< FIRST PAGE
2 OF 6 CONTINUE >

Knockoff Nation

(continued)

images/2006/09/vera_wang.jpg
Genuine Article: Keira Knightley's Vera Wang Oscar gown
Retail Price: $7,864.48

Next best thing: Your pick of celebrities' couture outfits.
L.A. fashionista Allen B. Schwartz
has made a good business out of copying high-priced gala dresses and marketing them to the masses at cut-rate prices. While Keira's silk-sewn Oscar duds fetched nearly $8,000 at an Oxfam auction, you can get the rayon equivalent for around $300—and still feel like a somebody! Conscientious Schwartz has tailored the dresses for us normal people, so you won't even need to diet.

Legality: As long as Schwartz doesn't try to pass it off as a real Vera Wang, he's in the clear.

How to get it: These fine threads are available in department stores, or on absstyle.com.



images/2006/09/ipod.jpg
Genuine Article: iPod Shuffle or Nano
Retail Price: $80–$250

Next best thing: A Shuffle or Nano so cunningly counterfeited that Apple has warned its own affiliates about the fakes. And if the knockoff music players can fool retailers, chances are your coworkers and the muggers in the subway won't be able to tell the difference, either! The phony iPods come without dock connectors, have irregular headphone jacks, and are packaged in boxes stamped with the words "digital music player," unlike real Apple products.

Legality: You'll have a hell of a time explaining to your cellmate what you're in for.

How to get it: Since Apple HQ raised the alarm in March, most of the counterfeits have probably been pushed out of the stores, so check eBay.


images/2006/09/sassicaia.jpg
Genuine Article: A bottle of that raved-about 1995 Bolgheri Sassicaia
Retail Price: $640

Next best thing: A counterfeit so artfully done even Sassicaia's vintner, the Marquis Nicolo Incisa della Rochetta, admits it's a flawless wine. Forgers assembled identical bottles, complete with seals and detailed labels, and filled them with a Cabernet-Montepulciano d'Abruzzo blend that perfectly mimicked the original's bouquet. Insiders in the Italian wine industry were recently busted with 20,000 bottles of the stuff, which they had been selling for $100 a bottle. Many other top-shelf wines, including Penfolds Grange and Chateau Mouton Rothschild, have been the targets of counterfeiters, who often simply slap fake French or Australian labels on Chinese wine and sell them for list price (in some cases, up to $3,000 a bottle). The Chinese versions might be a little iffy, but if you can get your hands on a bottle of fake Sassicaia, you can tickle your taste buds without emptying your wallet.

Legality: This wine is definitely not kosher.

How to get it: Go to Tuscany and look for a guy selling them out of a red Fiat hatchback.

<< First Page

2 OF 6 Continue >>



< BACK TO Features

 


Sexual Politics
Election 2008 hasn't just been dirty, it's been downright smutty

Full Court Press
Bill Kristol, Jane Mayer, and the rest of this week's winners and sinners

Adult Friends Forever
With more than 30 million users, Adult FriendFinder is the Web's No. 1 meat market. But what kinds of kinksters actually use the site? Radar signed up to find out

Full Court Press
Charles Kaiser on the final presidential debate

Snort Selling
Radar's investment guide to cocaine, hookers, and other vices



Email us at:
tips@radaronline.com
or IM: TipRadar







Meanwhile, the First Best Picture Is...

Heidi Chimes In

Bale's Oscar Pick? Take A Guess

SOS: Rihanna Gets Sued

Liberace's Ex-Love Behind Bars

Love Clean With Bean

Pattinson Lost In Vampire Role

Spencer Fires Back

Star Likes His Gay Friends, But...

Victoria's Secret Facebook Page





Opie Taylor for Obama
Richie Cunningham too

Sarah Meets Woody
The perfect romantic comedy for purple states

McCain Left On Campaign Bus Overnight
From The Onion News Network

Terry Tate: Reading Is Fundamental
He's back!

O'Reilly vs. Frank, Round 2
Barney Frank enters the no spin zone, again!