As someone who looks at clothes way more than I’d like to admit, you quickly become familiar with brand names and designs. It’s easy to become entranced by the different variations of t-shirts and hoodies you can find and next thing you know, you’re scrolling endlessly through clothing apps, waiting for something to catch your eye. At some point, you notice a shirt from one of your favorite artists, we’ll use Tupac as an example. The design isn’t really there anymore, spots of colors here and there, most of his face is missing from the print and OH, there’s a small hole dead center of the garment. You scroll down just to see what the price could possibly be… $600.
The craziest part is that even though that’s just an example, that more than likely exists somewhere. I mean just take a look at this…
There are plenty of problems with this, most of which are the same issues with designer brands. The main problem being that people feel forced to pay such a high price, even though there may be alternatives because they’re scared about getting called out in front of people. These brands/sellers charge both an arm AND a leg in order to wear something you could probably make yourself (at least with things like shirts and hoodies). This coincides with the only reason I’m glad Instagram exists as there are so many small accounts on there that create amazing bootlegs at a very reasonable price. Not only are you getting a great product but you’re also supporting a small business. I’m mostly talking about vintage tees here as the process for designer is quite a bit different.
If you’re looking for off-white shoes or a Louis Vuitton bag, you’re best bet is to buy from overseas. In this space, a lot of the people that offer these products across the pond are using the same factory/setup as the brands themselves! Here’s the entire process that I found on a subreddit that’s completely dedicated to this. It’s quite an interesting community but through searching the subreddit they’ve answered pretty much every single question you’ll ever have.
Now, there are two reasons I actively promote the idea of buying imitations…
In most cases, the imitations are ATLEAST 90%+ the same as the authentic products (you can also quality check them before you buy).
Because of this write-up on the resale marketplace and its current trajectory.
Resale just keeps getting worse and worse and companies are willing to do just about nothing to change these circumstances. All you have to do is go on sites like Grailed and StockX and that’ll give you a depressing look inside this marketplace. I’m all for “get your money how you can” but this just a piece of an impossible puzzle and basically just an f$#k you to consumers as a whole. On any given day, you can go on Instagram and see a picture of a suburban white kid with stacks and stacks of the newest shoe that just came out due to them having back door access or using bots or whatever their dubious means may be. While thousands and thousands of people across the world are hit with the “you were not selected” notification.
Companies don’t care that you didn’t get the shoes you woke up early to try to buy and no one cares that your shirt may or may not be an authentic 1994 vintage Tupac tee that was only sold in the parking lot outside that one concert. There’s nothing wrong with wearing bootlegs, imitations, or replicas.
Wear your clothes with confidence.
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