Luxury items like Louis Vuitton and Gucci carry a certain allure, but their sky-high price tags make them unattainable for most people. As someone who’s admired these pieces for years but can’t afford them, I’ve turned to dupes — and never looked back.
Over the past few years, I’ve proudly built a collection of dupes, which are off-brand, nearly identical duplicates of popular fashion items, often sold at lower prices. One of my favorites is a Bottega Veneta bag dupe I purchased for $200. The retail price? Around $3,000. I even went to a Bottega store to compare, and it was practically identical. Friends, family and even luxury retail workers have complimented my bags without realizing they weren’t authentic. These moments bring me so much joy and reinforce the idea that fashion is about self-expression, not price tags.
Society places immense importance on luxury because of the price tags themselves. In a world where resources equal status, owning something expensive signals wealth. Social media has amplified this culture, exposing luxury to wider audiences and driving demand.
Unfortunately, there’s still a stigma around dupes. They’re often associated with lower-income individuals, and some believe owning a fake lowers your status or makes you inauthentic. Society perpetuates the idea that if you can’t afford the real thing, you shouldn’t have it. But this notion is flawed and elitist. Why should fashion be reserved for the wealthy?
Ethically, buying dupes can feel like a better choice. While some counterfeit markets are linked to criminal organizations, large luxury brands also have questionable practices — sweatshops, tax evasion and exploiting exclusivity for profit. The more ethical alternative to both is to support smaller businesses and craftspeople who create high-quality dupes and original work alike.
Dupes democratize fashion. They allow everyday people to experiment with styles they couldn’t otherwise afford and help challenge luxury brands by driving away some of their profit. While some argue the dupe market is unethical, luxury brands are no saints. At the end of the day, fashion is about creativity, not exclusivity — and dupes help more people express themselves without breaking the bank.
