Parity or Parody?

The styles of these clothes look vaguely familiar... oh, maybe because they look like conceptualized versions of what I always cross my fingers to find in vintage and thrift stores.

There is a great article in the New York Times today about designer fashion taking its cue from the hippies and hipsters of yore, (and by yore I mean the 60's and 70's), who's bohemian pieces are now the fountain-of-youth-in-fabric... they don't age, and everyone wants them.  So much, so, that designers have taken the liberty to sew replicas of these pieces and charge hundreds of dollars for them.  Well, at least that takes the difficulty of digging through stuffed racks and bargain bins out of the picture, (but isn't that the fun part?).

In the article, "What's in a Label?  Say it in French," the Critical Shopper, a self-proclaimed army surplus and vintage hunter enthusiast, describes her experience in Isabel Marant's very chic boutique:

"I pulled my own jeans and gray sweatshirt back on and hustled out of the store — an act of self-preservation that saved me nearly $600. Was my own wardrobe achieving parity or parody? Only my hairdresser knows for sure."

I'd say it's parody, but not on her side of the universal closet - on Fashion Week's.  And everyone knows that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  Aw, shucks, garment district.

But seriously - if you've got $800 to blow on an embroidered tunic - hands off my $20 ebay score!