Posts with tag fake

When it comes to buying designer labels, it's common knowledge that anything in any backroom on Canal Street is probably nothing but a really great fake, but what about things you buy off Ebay, or a third-party seller? There's one way to be sure that you're not buying a fake, and it isn't a high-paid fashion detective: it's technology of course. Using a hand-held scanner, testers can spot a fake by scanning for trace fibers embedded by the manufacturer.

The Verifi TT technology was unveiled at New Zealand fashion week (yes, everybody has a fashion week these days) where two identical twins -- blond sisters to be exact -- wore two identical dresses, one with the trace fibers, one without. As a scientist passed the scanner over one dress, a green light indicated that the dress contained the trace fiber.

The high tech fabric was designed by a New Zealand tech firm called AgResearch, who teamed up with DNA testing companies and the NZ government to come up with this nearly indestructible nano-fiber. Similar to anti-counterfeiting systems used in casino chips, the new technology is being considered by several huge designers. The whole operation is very hush-hush, because the don't want to give counterfeiters a head start.

[via Jezebel]

Does anyone else smell a big, bad feud brewing? Because if Heidi Klum wasn't mad before, she will be now!

No! We would have never guessed -- oh wait, yes -- we already did guess. Lauren Conrad is not actually the one designing the clothes in her fashion line. Yep, that's right. Her clothing line is as about as real as The Hills.

Rumor has it that curvalicious Kim Kardashian is the next "celebrity" to grace Dancing With The Stars. And if that's true, it completely allays our fears that this wonderful show was about to jump the shark.

First: with whom will they partner this spitfire? Our money is on the equally firey Max Chmerkovskiy, former partner of Mel B., (they were robbed!) and Leila Ali, both ladies with strong personalities.

But the ahem bigger question is what will the rigorous dancing regime to do to Kim's famed posterior? At least we'll get to the bottom of those real or fake rumors.

Slightly less reprehensible than stealing from independent designers, designer knock-offs still exist in a moral gray area. While police are cracking down on counterfeit handbag makers and sellers in New York, websites like Finders Keepers openly sell costume jewelry "inspired" by luxury designers like David Yurman and John Hardy.

It seems to us that the line in the sand is whether or not the item is trying to pass as the real thing. That fake Burberry bag might pass muster at the Junior League lunch, but any lady worth her pearls will be able to spot these fake David Yurman pieces a mile away. Two miles away!

Big companies stealing ideas from independent designers is not an unheard of phenomenon, unfortunately. But what is even worse is when the little guys start stealing from other little guys. We've seen it before on sites like Etsy and eBay, where unscrupulous "artists" sometimes blatantly steal the designs of other true artists, recreate them and sell them as their own, original work. Well, it's happened again, and this time it's personal.

Uh, oh. America's favorite sapphic starlet is setting off those substance abuse rumors again. Fox News is spreading reports that Linds, "isn't taking care of herself." For the repeat rehabber, that means drugs, or at least partying too much.

Lindsay and her gal-pal Sam Ronson are definitely skinny. And Sam, already not the prettiest girl at the party, works that dark-circle/heroin-pallor-look hard. Either she's spending some hard nights on the town, or she's adamantly trying to prove that superficial stuff, like concealer and blush, is beneath her notice.

We'll be able to judge Lindsay's weight loss for ourselves soon, when she appears in a red bathing suit on an episode of Living Lohan, her sister Ali's horrifying reality show. Let's hope that, if anything, she's taking the Master Cleanse a little too far, and not following the Rachel Zoe horse tranquilizer diet again.

Funny thing: Lindsay's all natural boobs are always the same size, no matter how big or small she gets...now that's a reason to gossip.

What?!? The Hills is fake? No way! Yes, here goes another story about the crappy reality show, the girls' lives in fashion, and how, even though we kind of hate them, we also secretly wish we could be them -- for the clothes alone -- oh the clothes! One employee of fashion public relations giant, People's Revolution, has sparked a backlash about being on the show, saying she's angry with how she was portrayed on national television.

Oh my gosh! You're engaged! You must be, because you're wearing this awesome Bride to Bee temporary tattoo!

Yes. On that fateful day your boyfriend falls to his knee and asks for your hand, surely your first thought will be: "How will I make sure everyone knows?"

As he slips the engagement ring onto your finger, you'll be thinking "I know, I'll get a temporary tattoo! Of...of...of a feminine bumblebee seductively carrying a dripping heart with the words 'Bride to' over it!"

Then of course, you'll wrack your brains trying to think where you can get such a tattoo. The answer, naturally, is eBay.

Whew! I totally just solved a hypothetical crisis for you.

I wonder what other temporary conditions one can announce via temporary tattoo! Pregnancy, surely. How about mood? I know I could use an "I'm Cranky" tattoo for a couple of days now and then. Or, you know when you crave frozen yogurt for like three days? Temporary tattoo.

Oh, Riverblue. You give me such ideas!

I read an article the other day in the January issue of Harper's Bazaar about the trade of counterfeit luxury goods, and it was pretty eye-opening to say the least. The article was written by Dana Thomas, author of Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster. Both the book and this article delve into the world of fake luxury goods and their very real and very human costs. According to Thomas, the majority of counterfeit luxury items are produced by child labor and/or distributed by organized crime syndicates, which often have ties to both drug trafficking and terrorist organizations.

Personally, I don't buy fake luxury goods, but I'm also the kind of person that isn't really interested in buying most real luxury goods. Even on the off chance I won the lottery and suddenly had wads of cash to blow, luxury items and designer logos just aren't my style. But for many people, these designer looks are highly covetable and many believe that the only way for them to have these looks is by purchasing realistic-looking knockoffs. As Thomas notes, "Counterfeiting will never go away ... but we can surely cut it down to size if we just stop buying the stuff. Without the demand, the supply will shrink. It's up to us." Fake luxury items may seem to have a much cheaper price initially, but the ultimate cost is really much higher.

To find out more, including tips on how to avoid buying a fake, visit fakesareneverinfashion.com.

Obviously Britney Spears is a style disaster (just like she's a parenting disaster, and, as of yesterday, a driving disaster). But it's not like she's cheap. The woman probably spent more money this year than I'll make in my lifetime -- and actually, the fact that she's able to spend so much money on clothes that look trashy and tacky is one of the truly miraculous things about the fallen pop-star.

So why is she buying fake Chanel bags?

I think Fashionista put it best when they said: "We knew Britney was in some sort of crisis, but we never realized how bad until we saw the accessories."

Indeed. It's all downhill from here.