stupendous badass ([info]uproar) wrote in [info]neworleans,
@ 2008-07-13 21:59:00
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Entry tags:clothes

Trashy Diva gets ripped off by one of their wholesale clients
I'm trying to help spread the word about an unfortunate incident affecting a local designer and company many of you are probably familiar with. Trashy Diva, the local clothing boutique, has just been ripped off by one of their wholesale clients in a big way.

Trashy Diva has been selling vintage style clothing for nearly 12 years now, and designer and owner Candice Gwinn takes great pains to adapt and modernize vintage patterns and tweaks them so much that these styles are truly her own, vintage inspired designs. One of her best-selling designs, the 1950s style halter top "Trixie" dress has been tweaked and perfected many times since it made its debut in 2002. One of her wholesale customers, Unique-Vintage.com has now taken it upon themselves to steal this dress design, have it manufactured in other colors but using the exact pattern, and sell it as their own. When asked about this blatant theft, Unique-Vintage did not deny it.

Whether it's a big corporation stealing from independent designers or a small business stealing from another small business, this is simply unacceptable, and customers need to be informed in order to make sure they're not making a purchase that will reward a design thief.

More information can be found about it a couple of posts I've already made on the subject and on Trashy Diva's Myspace:

http://www.styledash.com/2008/07/13/unique-vintage-com-steals-designs-from-lines-they-carry/
http://www.missmalaprop.com/2008/07/indie-designers-keep-getting-ripped-off/
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=26022526&blogID=414262493

I hope you'll consider helping to spread the word about this incident and continuing to support local businesses!


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[info]pandoralsu
2008-07-14 03:21 am UTC (link)
That's the big cruel world of fashion, learn to live with it *edit* or get out. (I did, and I'm a better person for it.)

Edited at 2008-07-14 04:23 am UTC

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[info]uproar
2008-07-14 04:41 am UTC (link)
I totally agree that sometimes these things happen, life's not fair, etc etc etc, but that doesn't make them right either. And when the knock-off versions are of a much lesser quality customers still deserve the right to be informed if at all possible and then make whatever decision they think is appropriate for them. (And supposedly the fakes are of a much lesser quality, according to customers that TD has heard from who have unknowingly bought the knockoffs, thinking they were TD dresses.) It's harder to distinguish between fakes and originals when you're dealing with an online merchant, so we're just trying to get the word out so that people can make informed decisions.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]lillornyn
2008-07-14 01:53 pm UTC (link)
IAWTC.

It's bad business, pure and simple -- it's unfair to the designer, the wholesaler (who happens to be the same person here), the other businesses that were buying the product wholesale and lost that privilege based on someone else's actions, and ultimately, it's unfair to the consumer.

Granted, 'fairness' and 'respect' aren't really the words that drive most businesses, but in the end it's us - you know, the consumers - that allow that. To shrug because that's part of 'the industry' is being complicit in a retail environment that we're allowing to rip us off. To try and get the word out, as [info]uproar is doing, is a step past just voting with your pocketbook, and should be commended. Down with bad business practices!

You rule, M. ;)

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[info]mb2u
2008-07-14 03:57 am UTC (link)
To be a bit less bitchy about it, this does happen in the fashion industry, and always will. A vendor decides to take a product and find someone to do it as a cheaper knock-off. Meanwhile, the original designer/manufacturer loses business.

I'm guessing Trashy Diva forgot to include any exclusivity clauses in their contract. Because otherwise, they're screwed, an expensive lesson learned.

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[info]entheos93
2008-07-14 04:04 am UTC (link)
I heard about this, and I got a new dress from them just today.

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[info]now_all_is_well
2008-07-14 04:44 am UTC (link)
OMG I must have that dress, I love it. I'll be down there this weekend, hopefully they will still have some in the store for $34.

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on the subject of FQ clothing stores..
[info]rampartwoman
2008-07-14 05:49 am UTC (link)
I am posting this comment because I learned of outrageous behavior by a very sad and obviously self-loathing woman who happens to work at Hana on Royal St. It's a very cute and french quartery clothing store mostly catering to the "juniors"/"artsy" kids who love the quarter. I love those kids. Hell, I was one of them 20 years ago... but all I had was bongo and the indian store back then.

I don't know who I am even speaking of, but two... not one... two separate women that I know and I love, and because I have to right now, must mention are not "fat" by any connotation of that word, were told by a very sad and self-loathing girl employed by Hana..(upon entering the store...) that nothing in the store would fit them. My friend Kat immediately put down the pocket book she planned on buying, and my other friend with an unusual name just left feeling badly for the poor girl.

If our sweet and money-spending tourists are encountering this beast, something must be done.

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[info]sacred_datura
2008-07-14 06:50 am UTC (link)
Do you know how long the special sale will run on the Trixie dresses? I'm dying to buy one but I should behave until payday on Friday.

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[info]uproar
2008-07-14 12:47 pm UTC (link)
From what I understood, it's a "from here on out" sort of thing. All the cotton Trixies are going to be a TD exclusive, available only in the NOLA stores and on the TD website. They're going to remain this lower price, undercutting the lesser quality knockoffs, and Candice plans to start doing the cotton Trixies in even more colors too.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]humidcityloki
2008-07-14 07:57 pm UTC (link)
An piece about this matter will be up on HumidCity soon. Working on it currently.

As for "thats just the way that it is," if everyone thought that then nothing would ever change. I will not take that stance about the neo-conservative usurpation of American politics, the failure of the NOPD to control crime, or local shops being ripped off.

Free speech is a responsibility as well as a right. Public shaming is often more effective than punishment.

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