counterfeit

On Broadway and Canal Street things appeared normal the day after the NYPD raided what it dubbed “the counterfeit triangle” of Chinatown. Tourists milled around, trying on the knock-off sunglasses and stroking the rows of fake bags hanging on the walls.

(As an aside, the word "counterfeit" implies the copies actually resemble the original and the goods on display in Chinatown would not fool even the most casual readers of Vogue.)

“Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada. What do you want? I got it all,” one man offered not so surreptitiously.

When I approached another vendor to ask about yesterday’s events, he asked me in a thick Chinese accent if I wanted to buy a designer bag. A few stalls had sheets draped across portions of their merchandise.  read more »