Posts with tag theft

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.

Yeah, probably. But this is still technically an "accusation," so there's no official word on whether or not the new Ugly Betty guest star will be spending time behind bars.

Our favorite part of this story is that LiLo didn't "accidentally" walk out with this from some ritzy Beverly Hills boutique. Instead she ripped off the coat from some woman she was partying with.

Do you watch gossip TV or red carpet events, screaming at the television because all those fancy-shmancy celebrity types are stealing your fashion? Or do you have an ex-best "friend" who's suddenly started showing up at all your favorite vintage shops, ripping off your look?

You're not alone. Nicolle O'Neill, a narcissistic psycho California-based fashionista, thinks Paris Hilton has stolen her personal style -- and is subsequently suing the heiress for some ridiculous sum of money. According to O'Neill, Hilton infringed upon her fashion "patens" (sic) -- like the ingenious idea of publicly exposing her underwear, for instance -- and has caused severe "emotional distress" in the process.

Finally! I've known Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Jake Gyllenhaal, and the rest of the snooty Hollywood types have been stealing my personal fashion for years. Thanks to Ms. O'Neill's courageous legislation, maybe the rest of us can finally take a stand against this obvious injustice.

Or not.

Check out our Paris Hilton gallery: has she been stealing from you too?

You'd think a retail giant like Target would know better than to use a famous person's name and image without paying for it (or even asking first), but apparently not. Andre Agassi, the former tennis star and sports fashion icon is suing the discount department store for using marks on sandals that contained the "name, image, likeness and other attributes" associated with Agassi Enterprises.

And by the sounds of it, Target isn't even putting up a fight. A spokesperson said that the company has "made every effort to re brand the merchandise in our stores and on Target.com," and is continuing to "rectify the situation."

The question is: if they're so clearly in the wrong, what were thinking when they stole Agassi's image in the first place? Tisk tisk, Target.

Those of us who take our work with us wherever we go are forever indebted to the inventor of the man purse -- or "man bag," if you feel the need to butch it up. However, recent research suggests that your murse is likely to get you mugged.

According to researchers, this is because thieves know that guys carry expensive stuff in the man bags (laptops, cameras, etc) -- making them a more appealing target than women, who more often use their purses only as fashion accessories.

I'm a mess without my murse, so this is a serious dilemma. Hopefully this news will prompt designers to incorporate security features into new bags -- but if not, I suggest mouse traps. You'll know they're in there, so you probably won't catch yourself, and any mugger who breaks his finger trying to grab your laptop will think twice before he tries it again.

[via Fashionista]

Just when you thought that guy who stole 1,500 pairs of shoes was weird, now comes news of a Japanese man who stole over 8,000 items of women's clothing. But he wasn't re-selling them, and he wasn't giving them away to any lady friends. As it turns out, Maeyasu Kawamura stole the clothes simply so he could sleep buried in them.

According to police, "He seemed to like the smell." Gross!

All in all, the cops found 2,400 pieces of lingerie, 600 kimonos, 1 wedding dress, and 5,200 items of other clothing all piled up to the ceiling in the man's small apartment in Osaka.

How is it possible to sleep under all that stuff? Would you suffocate? I'm sure I don't own more than a few hundred items of clothing -- if that -- and there's no way I could sleep if all of them were piled on top of my bed. But 8,000? That's just creepy!

Here at Styledash, we have thing for high crimes of style. Naturally, when a man is arrested for stealing 1,500 pairs of shoes, we pay attention.

In Waukesha, Wisconsin, an unnamed 27-year-old man was apprehended by police after a security video revealed he had illegally entered a high school back on May 20. In light of the tape, police have connected the man to a string of school robberies that have taken place over the past two years.

Stranger still, a police raid of the man's home and storage unit yielded more than 1,500 pairs of girls shoes, which he stole during his school robberies. When questioned about his motives for taking the shoes from middle schools, the suspect said he "liked to smell them."

A gold bathtub valued at $988,100 was recently stolen from the guest bathroom at the Kominato Hotel Mikazuki in Kamogawa, a city south of Tokyo. The tub, which weighs in at 176 pounds, was mysteriously lifted from a 10th floor room in the hotel.

The bathtub happened to be a well-known amenity of the resort hotel -- guests and visitors were allowed to use the glitz tub for a few hours each day. But despite the ostensibly public access to the tub, the valuable piece was secured only by a chain attached to the bathroom door.

So far, the police have no leads on the case since there were no witnesses or security tapes documenting the theft.

I guess the lesson to be learned is that if you have a million dollar gold bathtub, you really ought to attach it to the floor.

It's surprisingly common for designers to steal from one another -- especially when it comes to big retailers ripping off smaller, independent labels. But some Chinese hackers are taking this kind of theft to an entirely new level, by hacking into the computers of Western companies.

By stealing fashion concepts, they can make cheap knock-offs before the originals even hit the streets.

Chinese counterfeiters have long been selling what appeared to be designer clothing and accessories for ridiculously low prices, but before they actually had to travel to the West and photograph the items they intended to copy. Not only does this innovation make the process cheaper, it's more accurate.

While both companies and police are working to stop the hackers, some feel it's practically justified because of the absurdly high prices some high-end Italian and French designers charge for their clothing. The Washington Times quotes Miss Pisa, a European fashion observer, as saying: "Of course Italy needs to take steps to neutralize the hackers. But some of the companies have encouraged copying by charging as much 1,500 euros [$1,800] for a simple bag or a scarf. What is happening is not quite poetic justice but almost."

So, is this is a real problem, or should we rejoice in getting cheaper, better-copied fakes?

[via Fashionista]

As long as there are models, there will be model crimes. Naomi Campbell beats her domestic employees and assistants, and Beverly Peele steals credit cards.

Now another model has joined this notorious crew. Australian model Edwina Nattrass, who is the daughter of a Perth Lord Mayor Peter Nattrass (yeah, I didn't know who he was either), was recently accused of shoplifting pies from a supermarket.

Yes, you read that correctly: pies. (Like the kind you eat for dessert -- not that there is any other kind) According to reports, Nattrass nicked two pies from an IGA by shoving them in her handbag.

Oh models! So lovely and yet so dumb!