Hot Take Tuesday
Welcome to my new series Hot Take Tuesday where, you guessed it, I write about a recent event, trend, or anything, really. HTT is meant to be a short perspective on whatever topic I can’t seem to get out of my head. My viewpoint is strictly my own, but I invite you to share yours in the comments.
Hero PC: Photo by DESIGNECOLOGIST on Unsplash
The Veronica Beard Issue
While this Veronica Beard ‘story’ is a few weeks old now, nonetheless, within the story there is a theme that I want to address: dupes.
Before we jump in, I’m actually not a VB fan. Her blazers do not fit me well, I don’t believe the quality is worth the price point, and I just feel bored every time I have gone into her store or looked at her pieces online.
Back to it: fine jewelry designer (and small brand) Dezso took to the worldwide web and accused VB of ripping off her designs years after VB asked Dezso for a collaboration. At the time, Dezso declined, citing a brand-to-brand mismatch (makes sense, IMO).
A few influencers I follow did something that really irked me: they called out VB after posting incessantly about dupes.
I have heard every rhetoric under the sun about dupes: try before you buy the real thing, can’t afford the real thing, don’t want to buy the real thing even though you can afford it…
A dupe exists for every brand under the sun. From Negative Sleepwear to Lululemon to Hermes. Listen, I get it! I love a deal, too. But every time you buy a dupe, you feed into the idea that copying is acceptable, it becomes normalized*. It starts with us to put an end to dupe culture!
So, please stop buying the dupe. When I say dupe please understand what I mean, as I’m not trying to split hairs here that ‘the perfect t-shirt’ does exist amongst 1,452 brands and that many basic sweaters have a similar look.
I’m talking about when an item is marketed as a duplicate, or ‘better than the designer original,’ it is time to stop, think, and skip it. Instead, buy the best quality item at a price point that aligns with your budget (and of course, shop consignment!).
And for all things holy, please stop buying things from designers you know are blatantly ripping off designs (aka you can add to the list Danielle Bernstein of We Wore What).
Want to read more about it?
And Here
Thoughts?
*Not too unlike some things politics has worked to normalize, big, big sigh.
