I was going through Dream of Lolita's page on clobbaonline.com and saw this:

Chained Berry Memoir!! When BTSSB came out with this print, I was so in love with it. But obviously, it's too short for me, since I can only wear ankle length dresses. 

But Dream of Lolita does custom work and I've asked Clobba about adding (a lot of) length to a dress before and they said they could do it. 

So potentially, I could own a dress with this lovely print on it!

But I know a lot of people hate replicas and people who buy them... I'm wondering if it would still matter with me, because since my dress would be longer it wouldn't really be a copy of the real Chained Berry Memoir JSK. However, it's still copying the original print with the BTSSB logo on it...

I dunno. It's not too expensive, so I'm sooo tempted to get it. I just love the ribbons and strawberries~!! 

What do you think?

Personally, I don't give a *beep* if it's "real" or a replica. I am against monster corporations and their monopoly on things, on a whole. Is it pretty, do I like it? If no, don't buy, if yes and can afford - buy it, if it makes you happy. :)

If someone has a problem with it being a replica, give them a problem with picking their front teeth out of their throat. ;3

Evig_ wrote: Personally, I don't give a *beep* if it's "real" or a replica. I am against monster corporations and their monopoly on things, on a whole. Is it pretty, do I like it? If no, don't buy, if yes and can afford - buy it, if it makes you happy. :) If someone has a problem with it being a replica, give them a problem with picking their front teeth out of their throat. ;3

You are so fierce! ♥ 

Thank you~ 

Well, I´m not agains replicas, per se. Because Brand prices are quite inflated and sometimes their sizing isn´t adequate for people (such as skirt length, in your case). So, you´ve got to buy replica or offbrand--whatever. Everyone should be able to wear pretty clothes.

What I´m against, however, is that they straight off write "Baby the Stars Shine Bright" or "Angelic Pretty" or whatever on their dresses, even if it´s part of a print. They  should write their own name or do something that´s traditional by now, write a "version" of the original they´re copying (for example Panamasonic vs. Panasonic).  Because, seriously, going as far as to even copy the name seems quite low to me. :/

LaiaMoon wrote: Well, I´m not agains replicas, per se. Because Brand prices are quite inflated and sometimes their sizing isn´t adequate for people (such as skirt length, in your case). So, you´ve got to buy replica or offbrand--whatever. Everyone should be able to wear pretty clothes. What I´m against, however, is that they straight off write "Baby the Stars Shine Bright" or "Angelic Pretty" or whatever on their dresses, even if it´s part of a print. They  should write their own name or do something that´s traditional by now, write a "version" of the original they´re copying (for example Panamasonic vs. Panasonic).  Because, seriously, going as far as to even copy the name seems quite low to me. :/

^THIS X 1000. If it is not Angelic Pretty, then it should not say Angelic Pretty anywhere on the dress. I am not against replicas. In fact, I own the shooting star bag replica. The fact that they left the AP name off it helped my decision.

I think there are times where replicas can be a good thing. Brands like AP still sell out of stuff despite the replicas being made. But I think the best ones are the ones like AP's Puppet Circus. PC can cost about $1000 now and chances are that it wont be re-printed. Also, the sizing of the original is small. I don't see the harm in making prints like these more accessible. However, I do think too many replicas were made in 2011. I think it is in poor taste that as soon as something comes out, people immediately ask for replicas to be made.

Word of warning- the Chained Berry Memoir replica has backwards writing if I remember correctly. So do be careful if you get it!

I'm not 100% against replicas, I own a replica myself. However it's a replica of an impossible to find AP set, and it has the replica brand's name on it, it doesn't say Angelic Pretty in big letters or anything. I also don't mind replica shoes from secret shop or anything, because if your feet are too big for brand shoes (like mine are) you can't do anything to make them smaller. But in general I'm against replicas. however in your case, I think it would be fine to order a replica of the dress, because people will be able to tell by the length that it's not the original, and you still get the cute strawberrys and ribbons. However I've heard bad things about clobba, so you might want to order it from another shopping sevice.

I'm half and half on this one. 

One on hand, I don't like that brands make so few items and price them so highly. Having a replica for a coveted, rare, and expensive item can be great. It means that other people can also enjoy the same sort of product.

But we also have to consider artistic integrity. Someone went to the trouble to design that print and that item. Copying it, especially exactly, is quite frankly stealing. 

So I don't know...

I dont really mine if the product is real or fake. Just as long as it is affordable.

I mean i think they should of made lolita like the BSSB prints, but not excatly the same, because they are copyrighted, and a lot of people went through the trouble of making them.

I do think thats replica's shouldnt have the logo's of the brands on them.

I dont think i can ever buy a REP dress for i live in Japan but if i was UK still and they make my size and cheap then yes i might do lol.

But some times i feel like the REP ones makes the original brand not special any more :(.

Ok, I will post my two cents.  Replicas are illegal, and rightfully so.   First of all, the brands are not "huge corporate monsters"  They are in fact quite small.   I know, I worked at the head office of Baby for a year and a half.  There were only about 15 or so people working there.  Second of all, they don't make big profits in the first place.  This may come as a shocker since the dresses are "so expensive"   It is simple supply/demand.  Demand is high and supply is low.  Yes, every time a brand produces a dress, the supply is really low.   They don't make hundreds of dresses of the same design, because they really can't afford to produce such a high supply.    You would be shocked to know how few dresses they make in each pattern.   

But then they have to pay a lot of money.  It takes a lot of money to pay for personal salaries, office space, electricity etc to run a business.  Then there is the cost it takes to design and produce the clothes.  Then there is the rent for the stores and the salaries of the staff.  Trust me the brands we love have a hard time turning a profit just to stay afloat.    Running small businesses is hard work.

So you are a company, you have everything balanced out so that you are able to pay your staff and bills each month  so that everybody can have food on their plate.  You invest 300 hours of man-hour time to design a dress.  Then you pay to have the product produced, and you pay for advertising.  Then you have to pay the people to take the orders, the shipping to your office and across your 30 stores.  You have invested a lot of money only to get a slight percentage back in return.  You are very lucky if you manage get a 3% to 5% profit margin at the end of the day.   Baby, Angelica, Meta... basically that is how they are ran.

Now imagine if somebody in china steals the design you invested so much to produces, then sells a low quality cheeper price.   Now if you had a huge profit margin of 10% to 15%, it might not hurt you too much, but how much is that going to cut into your profit margin if it is at a realistic 3% to 5%?    It is going to kill your profit margin, period.  Then you are not going to be able to pay all your expenses, and it takes food off your table.   

Replicas may be cheep, but the more you buy them the more you strangle off the companies that produce the designs you love.   Simply put, it is pirating and profiting of labor which you did not invest in.  The chinese replica guy did not spend thousands making the design.  The replica guy does not have 30 stores and a staff to provide for.  The replica guy doesn't have to balance supply/demand, the replica guy does not have to put in any work himself but order the underpaid and overworked slaves to make replicas.  

It is thievery, immoral and wrong, period.  

Thank you, Valina.
It is illegal. I don't appreciate those companies that are making money by stealing the designs of others. It's wrong. I'm obviously not partial to replicas.