According to Women’s Wear Daily, Alexander McQueen is suing Steve Madden Ltd. over allegations that Madden’s shoes copy McQueen’s Faithful bootie a little too much. This shoe style has been seen on Hollywood’s ingenues for quite some time now, especially on the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Rihanna. Madden’s shoes are seen in mall shop windows all over this great country of ours. McQueen’s can only be had for a pretty penny (MANY pretty pennies) in limited locations.

I myself, not being an intellectual property lawyer NOR a moneyed fashionista, can never tell where the line is drawn when it comes to designer “borrowings.” You certainly can see trends trickle down from Paris’ runways all the way down to budget lines. For example, Nine West’s Gia Boutique 9 shoe, with its towering high heel and jaunty bow, looks a lot like something from high end shoe designer Christian Louboutin or from Hollywould shoes. What keeps these other shoe designers from leaping down the throats of their more budget-conscious competitors? Why doesn’t Abercrombie & Fitch constantly sue the living beejeesus out of American Eagle Outfitters for nipping a bit of their active-wear vibe? Someone with more legal expertise than I will have to fill us in. (I won’t even get into the super cheapie knock-off world. According to the the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, “Counterfeiters do not pay their employees fair wages or benefits, have poor working conditions, and often use forced child labor.”)

So, ladies. Do you buy the trickle down “designer-derived” shoes & bags, or do you hold out for the originals?