rip my heart out

Moral dilemmas all over the place here! First on the agenda are heart cut-out dresses. I am (was?) a huge Luella fan and the last SS10 collection was surely a prim and proper affair, but still in a sickly sweet way. I'd reduced the collection to bows and '50s dresses in my head and looking back it really was a good'un; what a shame it won't get the attention it deserves. But despite there only actually being 2 looks out of the 30 with heart cut-outs, those dresses were the most memorable.

The high street jumped on the trend though and the dilemma is whether to buy into it? Retailers are making money off Luella Bartley's creations and she isn't getting any return. Every high street trend is runway inspired but there's inspiration and then there's rip offs. The first examples are these dresses from Boohoo, the cheapie online retailer. They've hit a great market for fast fashion online at a lower price point, sort of the online Primark. But the models and the fits make me wonder about the quality, and quality worries usually mean ethical worries. The clothes being so trendy and so cheap probably mean they're made in Asia and as it's an online store, it's easier to scrimp on CSR policies. I'll email and hopefully find out how they produce. I'm not keen to spend money in stores that do not have sustainability practices and also rip off designs, which Boohoo might just be doing. I'm not pointing the finger of shame but their styles are certainly runway rips, and possibly too much so. Is it disloyal to Luella, a brand you admire and aspire to, to buy in Boohoo's copies? They are incomparable to the quality and cuts that Luella's dresses would have been and the low price does mean they'll come in synthetic materials or cotton. You have to think though, if you were a retailer, wouldn't you produce at least one item with a heart shaped cut-out, just because they're so cute and buyable?

 

My soon-to-be favourite UK high street store New Look is a great example of how to satisfy trends but respect designers. I did see a red dress with a heart cut-out at the front set for the teen department, and they've produced a number of women's dresses with heart cut-outs, BUT they're at the back. Ah ha! Inspired, not copied. They could have put the heart at the front but they chose the back, possibly making them more wearable and with better cuts. Some of the hearts on the Boohoo dresses seem to fit funny. New Look is also just as cheap and has good sustainability practices. I saw quite a few of these dresses at the Paris press day so I know they've been in production for a while rather than churned out quickly, causing more damage to the environment.

I'm really keen to invest in one of these dresses but I still don't know! I just think of Luella Bartley looking at girls walking past in dresses that are rightfully her design, from a company she put her passion into that's now gone (hopefully not for long). Of all the brands, Luella should not be missing, but we can't expect brands to survive when we invest in cheaper copies rather than the original. I've been waiting for the dress in the top left hand corner all season and can't wait to find it in store if there are any left! The cups look like they might sit strangely so I'll try before I buy, but the white floral dress is also gorgeous in real life. I spotted it on my trip home and it's made of stiff cotton so it sits well and looks more expensive.

In the end it will come down to a real life decision, although it's tempting to order online so I've got packages waiting for me when I go home. I'm thinking of coming in just two weeks! For good! That sounds crazy but I finish classes very soon and I can just hang around for a bit or save April's rent and come home. I can still travel to visit other Erasmus friends and work at home so it won't be a lazy five month summer; I've applied for lots of things that I'll hopefully be accepted for! There really are a lot of summer programmes out there, I didn't know my Uni offered so many, it's worth a look at. Leaving so soon is a bit unnerving as or one thing, I'll have to fit my whole room into 38kgs and I highly doubt that's going to happen. I don't know what to do with the magazines I've bought here; it's either be optimistic and try to pack them, or accept they'll account for way too much weight and cut them up to save the best editorials? I love to collect magazines so that will be a bit upsetting! Also I've collected a lot of 'crap', you know like the bits and bobs that you tack onto your wall as memories and even lots of beauty products,which all account for weight.

Along the theme of moral dilemmas, I'm a bit worried to leave so early before getting my course grades, as I need to make sure I've completed all my credits. The course I'm taking now is the course from hell, and after a group project including three reports, a final report and two presentations, then there's also a second group ten-page report and an online test. A girl in my group told me a few days ago though that she knows a boy who took the course last term and has the answers to the test, so you can get a least 80%. She said the test was impossibly hard and judging by the course so far, that's understandable. So if I take the test I don't think I'll do very well and I can't afford to fail the subject and have to take another course for two more months. And if I fail I can have no allowance because half the class will have done exceptionally well, so I'll just look like I didn't try hard enough. There's no way I'd use the answers because I'm only in a group with the girl and it's not fair on the rest of the class members if I join the people getting great marks, and also I don't take classes so I can cheat! I really don't want to be in the position of telling the lecturer people already had the answers though, they might have cheated but they didn't think they were going to get caught. Please tell me what would you do, it would really help! Sure I should sort my own problems out now but it feels like things like this will happen throughout your whole life! And what you think of the other dilemmas too, heart dresses are important in life too!

Comments

[Clare]

They are beautiful dresses, obviously, if you can afford it go for the real thing! But Luella knows that her designs aren't accessible to everyone, she must expect to inspire and for others to want to wear her work. I'd go for it, if you love, wear it! It would suit you too much to not get one!

It is bad when the high street rips off designers, but they're just meeting consumer demand I guess. Juts harp on about Luella everytime you wear it :)

http://iliketweet.blogspot.com/

x

[Winnie]

Oh man dilemmas indeed.

Ok heart shaped dresses...I'm not so keen on the Boohoo copies. I think the New Look ones are a lot nicer. Plus that yellow Boohoo one which is a blatant rip off the Luella one....is definitely in New Look at the moment too. I remember seeing it!!

Uni wise...I totally know what you mean. I've had a crazy hard term and I know how you feel about the dilemma of potentially doing really bad for one of your classes. Cheating is definitely a no no...but are you sure that the questions will definitely be the same? For normal exams...you get previous exam papers which you can revise from?

Cannot believe you're potentially coming home for good in 2 weeks. I'm sure it will be lovely to be back though and you'll have lots of awesome summer plans to look forward to, too! Hope you manage to get on that China summer placement. I have two friends that went out there to teach. One of which has just gone back out there...possibly for good! Life changing experiences I've been told!

[KB]

I definitely prefer the New Look versions as the Boohoo stuff just looks too obvious. It's always hard to completely copy a garment as it will never look as good as the original, if it's just inspired then it's harder to make a direct comparison and it can just be liked for what it is. Plus the heart cut out at the front risks the possibility of some unsightly cleavage and it may not look as tasteful as the Luella version.
Re uni; don't cheat! Just do your best as you'll feel better for doing it; you may not get the highest mark but if you just try, then you shouldn't fail. Spend some time trying to get your head around the work and hopefully it'll eventually click.

[Colette]

Do not cheat. Try to forget that other people have the answers(if those answers are correct which is unlikely). There are so many variables and you do not want to be caught up in the mess if they are found cheating.

Also I much prefer the New Look dresses. The Boohoo definitely look bad quality. The heart cutouts look pretty rough!

[fritha louise]

I bought the New Look dress you want yesterday. I guess they must have just come in because there were loads. I've been waiting for it since the press day I went to too! It's sooo lovely! You're right it is great quality. I had to size down from what I usually buy in New Look because in my normal size the cups were just way too big and weird looking, but they look fine on the size smaller, and it's just a bit more snug on the waist. And I love how the back on it is half covered with the contrast fabric so it isn't too open. I was tempted with the boohoo ones when I first saw them but they probably look really cheap in real life and the cut out looks to be a bit "Hi, these are my boobs"..

[Laura]

Could it be cheaper to post things home than pay easyjet fees?

I hate the low boob-revealing cut of the Boohoo dresses, it's too obvious and slutty, and it isn't what the original Luella dresses were about - which is girly innocence and romance.

[Laura]

I'd probably arrange a private meeting with a lecturer before the exam and explain what's going on without mentioning names - maybe a 'I've heard a rumour' sort of thing?

I'd be worried if they found out after the exam and cancelled the test so you had to stay longer anyway, or even worse were expelled you from the course? Obviously those are worst case scenarios but I don't think it's worth risking.

[Laura]

I'd probably arrange a private meeting with a lecturer before the exam and explain what's going on without mentioning names - maybe a 'I've heard a rumour' sort of thing?

I'd be worried if they found out after the exam and cancelled the test so you had to stay longer anyway, or even worse were expelled you from the course? Obviously those are worst case scenarios but I don't think it's worth risking.

[Kylie]

This is a great post... like all of your posts! I wish I could talk about something like clothes as in-depth as you do, but I always feel like I have so much to say but don't know how to say it. I just love your writing style and I don't tell you that enough http://www.ethicaltrade.org/ . I've wanted to do a post on these kind of issues for a long time, but I want it to be well thought out and researched so I'll have to get cracking!
Also, I agree with what you said about the New Look designs. They're not just blatently ripping off Luella, rather they're translating the style into something more wearable and realistic. For the companies that do make knock-offs, it's sad that I'm sure most of the people who are buying them don't actaully know that they are not an original design... not everyone is a fashion expert and I'm aware of that. A girl may buy a cheapie dress because she thinks it's cute, but never know that the creativity put into that dress is coming from a completely different place. LONG LIVE LUELLA. I just know that the brand isn't gone forever... things always bad before they get good again!
<3<3<3

[Kylie]

OOPS, I don't know what happened to my comment above but some of it got cut off. Here's the original:

This is a great post... like all of your posts! I wish I could talk about something like clothes as in-depth as you do, but I always feel like I have so much to say but don't know how to say it. I just love your writing style and I don't tell you that enough http://www.ethicaltrade.org/ .
I've wanted to do a post on these kind of issues for a long time, but I want it to be well thought out and researched so I'll have to get cracking!

Also, I agree with what you said about the New Look designs. They're not just blatently ripping off Luella, rather they're translating the style into something more wearable and realistic. For the companies that do make knock-offs, it's sad that I'm sure most of the people who are buying them don't actaully know that they are not an original design... not everyone is a fashion expert and I'm aware of that. A girl may buy a cheapie dress because she thinks it's cute, but never know that the creativity put into that dress is coming from a completely different place. LONG LIVE LUELLA. I just know that the brand isn't gone forever... things always bad before they get good again!

<3<3<3

[Author in the making]

oh those dresses are sooooo gorgeous! i want one bad now ;) i would recomned you don't cheat as one: you could get caught, 2 they may be the wrong answers and three you will not have learnt anything by doing it! try not to give in to the temptation and good luck!

[Amelia]

Luella knows that not everyone is able to afford her dresses and New Look has a wider range of choices so you can find the one that's right for your body shape and looks nice.
I don't really like the boohoo dresses as they look slutty. Way too much clevage on show, while Luella keeps it classy
You shouldn't cheat. If you do you'll just regret it and feel guilty afterwards and you might get caught. Plus if you revise and then pass you'll feel really proud of yourself and you'll learn something.
Hope this helps : )

[Harriet]

Oh Dilemmas!

I love the New Look dresses, and like you say, they are inspired, not copied from Luella. We're never going to see the Luella dresses in the shops so I say go for it. I have to admit, the only thing that's stopping me buying the New Look dress, is they're so cute I just know *everyone* is going to have one by the end of this summer...

Examwise I understand your position. At uni it was a well known fact that certain lecturers repeaed the exam every four years, and so everyone in the class simply got the exam paper from four years ago out of the library. In that way I guess it was cheating, except I feel like it was legal cheating because we weren't doing anything underhand to get hold of the paper (just going to the library!), and if lecturers are too lazy to change the exam paper that's their fault, not mine!

Your case is a bit different though. Do you know how many people have access to last year's paper? If the girl in your group does, then surely she's not the only one? I would hate for you to do the right thing, and then the rest of the class with the answers does better, which leads to the possibility of marks getting scaled down (I don't know if they do that at your uni?) and you do even worse!

[Clare]

Thanks for commenting on my blog and to answer your question, the model is Samantha Harris and she's goooorgeous!

I'm just about to post something I think you'd like by the way :)

http://iliketweet.blogspot.com/

x

[joey]

You definitely have a point. These cheaper versions by boohoo aren't original at all, you can tell they just took the ideas and made them tighter and show more. The new look ones look better, though.
I feel sad about the point made above me, that people who aren't as fashion inclined and just bought it because it was cute, will never know that it was inspired by Luella, and they should.
Wonderful post, thought provoking!
xx
www.thinkwishful.blogspot.com

[Vint Junky]

Aw so sad that her designs weren't realized...BUT surely Luella will be back. It doesn't even bear thinking that she won't!

Save Luella!!

[Daisy]

Fantastic post!

[WendyB]

If I were Luella, I'd be bitter! I love the look but hate cheap fabric, so doubt I'd be interested in a knockoff.

[Ali (hello birdy)]

It still blows my mind that Luella is gone, I don't really understand it.
Love the heart designs....but not the cleavage ones!
I think Boohoo are a bit dodgy, I emailed them once asking where their clothes were made as I was thinking of buying something. I must admit, I can't remember what they said but it was a bit vague and shady!

[tiffany-accessories]

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[Sallie Thompson]

For me originality matters, professional designers should respect their fellow designers because if they are only copying a design from other design that is a crime. And to commit this kind of crime is so unfair for those designers who have lose their originality because somebody copied it.

[Pelzer Ehlers]

Simple, chic and fashionable! But I am quite conservative - so i don't like low necklines. Maybe I can plays the heart shaped somewhere.

[Pelzer Ehlers]

...."place" the heart shaped somewhere (correcting spelling);-)

- Pelzer

[Linsey Mahaffey]

I love the dresses! I love how the conservative aspect of the dress is maintained regardless of its new styles.