Sick of fake bags

I normally see a fake Chanel handbag (see photo) maybe twice a month at most. Out of the Chanel fakes I see, I would say that 100 per cent of them are the quilted Cambon with the large double Cs. This bag is really popular because it has a classic design but most women love it because of the brand recognition. You can spot the Cs a mile away.

But when you're a bag lover like me, who notices when bags are faux, it can get irritating. This morning I saw four fake Chanel Cambons; a small squishy black one, a red one (Chanel never made Cambons in red), a white Cambon with obvious plastic handles and another black one that looked like it was melting. It was awful.

I own the real Cambon and it's a beautiful bag; soft black calfskin leather in a quilted pattern (a Chanel trademark), long knotted leather handles, white interlocking Cs and the fuchsia interior.

It bothers me that these women don't know where fake bags come from and worse, don't care. They care about brand recognition; by being seen with a Chanel bag they have status and are seen as being "rich" and having taste.

But fake bags are the worst; not only are they made by children who work in deplorable conditions, but the sales of fakes are known to contribute to terrorist groups. If you want a nice handbag but can't afford a real designer bag, don't buy a fake.

There are so many options: Go to a consignment store where they sell designer clothes and accessories for almost half off; shop at stores such as Banana Republic which carry their own quality bags, go to a boutique to get a handmade, unique bag or you can try your luck on EBay (just make sure to get it authenticated on the Purse Forum.)

Even if you don't care about any of this and still want to buy a fake bag, consider this: People can always tell when you're wearing a fake and it makes you look ignorant. They look plastic. the seams fall apart and the material is crappy. In short, they look like garbage. Do you want to wear garbage? Didn't think so.

Still waiting for Sept. Vogue

I'm sitting at my desk at work impatiently waiting for 7 p.m. to arrive so I can jet for home and check the mailbox to see if my Sept. Vogue has arrived. I'm going to try to ignore the three newsstands I pass along the way to Union Station although it will be hard with Keira Knightley staring back at me. Even though I am not a fan of the cover, I realized that I like Keira- not really for her style or acting- but she has an interesting face. I watched Pride and Prejudice last night (God I wish someone would say "I love you" to me with the intensity of Matthew Macfadyen's Mr. Darcy) and I just fell in love with Keira's doe eyes, odd big mouth and her cute laugh. As a result of this newfound love, I have become even more impatient waiting for this damn issue. I am seriously tempted to just buy it today and end up with two copies. But maybe this issue is special- could I be one of the lucky ones who have received a Vogue "bag"?

Look at this!

(Photos from fashionista.com)

Lucky subscribers got a clear plastic book cover with handles that made the magazine look like a Coach bag (it would have been cool if the handles were woven leather and chain like Chanel.) Maybe mine is caught up in customs. I can only hope.

Not to keep ripping into FASHION mag but...

It just keeps disappointing me when it comes to their cover stories. A couple weeks ago I blogged about my gripe with the mag's treatment of cover girl Coco Rocha. The girl is a freakin star in the fashion world and she only got two photos.
The Sept. issue is no different. In fact, it's much, much worse. The cover girl is none other than Daria Werbowy, one of the hottest models ever.
The article itself if mediocre; it talks about her reaction to being the second model to get a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame, her makeup collection for Lancome (gotta have an ad placement in there somehow) and her three-month sailing trip which everyone has known about for months.
But that's not what rattles me-what disturbs me is why Canada's premier fashion magazine puts a huge star on their cover, a star who, by the way, is Canadian, and doesn't do a photo spread. There is just one (albeit gorgeous) photo of her in a Prada lace dress and the following page has a bunch of photos from her in previous FASHION issues! And back then at least they gave her spreads. So now that she's a star she doesn't get one.
I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for this: the budget, cuts to the pages, not enough space, etc. Yeah I get it. I've had to cut good material from a newspaper. But to cut down the cover girl? Blasphemy. I expect more from a fashion magazine, especially a September edition.

Update: A reader wanted to know more about the article so here you go!

Daria reveals that she has mixed feelings about being a model. "A lot of the time, I feel like I'm part of the problem when it comes to all the superficiality and vanity that impacts the way girls grow up." But her success makes her want to do other things like her makeup collection for Lancome where some of the profits go towards a non-profit arts school in Rio.
She also talks about how she doesn't feel at home anywhere (born in Poland, raised in Canada, lves in New York.) She hopes to be back in Toronto for the Star ceremony on Sept. 6.

If I took a fashion magazine's advice

I am guilty for falling for editor's picks in fashion mags. When I read their recommendations, whether it be the must-have jacket or a beauty tip, I fold the corner of the page and write down the advice, hoping that I will somehow become a better (or better-dressed) person.
But as I was flipping through the Sept. FASHION magazine (review on that issue to come) I realized that I am a fool for gobbling up this advice without really thinking about how much it will cost me both monetary and psychologically. I admit that ever since I became obsessed with fashion I have gotten more greedy, more superficial and more loose with my money. I can't help but think sometimes that fashion mags represent everything that is evil in the world: Greed, unrealistic body image, snobbery and eating disorders. Save for the photo editorials and maybe a "real life" column, many fashion mags dish out bad advice.

Let's take the Sept. FASHION magazine as an example.

Page 48- Readers are told that a "dull trench will no longer do." Instead, we should buy architectural coats with "sharp edges, cutaways and moulded looks." Examples given are a $3000 Proenza Schouler coat and a $6000 Christian Lacroix coat. That is what my student loan total is. But who cares? You can't be seen in a plain trench!

(Proenza Schouler coat)

Page 72- Readers, it's time to throw out all those dull cottons and polyesters. They are so boring in these rough economical times. Instead, slap the falling dollar in the face by buying outrageously expensive clothes with materials that are impossible to dry clean! For example, a $10,000 feathered Burberry Prorsum dress will not only get you noticed, but it will make you seem like you are weathering the economy just fine, thank you very much.

(Burberry Prorsum coat)

Page 84- Here's an incentive to get Botox: The treatment can be claimed on your tax return "if a doctor deems them good for your mental health." You must be mental if you even think of doing this.
Botox is tax deductible!

Page 88- After all the Summer issues advising you on how to get a great tan, now it's time to smooth out all those new moles and leathery skin with a new product you must buy. Clarins Extra-Firming Tightening Lift Botanical Serum (yes, it's really called that) "smooths summer sun-exposed skin with hibiscus extract." Thank God for the hibiscus. Wouldn't know what to do without it! Oh and by the way, it will cost you $72 to not get cancer.

"Like my tan, FASHION?"

Page 116: Buy anything the celebrities buy because "if it's good enough for Gwynnie, it must be good enough for us." Then why don't I look like "Gwynnie?" Why, FASHION, why?

"Buy me."


So say I took this magazine's advice: I would have spent around $20,000 for a couple of coats, a Botox treatment and some cream. Plus any products that Gwyneth Paltrow buys. I have a feeling that even if I did spend money like a celebrity, I still wouldn't feel like one.