Fake designer handbags make crappy gifts

March 24, 2010 at 7:41 am (cocked eyebrow, wtf) (, , , , , , , )

All right, I don’t ordinarily read the Mirror (UK) — and you’re about to see why — but a headline in Google News caught my attention, and well, it happened. So there I was, reading the following bit (really, the poorest attempt at stream-of-conciousness writing I’ve ever seen):

With the Australian Grand Prix just days away, you would expect Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton to be fully focused on all things Formula One.

But blokey talk of Melbourne, McLaren or MP4-25 cars is a bit thin on the ground today.

In fact, the main thing on the drivers minds seems to be the price of designer handbags.

Womens handbags are so expensive, arent they? says reigning world champion Jenson, whose personal fortune is estimated to be around s35million.

Theyre like a grand to two grand or something for a handbag! And one of those Birkin bags is eight to 10 grand. And Christian Louboutin shoes are seven hundred quid or something arent they?

The 2008 world champ Lewis, 25, whose career earnings stands at around s30million, nods in agreement with his team-mate.

I saw one for 28 grand!! he splutters. Best thing to do is when you go to China, pick up a whole load of stuff theyll never know the difference!

The absolutely horrendous writing aside — guess they’ve given up on employing the functionally literate at the Mirror — the content is laughable and probably not to be believed.

Hamilton is dating Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, who (to channel Dolly Parton) clearly spends a lot of money to look that cheap. That girl wouldn’t just carry a knockoff. Neither would Button’s girlfriend, Jessica Michibata, who is a model, and would probably figure out what’s what if her man showed up from China with a bunch of plastic-wrapped handbags.

Chances are, some dimwit reading the Mirror story might take these guys seriously, which is too bad, because there’s a massive difference between fake and real bags, and quality is just the beginning. Supporting the sweat-shop labor involved in producing these goods is unconscionable. There was a time when we could plead ignorance, but no more.

(And, in the interest of full disclosure, no, I’ve never owned a fake, but I did pick one up for a friend who requested a knockoff when I went to NYC ages ago. Yes, I wish I’d just bought her something from Bloomingdale’s instead, but what can I say, neither of us knew how the bags were made.).

Buying and carrying a counterfeit bag is one thing. Trying to pass one along as real to an unsuspecting party in the form of a present is just plain low.

One of my favorite shopgirls in Boston told me that her aunt gave her an LV bag for her birthday, and only when she took it to an LV boutique (can’t remember why…maybe for a repair) did she learn that her aunt had basically given her a lie as a gift. Why didn’t the girl’s aunt just  give her a real item from a more affordable line? What’s wrong with that?

But I guess you can’t count on guys like Hamilton and Button to understand such issues. A nice bit of irony? The two men were apparently having the above conversation whilst on hand to promote a line of racing-inspired children’s clothing for Marks & Spencer.

And guess who makes all those counterfeit items? That’s right. Children.

Think, fellas. Think.

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