I know I'm a little late on this, but between wrapping up coverage of New York Fashion Week, blogging about the Emmys and learning all about the work of portraitist Nelson Shanks, the fashion writer has been a bit buried.
But I couldn't let this get away from me.
On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Inquirer's deft crime reporter, Barbara Boyer, wrote an article about an alleged identity thief, 27-year-old Samia Morse.
Samia Morse |
Homegirl worked as an administrator at The Albert Einstein Health System where she supposedly stole the identity of patients, applied for credit in their names and went on shopping sprees at Neiman Marcus, amongst other high end department stores and boutiques.
When the police raided her home, they reportedly found a Gucci cocktail dress worth $1,600, a black patent leather overcoat and handbag from Prada worth $1,400. And there were $800 shoes with price tags still on them.
If this isn't an example of gross materialism, I don't know what is.
I love fashion. I really do. But when items that cost more than most people's monthly mortgages and car payments drive people to do such ridiculous things, it makes me cringe. The identity theft is Morse's fault - totally - but at some point you have to wonder when promoting such a lux and - for most of us - completely unattainable lifestyle on television, in magazines and in newspapers crosses the line from aspirational to asinine.
Are items like these really worth it? |
What do you think?
The sad thing is that even if Morse wore all of these expensive items at one time, she probably wouldn't look all that great. Because anyone who needs to steal someone else's identity to give themselves an edge has no real sense of personal style.
