Knock it off with the Knock Offs!

I'll admit it, at one time many years ago I succumbed to the lure of the knock off bag, I was walking with my sister in New York city and there it was laying on the cold cement sidewalk, the Prada Back Pack and I had to have it!  I wore it proudly for a while until I became more educated  about what exactly I had strapped on my back.

Tell me ladies, how many times a day do you see a woman dressed shabbily carring a Louis Vuitton handbag? Usually the owner is wearing flip flops with a velour track suit that has a brand name sprawled across their backside (by the way there is no appropriate age to wear this fashion don't)  with the knock off dangling from the forearm?   I'm pretty sure during the design process at LV, the team did not envision woman around the world paring their handbags with this look!  With so many moderately priced handbags out there now, why woman choose to carry a knock off is beyond me.
 
Yes, yes I know, you want the look without the price, but here are the hard facts- Counterfeit merchandise is believed to be directly responsible for the loss of 750,000 American jobs. Copyright piracy may have cost the U.S. companies $9 billion in trade losses and the fake trade has been linked to drug trafficking, child labor and even terrorism - you are now carrying what I fondly refer to as the Bin Laden bag, so NOT Vogue !

If you have to have designer, now is the time to buy, with the changing of the seasons one can find deals at your department stores and online. I like zappos.com and paperlime.com and remember to keep it classic and your investment will carry you through for years to come.  

Miss Leigh's handbag picks

BCBG bag "Maya" clutch $48.00 paperlime.com
Melie Bianco "Mariah" $88.00 paperlime.com

Facts courtesy of BAZAR magazine - What can you do if you spot fakes being sold in your area- INTERNATIONAL ANTICOUNTERFEITING COALITION (202-223-6667); iacc.org