21 babies

i have always known that forever 21 manufactures many a designer copy-cat.selling the sweat-shop cheap version of a highly coveted designer's top or headband so that a wide audience can embrace a high-fashion trend is all well & good until imitation becomes cloning. sometimes the copy-cats are beyond comparison - save a detail or two, the imitation is a mirror image. how is it that this happens without a protest from the fashion-world?
well, i researched it. i figured the problem was the lack of copyright & therefore lack of actual copyright infringement on the part of forever 21. apparently quite a few lawsuits have been filed, but because of the aforementioned loophole the cases are hard to settle. according to New York Fashion Magazine, trovata filed suit against the store for its extremely deliberate copying about a year ago, following many a case filed based on copyright infringement (for the use of copyrighted graphics etc.).
high-end designers like diane von furstenburg & more accessible stores like urban outfitters have tried to end the copying, but all of their actions are practically futile. forever 21 continues to blatantly copy, & seems to just move from naive designer to naive designer until they are sued.

exhibit a

two weeks ago i purchased the BCBG belt seen above (also seen in justice post) from lord & taylor for about $56. i had chosen it over a black studded belt, also BCBG, that was going for $42. a week later i was in forever 21 only to find a dolly the sheep version of the latter belt. the only difference between it & BCBG's is the closure- BCBG fastens its belt with snaps, forever 21 with metal loops. part of me wanted to buy it - $40 cheaper, it was highly appealing - but part of me resented the store far too much. it turns out my mother decided to buy forever 21's belt for me, but i can't help feeling guilty when i wear it.
it will be interesting to see where forever 21 finds itself in a few years. undeniably successful because of its cheap prices, i'm not sure its profits will always match its lawsuit settlements.

in other news, last night i babysat. dressing to babysit always stresses me out. i settled on an ultra-chaste ensemble because i couldn't show up wearing that pictured outfit. the skirt is from the little girls' section of target. chances of the baby & the babysitter wearing it at the same time were too high to take the risk!
XL children's skirt too big for me = a topic for another day. see yuh!