My first thread about style here. I just noticed that something that is so rampant here in Thailand is people wearing fake, replica, or counterfeit shit: Louis Vuitton bags, Tag Heuer watches, etc. Heck, at every street corner you can see "tailors" selling replica stuff. You can get some replica Tag Heuer watches for under 600 baht (USD $18).
What pisses off my wife and I is when we buy the real stuff but see people running around wearing replicas and getting away with it. My wife is the one who talked her mom into throwing away her fake bag and buying a cheaper unbranded bag.
IMO, wearing replicas is a sin for many reasons:
1) It dilutes the value of the real items. Best example: Ray Ban sunglasses. Pretty much every pair is a fake. That severly damaged the image of the company.
2) It makes the wearer look like a chump. I wore a replica watch when I was 20 years old, and I remember that night where I was out with friends and someone at the table grabbed my wrist, looked at the watch, and called me out in front of everyone for wearing a fake. I was humiliated and realized that my reputation that night was damaged.
3) Following point #2, if you're in a business meeting with a potential customer / partner / boss, them noticing that you're wearing fake stuff can be grounds to "call you back when the time comes". If an employee is trying to dupe me with a fake watch, who knows what might be hidden in his resume.
4) It's a waste of money, as the replicas are rarely of good quality. Granted, there are some pretty good knock-offs from China that can last long, but in average, you will buy shit.
5) It's illegal. If you travel, a border agent can seize the goods. And refer to point #2 for what happens next. Some companies get away with it by selling "RQLEX" watches, but it's still counterfeit.
Let's put it this way: If you drive a BMW, you won't be overjoyed at seeing someone putting a BMW logo over the Honda logo at the front of his crappy car.
How do you guys deal with that, and what's your opinion on that?
What pisses off my wife and I is when we buy the real stuff but see people running around wearing replicas and getting away with it. My wife is the one who talked her mom into throwing away her fake bag and buying a cheaper unbranded bag.
IMO, wearing replicas is a sin for many reasons:
1) It dilutes the value of the real items. Best example: Ray Ban sunglasses. Pretty much every pair is a fake. That severly damaged the image of the company.
2) It makes the wearer look like a chump. I wore a replica watch when I was 20 years old, and I remember that night where I was out with friends and someone at the table grabbed my wrist, looked at the watch, and called me out in front of everyone for wearing a fake. I was humiliated and realized that my reputation that night was damaged.
3) Following point #2, if you're in a business meeting with a potential customer / partner / boss, them noticing that you're wearing fake stuff can be grounds to "call you back when the time comes". If an employee is trying to dupe me with a fake watch, who knows what might be hidden in his resume.
4) It's a waste of money, as the replicas are rarely of good quality. Granted, there are some pretty good knock-offs from China that can last long, but in average, you will buy shit.
5) It's illegal. If you travel, a border agent can seize the goods. And refer to point #2 for what happens next. Some companies get away with it by selling "RQLEX" watches, but it's still counterfeit.
Let's put it this way: If you drive a BMW, you won't be overjoyed at seeing someone putting a BMW logo over the Honda logo at the front of his crappy car.
How do you guys deal with that, and what's your opinion on that?