In This Business For Terror

Marni FW10

Jeffrey Campbell via Nasty Gal

I'm honestly not the biggest fan of this shoe, so I doubt I would buy the Marni version or the knock-off, but I just noticed this today and I've been thinking about knock-offs a lot lately, so I thought I'd post it. Clearly, the Marni version is higher quality and looks nicer. Whether this is worth a $500-600 price premium over the knock-offs is up to the shopper, though. And, not that this is out of the ordinary for Jeffrey Campbell by any means, but this knock-off is just SO blatant.

I have been dying for a PS1 bag, but there's no way I could shell out $1500 for a purse. However, I could probably cough up $100-200 for a "replica." But is this unethical? Is it unethical to charge thousands of dollars for a purse and then be offended when people try to offer a similar version for less? And are flat-out replicas (like bags from Hong Kong that literally say PS1 replica bag) worse than knock-offs that are better disguised, slightly more different from the original, and don't mention the original designer? And beyond intellectual property, if I order a bag from Hong Kong, is it still unethical because it was more than likely produced in a sweat shop?

I understand that the Proenza Schouler will be of better quality make and materials, but that doesn't change my college student budget, so I'm somewhat conflicted. Thoughts?