Dress, the Aubrey or even the Edith. The fact is that von Furstenberg is suing for copyright infringement.

So how immoral is it to make and buy rip-off fashion? When you buy those Fendi-esque shades surely made in China, who are you hurting? Tell us, would you buy the knock-off and wear it with pride? Or would you rather suffer to wear designer duds for the masses like those from Proenza or Mizrahi?