Savvy Steals by Sav

Hey everyone!

I would like to address a question I have been getting in the recent past when it comes to the legality of my blog. I have heard “how are you able to show those products? Aren’t you going to get in trouble for copying luxury brands?”

The answer is no.

I show dupes on this blog and on my social media, not knockoffs.

Dupe: (verb) informal: to make a dupe of; deceive; delude; trick.

Knockoff: (noun): a copy that sells for less than the original

A dupe is a duplicate but it is made to trick others into thinking it is something else. On dupes, there are not marks or copyrighted logos that would confuse them with another brand, but rather the style of the object is similar to a more expensive counterpart.

A knockoff is an item that sells for less than the original. These are the Louis Vuitton and Gucci bags you find in the back of a shop in Chinatown in New York. These are ILLEGAL. None of the products I advertise on this blog have the same logos as their designer counterparts, as to avoid copyright infringements and other illegality.

Some might say “dupe” and “knockoff” are synonymous – which in a sense they are, but they represent two sides of the same coin. The whole point of the coin is to ‘save a buck while looking like a million bucks’ (a cheesy slogan my boyfriend loves to tease me about). No designer owns a particular design – they own their logo and their branding. For example, almost everyone knows about Gucci and the bumblebee design (see below). That design is inherently a Gucci design, without showing their logo. However, Gucci does not own the rights to bumblebees, so the design can be recreated a much lower cost and found on Amazon and boutiques all around the country (see headbands below).

It is next to impossible to find true knockoffs online due to the ability to track illegal wares and behavior. There are a TON of dupe fashion blogs out there, all running within legal bounds. As I mentioned before, there is a distinction between brand and style. The brand is 100% unique and is a qualifier that makes that label…well… a label. A style is not owned by any particular entity, or else LV would own checkered patterns, and Gucci would own all items with bees, and David Yurman would own the rights to metal cable bracelets. Silly to think about, right?

That is precisely the point. My site is not illegal because I am not trying to pass off fake items as the real deal. I am openly showing patterns with the same style and no logo, as to be a responsible citizen of the fashion world.

In a way, we all look for fashion dupes whenever we are out shopping. When we go window shopping or look at high fashion magazines featuring stick thin models sporting clothes and shoes we can only dream of, while looking in our own wallets, listening to the sounds of crickets and looking for two measly pennies to rub together. Designer is nice and it truly is the best quality, but the majority of us cannot afford that type of lifestyle. I created this blog with the intention in mind to find a place that was a forum for those I know to help them “ball on a budget.”

I have to start by saying, I will not judge anyone who owns knockoffs. It would be hypocritical of me considering at one point, I owned a couple knockoff items I found in thrift store. As a responsible self-proclaimed dupe blogger, though, I need to stress the importance of not purchasing knockoffs, as tempting as they may be. Yeah, you think the designer brands are already wealthy so what does it matter that there are knockoffs of their products? They won’t notice anything right? Wrong. It is infringement on artistic license and it is not fair to those honest hard-working individuals who work for those designer companies. Because it affects more than just the designers; it affects those who work to market that product and those who do the accounting for the company because the money flow is off.

I am the last person to judge wanting knockoff items. We all do want to save money and the thought of paying full price for designer item gives many people a queasy feeling. That is why I am also a proponent for resale. The reselling of gently used designer items by individuals and registered resale organizations (like the RealReal) is a great way to find authentic items for less than the retail price. I could go into all the positives of reselling items and the impact it has on the economy and the environment, but I won’t. That’s to say, there are ways to buy items legally and still ball on a budget.

I realize this is a long post, so I will wrap it up in the next few paragraphs. I love finding dupes for items. I went to school somewhere that many people could afford the real designer things, where I couldn’t. Being that I was a scholarship kid who had to pay for myself through school, I needed to be more strategic with my spending while fitting in with the crowd. So resale shops and online dupes became a bit of a hobby for me. I have been looking for dupes since 2013 and the more I do it, the better dupes I can find. My advice to anyone who is wanting to start looking for their own dupes, try Amazon. They have a wealth of items that well represent many designer items. Or, if you don’t have a lot of time to do the leg work, follow social media accounts and blogs of those (like me) who do it for you! Most dupe accounts will give you everything from clothes to shoes to makeup to home furnishings. It is great for anyone of any age.

Please let me know in the comments below or on my social media accounts what your experiences are with dupe findings or with knockoffs are! I would love to hear from everyone and if you give me some good ideas for future dupes, I would love to share them on the blog! This blog originally started as a school project, but I love what I have built, so in a short time, I will be transferring the blog over to a different platform. I want to continue on this journey with all of you to find better and greater dupes.

In conclusion, all knockoffs are dupes but not all dupes are knockoffs. This blog was created to LEGALLY help individuals find items that resemble designer items and to look good while saving money. It is also a little autobiographical. These dupes are items I have tried and owned or have talked to someone who owns. I want to thank everyone who has read the blog and interacted with it over the last couple months. It has meant so much to me to share something I love and hopefully help you all find items to purchase for yourselves. I hope to keep this blog going and to find other amazing dupes down the road.

Peace, love, and dupes!