Every time I hear women talk about a “knock-off,” it brings up a silent frustration that has emerged in the past four years I’ve spent expanding a lifestyle accessory franchise for women.

Let’s start with the words, knock off; these days they are the more trendy term for fabulous fakes or couture counterfeits. How can anything that is designed and sold illegally be either fabulous or couture? Counterfeiting, taking phony goods or products and selling them to the public as real, is and always has been illegal. The biggest trafficking of counterfeit goods is found on the Internet. Do you really think Kate Spade, after years of designing her signature line of women’s handbags, would actually give a license to anyone to sell their product on eBay or at a purse party out of their home? No. Buyers should question the price; if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Other tips to spot a fake are alterations in the details—the leather, the glue, the stitching and the logo.

So how is designer-inspired any different? Think about it; women inspire each other! Fashion and accessories are contagious. The First Lady just launched the career of a young 26-year-old designer because his gown was worn at the Inaugural Ball. The J.Crew website crashed the day of the inauguration because moms all over the country were inspired by the adorable coats worn by the President’s daughters. Recently, my husband and I were in New York City. We saw Katie Holmes walk out of a theater in her boyfriend jeans, cardigan sweater and hot black sunglasses. She inspired me to find sunglasses with a similar design. Hers might have been Dolce & Gabbana, but mine were purchased at a local and affordable store on Broadway in New York for $14.99.

So I encourage any fashion-forward shopper out there to get up each day and think of what you buy and why you buy it. Let’s get it right! After all, what modern woman wants to be a fake?

—Plymouth resident Cindy Deuser is CEO of Lillians, a trendy retail accessory boutique for women that’s open just four days a month. Shoppers to her store, be warned: You might enter sensory overload from the plethora of affordable “designer-inspired” handbags and accessories on her shelves and racks.

Lillians
lilliansshoppe.com
Open the first Thursday–Sunday of each month in these locations: 134 Lake Blvd. Buffalo; 438 2nd St., Excelsior
Open the second Thursday–Sunday of each month in these locations: 1023 Mainstreet, Hopkins; 1919 2nd Ave. S., Anoka