the heel press

Art is a cherished thing of human culture. Thousands of years ago cavemen were performing their work of genius on walls and rocks. Picasso revolutionized awkward shapes and figures. Shakespeare made romance look easy. Mozart's music is still filling ball rooms and appearing in motion pictures. Each artist expressed their dreams and ideas on paper, palates or in music, making them a reality and touching the minds hearts and souls of people all over the world and for generations to come.

Today, artists are still greatly valued and skilled. In fact, so many writers, painters and composers of our time perfect their skills that many go unnoticed. With that being said, it needs to be pointed out that there is an entire generation of artists that have gone without appreciation at all. Actually, let me rephrase that. They are noticed. They are liked. And they are copied.

Art is art because it is unique. It expresses valued ideas and creativity and people are able to connect with it on a completely different level.

The world of fake purses destroys the concept of unique art and insults the intelligence and ability of the artist. (bet you weren't planning on the story going in this direction now were you).

Louis Vuiton, Miuccia Prada, Gabriel "Coco" Chanel, Marc Jacobs- these men and women are amongst some of the greatest artists in the world. They revolutionized a simple bag which serves no other purpose other than to carry things. They have made these simple bags so incredibly pleasing to the eye and in such high demand, that people pay thousands and thousands to own one.

A purse says everything about who you are, how you dress, and what your true fashion personality is. The Louis Vuiton girl loves to dress up. The Chanel girl doesn't mind a little funk in her life. Everyone knows a girl's purse is just as important as her shoes. Big, small, sparkly, suede, and leather scream who you are, what you like, (and sometimes what season we are in). So what does it say about a girl when she makes a sorry attempt to copy an artist? When she takes the very masterpiece that these artists have perfected and changes the quality of leather or the width or the LV to lower the cost?

The fashion world is 100% about expressing your true self through clothes and accessories. It's hard to deny that you can tell a lot about a person just by the way they dress. Pink collared polo with levis a belt and a duckbilled hat? I'm placing 20 dollars on the cute little boy from Virginia. But the boy with the tighter fitted pink collared polo with seven jeans , rainbows and no hat cause his hair is too long and shaggy for one to fit: I'm going with the hot surfer from sunny southern California. Granted, there are obviously exceptions. But it can't be argued with. You change your attire for your grandma's house and the club in New York. You take a little extra time in the morning for the job interview. Your interview might go the same no matter what, but their first impression of you matters too much to chance it.

So who are you, and what's that true inner self you're trying to express if you are walking around with a ... dare I say it... fake. The $800 louis was created for the woman who could afford the $800 louis. Not for the 6 year-old girl who wants to be like Britney Spears. If Chanel wanted everyone to own one of her purses she too would have created a thriving industry on the streets of soho- but she didn't.

Ladies, don't be someone you're not. Don't take away from the men and women who worked hard in life and wanted to spend their money on a greatly sought after Marc Jacobs bag. Don't take away from the genius's at work who create their special bags with the very intention of making them unique and sought after. You don't truly like the purse for the LV's written all over it. You like it for what it represents. What people will think of you when you are walking around with LV's. And don't try and argue with me. I guarantee that if I had Mr. Vuiton make you that exact same size purse with the exact same quality leather, but it was all brown and no where on it did it have his signature- it would no longer mean a thing.

There are some great, absolutely adorable $10 purses. And when you get a job, Coach makes some really cute $150 purses too. And one day, when you have worked really hard (in a job or at finding a rich husband) you go be that girl. You be that woman that Prada wanted to sell her bag to.