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Copy or Inspiration? - Miu Miu Vs The World

I'm currently obsessed with so many things. My head is a mess of ideas and my stomach a turmoil in capital letters. My mind can go from dwelling on unimportant matters like a certain pair of shoes at H&M, to then torture me with life-changing events like my move from Belgium. My time is filled by a tight schedule that aims to fit writing, blogging, the selling of my clothes and much more alongside wanting to watch the second season of Six Feet Under, or aimlessly reflecting on the need for a long holiday.

I had a hectic weekend, slightly disappointing as it hardly felt chilled or comforting. Only Sunday evening made some sense with a delicious dinner. So, in order to focus on positives, I will only talk about a blouse. That's it, I'm still going on about my Zara blouse, the one with the cats. The look right below is the one for the relaxed Sunday dinner.

Jumper and blouse both Zara, Jeans: Pull & Bear, Brooch: Mockinghorse

The next picture is what I wore on Friday night. I've been heavily inspired by retro loving bloggers Retrochick and Penny Dreadful, and after wondering how the combination of waves in my hair and red lips would work I finally took the plunge.

Dress: Karen Millen A/W 09, Blouse: Zara, Shoes: H&M

So yes, the blouse has been worn, a lot, and now it's resting but will probably make a lot of appearances towards Spring.

It's heavily inspired in Miu Miu last year's collection. I love the term "inspired". I love it less when it means "copying", but the lines between the two terms become easily blurred. Zara does tend to go for the "inspiration" side of things most of the time, but other brands, such as Forever 21, have forged a reputation of unashamed copycats. For examples of this controversy see here and here.

Miu Miu is so colourful, so forward and coveted that lookalikes are bound to appear everywhere this Spring.

Note to whoever fitted this model: shoes in her own size may look better?

While designers sue other brands, scandals arise and insults are exchanged, consumers are in the middle of everything, making choices and supporting either side. To those with more money buying the original designer item is an easy task. How about the rest of us?

While it's clear there is no justification to support fakes or knock-offs, can we be to blame for wanting fabulous-looking clothes at a smaller price tag? Is this the future of the industry? Copying in a more or less subtle way to satisfy the needs of the masses? Maybe when certain brands get sued, the profits they are making are uncountable times bigger that is worth the fines they receive?

I could go on raising questions on this, excuse the pun, questionable practice. I will simply direct you to this post by blogger Garance, brought to my attention by the lovely Heather Fonseca. Garance has a very strong and defined idea towards clear fakes and suspicious lookalikes.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Is there anything as "inspired" as copying? Should any item reminiscent of another be banned?

Pictures: Fashion Limbo, Miu Miu via Vogue.com