The September issue of Vogue China is on the newsstands.  According to the fashion bible, to get the “It Girl Look” you should spend 28,000 RMB (US$3,500) on a sleek, black hand bag. 

The purse looks great, but the average Chinese doctor or lawyer or teacher would have to be crazy to spend 28,000 to own it.  She could buy a good, quality knock-off for 400 in any city in China.

I bring this up because China is in the midst of a 100 day crack down against counterfeit goods.  Some Americans say that counterfeiting is a problem because fakes are made in sweat shops.  Counterfeiting operations are run by gangsters, and if you buy a seemingly harmless bag or watch, you are contributing to the profits of the “bad guys”.

Genuine Louis Vuitton bags are made in France, Italy and the United States, all countries with sweat shops. But even if LVHM hired adults and paid them living wages with full benefits, that would not be enough to justify what they charge.

The only reason Louis Vuitton bags are so expensive is because they are defined by their exorbitant prices.  The LVMH company creates products whose prices are completely unrelated to their quality, and by doing so they invite “piracy”. From New York to Shanghai, the public obliges. Fake LV is available just about everywhere.

There are also a few ways to dress like a superstar without violating international IP law.  When I was in Washington, DC, I used to frequent the Goodwill Store in McLean, Virginia.  When Empress Farah and the other millionairesses in the neighborhood cast off their old things, I would scoop them up.  I miss that old Good Will.

There are no Goodwill stores in China, and no Salvation Army outlets, either.  But the country is full of tailors and seamstresses.  You can take the Vogue magazine to the tailor shop and ask him to make copies of the best coats and frocks.  It is cheaper than the department store, and so far it is still legal. 

Just don’t tell LVMH Corp.