STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

dot · Marc Jacobs

so what's up with those sellers in china...

cc · Marc Jacobs

dot - That gray Catherine Maladrino dress that I bought last summer for the wedding was actually from a seller in China. I highly doubt that all of the designer clothes coming from Asia are real but I didn't really care, I just liked the dress and it was cheap. The quality is really good too. I compared it to a C.M. skirt that I bought at a sample sale and I can't see any difference in terms of quality of the silk, stitching, details, etc.

mikacat · Coach

i can't wait to go to china and pick up some of these types items---for myself and possibly to sell on ebay.

I am going to need many extra suitcases!!!!!!!!

jen · Kate Spade

I hate fakes. I would much rather spend a little more $ and get something nice rather than know that someone in China is making little kids slave over a sewing machine to trick people into thinking that that cheap clothing item is real. It makes me feel icky. This is just my own opinion, do what's right for you.

gypsyfreak · Coach

I am scared to buy anything from China. I know their merchandise is cheap, but I am so scared that the quality is going to be lacking. I'd rather pay a little more for an authentic item. I just hate how they claim that their item is authentic, you then end up paying a good deal of money for it, and then the quality ends up being really poor. This happened to me one time and it's made me a little wary of ebay ever since.

lsubatgirl · Gucci

I'm not sure if they are real or fake. I've always been wary of it all but if it is something you like and its not outrageous why not give a seller with good feedback a try. It won't hurt anything and if it turns out to be really great then you could buy from them again or if it turns out really bad you wouldn't be out of a lot of money or you could relist it.

honey · Gucci

i think it's pretty hit or miss. like i don't think all the stuff that comes from hong kong is fake, since it's a pretty major fashion city so it seems probable to me that a good percentage of stuff could be real. and as far as sweat shops/child labor, i think many companies use it. not that it's an excuse, but you know there's a reason that f21's clothes are cheap. and it's not limited to them i believe the gap & nike are notorious for abusing child labor, but that could be urban legend.

jen · Kate Spade

A lot of companies probabaly do use child labor, probably more than half of what I have in my closet or yours but the fact is that I KNOW that fake clothes are cheaply made, passed off to be authentic and children are making them so adults can make a quick dollar by lying and saying it's real, so the whole thing creeps me out. That's why I wouldn't buy a fake.

kiwi · BCBG

i'm not sure about china, but i can speak for korea. a lot of the stuff isn't fake. what happens is that the companies/brands/designers will outsource a lot of their labor out east where it's cheap, and instead of sending their products back to the US, the makers will divert some of the clothes and sell it to make some quick money. those clothes are then sold on the black market for a fraction of the US retail price. a lot of the times, the tags will be snipped out so they can't get caught selling illegally, but a lot still retain their tags. i got an abercrombie cord jacket that way (the tags were snipped out, but all the buttons/zippers had the signature A+F markings and the detailing was identical to the jackets that were out later that season in the US)

it's a risk you take if you can't see the actual item IRL, but i just wanted to let people know that not everything is fake, but a lot are.

i guess if the designer/label has 'authentic' merchandise made in china etc. (try checking the labels in department stores/boutiques? a lot of the times knits/tees etc are made in asia, sometimes even leather and sweaters), then there's a higher chance that the ebay-stuff-from-china is real

-- Edited by kiwi at 00:22, 2005-07-05