Coincidence?

For those who know me, know that I worship at the altar of kate spade. Handbags, shoes, sunglasses... it's quite an addiction (a rather expensive one, if you ask Mattio). So I consider myself very familiar with the kate spade symbol, as they refer to it, the noel mark:



As a designer, I actually love it--the pattern; well, and the purse. It's an awesome graphic pattern that--right off the bat--one wouldn't associate with the preppy chic that is kate spade; however, I think it's so complimentary to that brand. And, hello? It's kate spade.

So today, I'm at the gym, flipping through Blueprint magazine, when I came across an article on snowboarding. And in true Martha Stewart fashion, the article goes on to coordinate an outfit for a day on the slopes. And in coordinating that outfit, they also pick out a snowboard. This snowboard, as a matter of fact:



So, of course, my first thought is, "OMG! kate spade makes snowboards (of course Martha Stewart would uncover that)!" But then I take a closer look at the pattern. Wait a minute... that's not the classic noel mark... that's a knockoff!

Check it out, the 2 patterns are awfully similar. The slight difference in the K (kate's is more rounded) and the fact that only the K's repeat in the K2 pattern are what separates the two.

Actually, it looks like it could be a kate spode--that's what Mattio and I refer to as a kate spade knockoff. Hmmm... I might just have to head on down to Chinatown to investigate :)