The Devil Wears Prada...but only authentic Prada.

Okay, so I posted the other day about high-end urinal sales in the states, as found in the Most E-Mailed article list of the New York Times. I was still shaking my head over that one, when...

This morning at #1 on the Washington Post site: "Virginia Men Face U.S. Trial In Peddling of Phony Purses." It seems that a "purse party" goer got suspicious when those Hermes handbags selling for $19.99 seemed too good to be true.

[snip]

The trial in one of the nation's largest counterfeiting prosecutions will feature testimony from representatives of Gucci, Kate Spade and other leading designer labels, according to court documents. Exhibit A will be a sampling of hundreds of purses, hauled into the courtroom one box at a time.

The case is bringing scrutiny to a widespread problem that has been publicly visible for years: trafficking in handbags...

[/snip]

Trafficking.
In handbags.

When I think of all those well-heeled women perched on the witness stand or scattered throughout the audience, decrying the exploitation wrought against Fendi, Chanel, Coach and Louis Vuitton, I want to...I want to...

OH GOD THE HORROR!!!!

I mean, where else can a child worker from Latin America have her 8 cents per day work praised as it should be if not in the hands of a real appreciator of Haute Couture?

I mean, what has the world come to?

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Are you also trapped in the Matrix? Today's bonus link: a different perspective on the world of fashion as brought to you by the National Labor Committee, www.nlcnet.org.