I saw these Scooter Samy shoes (AUD100) in the shop window at Emporio and instantly fell in love!

It so happens that there’s going to be a Scooter VIP event this Saturday. All new season shoes 20% off, first 25 people to buy new season shoes get a goodie bag

I’m *so* there.

They are actually a dupe of Betsey Johnson’s Chelsea shoes (USD180, about AUD206). Don’t quite know why but I prefer the Scooter version. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen the Scooter version in person,and I have to say it looks more awesome in person. Maybe the Chelsea’s perforated sole and the super shiny, asopposed to matte, red inside heel (so Laboutin) is too off-putting. The original may have a higher heel too.

This is the Pamelia (AUD120), another new season shoe I’m interested in. Reminds me of the shoes on Shoe Fairy (人魚朵朵). Don’t be put off by the shoe theme, it’s actually beautifully shot and very whimsical, in an Amelie-ish way. Shoe Fairy is part of Andy Lau’s First Cuts Project, a project to fund 6 HD full-length feature films by young Asian directors.

Continuing the shoe theme…

How awesome is that curved heel?! These shoes were designed by Dutch student M.VANDESTOUWE along with Rosemeike de Hair and Gent Vranovci for Iniy Sanchez. Maurice is in his third year of a Product design course at ArtEZ Academy specializing in Shoe Design (info).

I can be so blonde sometimes. -sigh-

Received my package at work, it really brightened up my day. Pretty much straight away had a bit of a girly squeal with the PA

Haul:
2 refillable puff jars (makes it so much more convenient to apply mineral makeup) - it’s très cute!
Lip gloss - spring berries, sugarfree, copper, girl’s day.
Concealer - pearl sunlight, mint.
Natural reflections golden tan.
Plum dust blush
Foundation - deep tan, winged butter in semi-matte and matte

Total price? 25.20USD not including shipping ($10.95)
Not bad considering how overpriced cosmetics can be over is Aus. One Dior Addict lippie from David Jones costs about 40AUD. Rip-off I tell you. -Shakes fist-

I don’t know why I buy any, it’s not like I use it with any regularity anyway. Makeup, or 15 more minutes of sleep? Hmmmm.

P.S. Gotta plug Everyday Minerals though. Really great prices, great quality, and you can order a *free* sample kit!

Hermes Spring Summer 2006 with Gemma Ward

Personal thoughts:

• The more I learn about fashion the more I realise that a lot of products are really very close copies of something original but extremely expensive. Stigma attaches to fakes. Ignorance no dispelled, I am now annoyed that I am now precluded from purchasing designs that I like. Which is probably good since I’m broke huh?
• Money can be better spent. Investments, property, food, travel. How about charity? Can you justify a Birkin against the health and education of a child in Ethiopia?
• Contrary to the tone of my arguments above, I do love my designer goods. I love the quality of craftsmanship and materials, the innovativeness of design. It’s really art isn’t it? And like art it can’t be quantified in dollars and cents, only warm and fuzzies.
• What I’ll probably do is what I’ve vowed to do elsewhere in my life, which is simply to cut down on consumerism. It’s a sick cancer contracted by every child in the developed world. It’s caused by the carcinogens of marketing departments worldwide, consumed through the potato chips of TV and magazines. They whisper: “you’re not cool if you don’t own an iPod”. Or more subtly, “your quality of life will be so much better because you can carry xxx thousand songs in you pocket!!” And it works. And I dislike that. My wardrobe is overflowing, and I still can’t find anything to wear. I can’t avoid consuming but I’m going to try.

(See other posts in this series here)

Dolce & Gabbana Donna Fall Winter 2007 by Steven Meisel

Other thoughts on consumerist mentality:

• Are we going about this the wrong way? Should we really be demanding to fill our already overfilling wardrobes with new clothes each season in the neverending pressure that is consumerist society to stay current, trendy, fashionable? Do we have a right to stay trendy such that the moral, if not legal, sin of copying can be ignored?
• Why can’t we be satisfied with a few choice designer pieces that are timeless and can be worn again and again for decades? Surely your money can be put towards more worthwhile things than throw-away fashion that lasts for a season.
• Fashion is a business after all. Amongst all their lofty goals of creativity and art and all that, they still have to make money. They market to consumers.

  Look at the glossy gushing editorials in Vogue. How about product placements in movies and hip and sexy TV series (think Sex and the City). If we weren’t already pining for Birkins (starting price USD7000) or Manolo Blahniks it wouldn’t be any wonder why we would be now. Oh, gullible, lemming-like consumers we are!

  If demand cannot be met through inadequate supply (waiting lists for Birkins can last for several years. There is in fact a waiting list to get on the waiting list) or a price that a consumer is unwilling to pay, who steps in? Counterfeiters and high street shops. Is it any wonder?

• Designers and fashion houses create the demand and envy that is causing the copying. Then they complain about it. Hmm. Frankly, it reminds me of the RIAA (I understand there are marked differences between copying music and fashion though don’t email me about it)

So what can fill the gap?

• Alright so in this Nazi fashion market where no copying is allowed, you have retailers selling basics that are okay and doable and that no one is interested in, really. Then you have fashion houses that make fashion, make the trends, really innovate and push fashion forward. Gorgeous clothing of impeccable quality. That 99.99% of the world cannot or will not pay for.
• That’s because prices are really expensive. Why? Because:
  1. They are inflated because that creates demand and prestige. In fact their whole business model is based on getting people to spend large amounts because no one else has it.
  2. Value. The finest of materials. Impeccable craftsmanship. Lasts a century. The question is, does that add value to Joe Smith such that he is willing to pay such a high price? Maybe the average customer is satisfied with synthetic leather and something that won’t fall apart after a year. Would he pay $100 for a no-name briefcase or USD 1450 for a LV Laguito Taiga briefcase (which is extremely drool-worthy, I have to say.)
• And thus, I propose -drumroll-

fashion!Ikea

1. Designers create collections for each season with the average consumer in mind. No haute couture, no extremely exotic skins. They are prominently acknowledged so customers can easily follow and repurchase clothing from designers they like. Fashion!Ikea aims to attract young up-and-coming designers or old hands that are sick of fashion industry pretentiousness. Designers retain copyright over their designs and earn royalties which will be a percentage of sales.
2. Everything else including sales, marketing, manufacturing will be handled by fashion!Ikea who will have the market power to source good deals on materials and labour and so on to decrease actual costs of production.
3. ??
4. Profit!!

(See other posts in this series here)

Louis Vuitton Fall Winter 2007-2008 by Annie Leibovitz with Mikhail Gorbachev

I won’t address all the issues but here’s a summary of what I have swirling in my head:

Why designs should be copyrightable:

• Encouraging innovation and creativity, all very warm and fuzzy goals. Larger job market for designers.
• Quality. Designers have a reputation to keep and are more likely to use better materials, better workmanship etc.
• Warm and fuzzy feelings over owning a genuine article which is limited and coveted by many. To have the feeling of having ‘made it’. To feel that you can appreciate art and fashion more than anyone else around you. To have a sense of superiority. To say, ‘Har, har, I have more money than you.’
• Slave labour. As citizens of the world we are under an obligation not to support the slave-like conditions garment workers work in.
• Price. Just because all original designs have been pricey in the past doesn’t mean they have to be pricey into the glorious future where creativity and design is embraced!

Why things should stay the way they are:

• Price. Average consumer has better things to spend money on, doesn’t care that much about fashion.
• Investment. Sure the quality may not be as good (and this is making an assumption, modern production methods can be rather good) but is it really worth it? Take a $2000 LV handbag with a $200 inspired design for example. The quality of the LV would only be worth it if the inspired design would have to be replaced more than 10 times during the LV’s lifetime.
• ‘Conspiracy’ to keep prices up. You can’t convince me that a designer t-shirt is really worth and $80+ pricetag. It doesn’t cost that much to produce and screen print a t-shirt, no matter what kind of special materials you use. Well, I suppose it’s just business. Who wouldn’t want to create brand prestige? With demand, desirability and envy one can charge a price far in excess of cost prices (including humongous marketing budgets I’d bet) and consumers would still be falling over themselves to buy. One could be cynical and say that in fact inflating prices and cutting supply creates that very same desirability and demand…
• Modern technology. We have nice big machines now. Shouldn’t we use them? Behold the wonder of modern efficiency! While quality is often equated with extended human involvment, a certain level of “handmadeness”, if you will, there are many instances when it just doesn’t matter or where machines just do a better job as they are always consistent, don’t get distracted etcetc. Like t-shirts.
• Class divide. Is it fair that only the very rich can buy new clothes with any regularity? On the other hand thise doesn’t excuse counterfeiting. Like mp3s, just because you can’t afford it doesn’t mean you can steal it. If the design piracy bill is enacted inspired designs would be pushed into this area. I wonder what would the real consequences of the act be?
• Economy. If the extreme doomsday scenario discussed above comes about and spending on clothes drops, doesn’t that mean shops sell less and make less money and won’t be able to hire as many staff? Well they can still sell standard non-copyrightable stuff like basic t-shirts, knits etc but I would have thought one of the main drivers of demand were seasonal trends and our lemming-like need to stay fashionable. And these seasonal clothes are in turn mostly copied from the runway…

  I don’t actually think if will get that bad though. High street shops will just have to find more creative ways to dance on the border (misdirected creativity? Hmm). New lines will be drawn; and copiers will produce clothing that are intentionally only different enough to avoid a suit. A longer hemline, perhaps 3/4 sleeves instead of long sleeves. A round neck instead of v-neck. Pleats where there was lace. Is that enough? Wait, is that a different garment already? Man I’m creative!

P.S. I know my doomsday fashion scenario is really impossible, as in even cheap outlets have their own designers with original-but-perhaps-not-entirely-innovative-products, but I was wondering what would happen if things were brought to that extreme.

P.P.S. Yes that really is Gorbachev! The ad features him sittin in the back seat of a Khrushchev-era Soviet limousine. The particular section of the Berlin Wall in the background was chosen by Mr Gorbachev himself - it was a section that Reagan once challenged Gorbachev to tear down. Love the political overtones.
(See other posts in this series here)

Burberry with Kate Moss

On the one hand, designers say that their creative efforts are being for all intents and purposes wholesale copied and sold on. It’s not fair they say. Consider not only the big fashion houses who may be able to afford it - isn’t imitation the sincerest form of flattery? However there are many smaller fledgling designers out there. After scoring a big hit they may suddenly find themselves edged out of the market altogether by cheap inspired designs sold by large trendy chain stores.

It’s not cheap producing clothes when you’re a small time designer. You don’t get economies of scale. Perhaps everything is largely handmade. How can you compete with Guangzhou? Especially with the average teenage girl these days wanting it NOW and at a price that agrees with their allowance.

Also, merely copying does not help push fashion forward. Original designers are shouldering the entire fiscal and moral burden of creation. We should all hold hands and try to be more creative and come up with our own designs. Unfortunately how many people really care about fashion that much? For many it’s something to keep warm and be presentable, perhaps a perfunctory effort to keep up with the trends to exude an aura of stylishness without spending the money that would be better put towards old-fashioned essentials like food.

So hypothetically, if all fashion, from counterfeits down to the other end of the scale of ‘inspired’ designs were illegal and thus were not produced, where would that leave consumers? Assuming price of original designs remain at the levels they are at now, the average consumer is going to either starve or become fashion pariahs (wait wait I think those ‘high fashion’ people can already tell the difference anyhow so in that sense they already *are* considered to more unfashionable but the important thing here is that those wearing copies still think they are reasonably fashionable and isn’t that the important thing?). I am certainly not going to spend $300 on a pair of jeans just because the label can’t afford to take advantage of the grand factory of the world that is Guangzhou. I’d rather travel. I’d rather buy property. Isn’t it paternalistic for the minority to shove down their world view on people who have a life other than fashion?

P.S. This is one of my favourite fashion ads. I love the stuff Kate Moss has done for Burberry. British arrogance just oozes out of every pore. It. Is. AWSUM! Couldn’t find any more details on the ad campaign. Actually there’s another Burberry family ad I loved even more. Featured a big group having a picnic. More British aristocratic arrogance but x100!

P.P.S. Did you know Richard Branson’s son (Sam) is a model and has done ads for Burberry?

(See other posts in this series here)

Chanel Spring Summer 2007 by Karl Lagerfield with Freja Beha Erichsen.

Intellectual property law is probably one of the few areas of law I take a personal interest in, and is probably the only area that I could loosely call a “hobby” of mine.

Like many, the event that made me more aware of IP was filesharing over the internet - oh glorious days! And Napster, you were the golden age! That of course spun off into movies, TV shows, anime, and drama. Sticky issues.

Similar to history, these issues repeat themselves in other areas of life as well. Take fashion f’erinstance. And to this end I thank Counterfeit Chic for opening my eyes to these issues.

In the US, design is not something that can be copyrighted, however prints, logos, and stuff of that ilk can be. For example, the wrap dress designed and made famous by Diane von Furstenberg is not copyrightable but if you copy the exact prints on the dress then you might be infringing on copyright.

So ‘inspired’ clothing is generally not considered to be an infringement (designers, however think otherwise…) unless you copy real tangible elements of the clothing, or make outright counterfeits (eg fake LV bags - p.s. don’t do it, because it is illegal it is normally controlled by shady companies; the money gets laundered and goes into drugs, illegal weapons trading, etc).

There are pushes in the US to have design be copyrightable (google the design piracy bill).

I’m not too clear on the position in Australia but I suppose it would be similar - the free trade treaty between US and Australia would ensure that copyright law between the two countries wouldn’t be too diverse in the end.

One also has to consider that fashion houses generally copy each other to a certain extent - that’s how you get trends in a season. But it’s more, you know, feeding of each other’s creative energies or something I guess. I’d show photos for comparison but meh. Like if it’s a fall season maybe everyone would incorporate darker earthy colours and knits into their collection. But they wouldn’t very well send extremely similar cropped knit jackets down the runway. High street shops (eg Top Shop (UK), Portmans (Aust)) would have no qualms against selling extremely similar designs.

(See other posts in this series here)

Here’s what the bottle looks like
if you’re REALLY interested

How to drive Evane away 101

Someone in David Jones handed this to me the other day. Why would they give me a sample of guy’s perfume o.O
I thought the smell was ‘meh’ and shoved it into my bag (which was a tokidoki for Le Sportsac Inferno Bambinone!).

When I went back home I was digging through my bag and was wondering why my bag smelt like…I don’t know…crabby old grandma perfume o.O. Upon realisation it was the smelly card, I took it out and chucked it onto a box in my room.

…Which then begun to fill the hallway with it’s musty scent.
People have complained on the net about its staying power, but I don’t know what you’re complaining about dudes, this thing STILL REEKS after 4 days!! I left it next to my desk to remind me to type up this post before as I’m as easily distracted as a …huh oh funny youtube vid now I have to go watch all the related vids now where was I ?…. and the sharp piercing scent is still able to bring back my attention sharply in focus SO I HAVE TO FINISH WRITING THIS NOW.

It’s not really made by Armani, but by its parent company, L’oréal, and not really designed by him but by a guy called Roger Pellegrino. Meh.

And now that I’ve finished writing this post, I can finally chuck the card away.

I need to update my show catalogue, and for that matter my entire clothing/accessories database >.<

Went down to town today for a bit before church.
Scooter had a sale on plus I had a $20 voucher because they cancelled their loyalty program…which would have got a lot of people annoyed because you apparently have to spend over $1000 to get some special discount on anything else you buy apparently. So those close to or have already achieved the $1000 mark? tuf luck.

But me…I’ve only ever bought one pair of shoes from them (black pointed heels that I absolutely love; classic design.) So this $20 voucher is a bit of a bargain for me!

I wanted to buy some comfortable flats for work/casual/whatever which would be as versatile as my abovementioned black heels. Unfortunately wasn’t able to find anything flat that looked good. HOWEVER! I saw a pair of dark red patent leather shoes Exactly same design as my black heels but meh

It says on the tag that it’s originally $109.95, marked down to $40 (so I paid only $20 for a leather upper and leather lining pair of shoes - not bad). The label underneath it says it was $109.95, marked down to $50…so okay it’s been marked down twice…but the ORIGINAL label says it was $89.95! >_> That’s kinda misleading…

Anyway, a game I play everytime I go to town is to count the number of designer bags I see.

Bag count for today:
7 LVs (possibly one fake)
4 Pradas (not familiar with this line so who knows if it’s fake)
1 Miu miu (ditto above)
1 Mimco (not generally familiar with this brand, but I LOVED this particular bag so I do recognise it)
1 Oroton (wait do they even count…)
1 fake toki.

Muhaha! tokis are rarer than LVs! So far only seen one most likely real one around, and 2 fakes. All carried by asians too.

Then I went to town and snagged some more Cue at the special Cue Club member’s extra 30% off already discounted items!

-does some quick calculations-

That’s an original price of $633 vs normal discount price of $316.50 (50% off) vs the price I eventually got them all at which is $221.55 (30% off)! w00t!

Hit the jump for way too much narcissism.

Satin-y shift dress. It’s a fun dress. Also how stupid do I look indoors in sunnies? Yeah.

[schoolgirl] - [getting very bored but hopefully you can see the bow] - [schoolmarm]

And then today another grey top from eBay arrived.

the caped sleeves look a bit narrow eh. and my shoulders now look broad and fat or sth >_<
I look terrible without glasses >_<. I suppose I shouldn't bother pining for lasik surgery anymore then eh?
Jump on my head for 1UP
Grey top has a cute bow at the back

And last week a nice secondhand versatile black top from Cue arrived too (another find from eBay)
And in a few days I expect 2 secondhand dresses (eBay) - one Cue, the other Kelly Barnes, plus some woven leather bangles to arrive too. Happy happy :D. No, actually scary scary >_<

I made the online purchases because I was grumpy and bored - nothing caught my eye during the sales in town - before that special Cue sale. Oh well. I need to sort out my credit card bill now >___<

Also I was forced to use photoshop again since I wasn't satisfied with the photo pile collage function on Picasa. And even though it took me ages to remember how to do simple things (why doesn't my text show uuuuuup T____T. [10mins later] Oh, it's underneath another layer. How to bring it to front!! T______T. [20mins later] All fixed ^_^). But no matter how long I stay away from ps, there is one function I will never forget how to use, and that's the heal/airbrush tool

Thus, the results of my ps endeavour:

I know, I know, the photos suck. My skin looks terrible (I really only airbrushed the worst spots for the polaroids >_>). Bad lighting, terrible backdrop, etcetc. It’s very mafan to take all the photos via timer okay!

P.S. If anyone can tell me how to move the 4th poloroid photo down to the second line it would be much appreciated. I’ve tried doing paragraph, line break tags…even div clear both! It’s driving me insane!!! nvm, all fixed. Reshuffled around photos and somehow that worked.

I decided it’s really not for me (after going through like 50 pages of LV reference photos on tPF)
I really cannot stand how it always looks squashed. Yes, even the Epi and multicolore. Also I reckon the shape looks quite causal, too casual for work.

I’m still gunning for a black Epi Pochette (USD360) though. Makes a good evening bag. Sooo elegant.

So for a workbag I’m considering more briefcasey bags. Maybe the mc/mono Trouville (USD1400/900), or the Manhatten GM (USD1870)? The Epi Soufflot (USD1080) is more dressy and less businessy. Mmm monogram mat shelton noir -drool- (can’t find pic on eluxury so I’ll just attach a photo I snagged from tPF forums. Sorry can’t remember whose it is)

Scarves look really pretty tied around bag handles ._.
The etoile bandeau (EUR80) is my fav (’_')

Actually the serrure s moyen modele bracelet (EUR295) is starting to look real tempting =_=

Well, I really need a job now!!!

After surfing tPF forums I’m amazed how many bags some of these people have (and how bad their camera skills are…………).
Those collections are probably not in the realms of mere mortals like me. Well. Unless I decide to not buy a car, a dslr, another computer, always pack food from home (hah, no more Tetsuya’s!), and cut back on my clothes and shoes expenditure. And don’t travel anymore.

…Well on to something more affordable then.
I was introduced to tokidoki by Jamie. (a pox on you!!!!!! -shakes fist-)

I figure I’ll need a casual bag too right? tokidokis are so cute as casual bags ><

tokidoki is a brand designed by an Italian, Simone Legno and inspired by Japanese anime culture. tokidoki is designing bags for Le Sportsac on a guest sort of basis. tokidoki for Le Sportsac are pretty much limited-run pieces which are quite highly sought after. They say the last tokidoki for Le Sportsac line will be be in Winter 2007.

My first choice is the grungier Inferno print Gioco (Winter 2006 release). Or perhaps the brighter Paradiso? Well, whichever I can get my hands on first.

And when the Tutti print comes out in Fall 2007, I want to get a bag in that print too ._. I mean, it's limited and all isn't it!