If there’s one thing on which we can all agree around here, it’s that fake bags are the opposite of awesome. Both eBay and the Council of Fashion Designers of America are on board that ship as well, and they’ve gotten together to start the “You Can’t Fake Fashion” tote bag campaign, which launches at 11 a.m. today on the eBay Fashion Vault.

To mark the launch of the $35 anti-fake tote bags, whose proceeds benefit the CFDA Foundation, eBay and the CFDA asked 50 American brands and designers to customize one-of-a-kind totes that will retail for $150 each. From a minimal, modernist version by The Row to appliqued black lace from Jason Wu to illustrations by Rodarte, the designers came through. Some of the designs are better than others, of course, but we’ve got pictures of all of them after the jump. Which one is your favorite? If you’d like to purchase one of the regular or customized totes to support eBay’s and the CFDA’s fight against fakes, visit the eBay Fashion Vault at 11 a.m. today. (more…)

File this under “Things That Really Shouldn’t Surprise Anyone, Ever.”

According to Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Renee Richardson Gosline (yeah, that’s right, MIT is interested in your handbag), consumers are far more likely to identify a counterfeit bag as real when worn by someone that “looks” rich and a real bag as counterfeit when worn by someone that “looks” poor. I’m not sure why that would come as a huge surprise to anyone, but the fact that its been scientifically confirmed means that we can all congratulate ourselves on being logical, I suppose..

Before you fire up the keyboard and claim in the comments that you don’t care if people think your bag is fake or that it’s shallow for people to assume things about you because you dress a certain way, please slow your roll and read the stuff after the jump. (more…)

The subjects of what kind of person buys counterfeit bags and what buying counterfeit says about a person have, admittedly, been discussed to death. On our forum and in other places, both the fake haters and the fake lovers have very, very strong opinions. People in this debate seem to get offended quickly and take the choices of the other side personally. Fake buyers think that real buyers are fashion-industry dupes; real buyers think that fake buyers are cheapskates that want everyone to think they’re rich.

The issue of counterfeiting is rife with the problems of legality, intellectual property, socioeconomics, and conspicuous consumption. Great thinkers like Jean Baudrillard have struggled mightily over the value of authenticity, the role of the replica, and what said role says about the society which embraces it. Handbags are obviously only a part of the overall authenticity question, but when Louis Vuitton can increase earnings even in a global recession, they might be a part worth considering with increased seriousness.

And that’s exactly what Duke and MIT researcher Dan Ariely did. (more…)