Results tagged “jellykelly”

NYC Comptroller William Thompson says that New Yorkers are losing more than $1 billion in taxes because of the counterfeit trade (here's a PDF of the report, "Bootleg Billions"). And taxing counterfeit bags or DVDs is not part of the solution. And the best counterfeit story we've heard is that the knock-offs of those basic, black Kate Spade bags are so good (or the real ones are that shoddy) that some women have gone to department stores, returning the fake Kate Spade bags for refunds, leaving the buyers to find out what happened much later.

You can tell a lot about a year by seeing which posts were popular, and from Gothamist's standpoint, it's been a banner year for our readers who are perverts or nerds (we're hoping the loyal readers are both). Here are a few of our most popular posts: Thoughts on the Matrix Reloaded; 100 Best Songs; when we pretended to know all about friendster messages; Paris Hilton sex tapes and her SNL appearance; Nicole Richie's racial identity; What not to do when you blog; Jelly Kelly; Best Movie Sex Scenes; Michael Jackson's mugshot; Nudist camps for teenagers; Blackout Edition; Lever House Restaurant; Metrosexuals; Hating Lauren Weisberger (related, Weisberger on her boss Anna Wintour ), Jayson Blair, Blair Hornstine; Larry Wachowski's possible sex change; anything on teenaged stars, speficially Hilary Duff (related, her nutty fans); the New York City Blackout Edition; and our Events page, brought to life by editor Mindy and intern Willa.

Everyone is clambering for the rubber take on the Hermes Birkin and Kelly bags, nicknamed Jelly Kellys, and now they are practically as hard to get as the real things, as the Post reports. The Times wrote about designer Steven Stolman's master stroke of importing the rubber satchel from Italy, to sell at high-end retailers like Henri Bendel's, but then was faced with cease-and-desist letters from Hermes. Of course, this has created even more demand for the poor-girl's Hermes bag. Now Jelly Kelly-type bags are on eBay, as well as other retailers like Shop Intuition. And no, Gothamist doesn't know where else to get them - sorry.

The popularity of the Birkin and Kelly bags has made French fashion house Hermes even more protective of its top tier brand, as Ginia Bellefante reports in the Times. Not only is the proliferation blatant knock-offs being tracked down and stopped, Hermes is taking action against anything that seems to remotely impede on - even rubber plastic versions that are clearly not Hermes. An interesting look at brand stewardship and maintenance, Gothamist was amused that when Hermes' lawyers give seminars to customs agents to look out for fakes, "the women agents have all definitely heard all about them."