In January, the Jersey Shore star mentioned that she was getting into fashion. Since then, Snooki’s empire inspired by her fashion sense and tastes has expanded. While her most prominent items of the moment are slippers and jewelry, the pint-sized guidette is including sunglasses, according to a recent tweet: “My sunglass line coming out in the fall! Black frame pink writing says POOF NATION =D”

She followed it with a twitpic of one of her designs, an oversized pair of sunglasses with hot pink and black frames printed with the words “Poof Nation.”

For many fashion writers and journalists, Snooki’s fashion tastes are considered subpar. Tim Gunn, in fact, went as far as saying her style is similar to a monkey house at the zoo. But, is this the case with her sunglasses line?

While only one design, pictured above, has been revealed, it appears that the Jersey Shore castmember is in sync with the latest trends – but gives them her own style. Celebrities, as we saw a few months ago, are still keeping oversized sunglasses in trend rotation, but rather than the thick frames of five years ago, they prefer thinner designs and a palette of red, black, and brown shades.

Snooki’s twitpic shows that, for this particular oversized look, she chose the latest trend, which is somewhat surprising. Considering the Jersey Shore cast’s penchant for tackiness and rhinestones, you’d think that she’d go for the older look, especially as nearly a year ago, she was spotted in shield-style shades covered in rhinestones – even the lenses.

Nevertheless, Snooki’s style, at least from the single picture, is not subdued – but it’s not overly opulent, either. The colors and wording are her touch. The full line is expected to appear in about a week, so what do you think the rest of the styles will look like?

Recently, Salon.com ran a piece titled “Will Nostalgia Destroy Pop Culture,” in which writer Thomas Rogers interviewed Simon Reynolds, the author of book Retromania. While some may dismiss Reynolds’ remarks about no longer having “transformative decades” like the 1960s as another boomer bemoaning the current generation, his analysis extends to fashion.

Recent designer and lower-brand styles have gone back to ‘80s and early-‘90s trends over the past few years, and some looks are so derivative of 20-plus year old trends that they could be considered vintage pieces. Except they aren’t. While fashion itself goes through 20-year cycles of trends revisited, where do you draw the boundaries between “vintage,” “vintage-inspired,” and “derivative”?

Around the same time the Salon.com article was published, actress Amanda Seyfried was spotted with a handbag that no one could identify on fashion blogs and Twitter. Although no one has yet to determine the brand, the actress’s incorporation of the purse brings up the question: is it vintage or vintage-inspired?

While the worn look of the bag may suggest the latter, designers can make products that are intentionally worn. Remember the ripped and stone-wash jeans of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s? At the same time, because no one has been able to identify the brand, the handbag is likely vintage – or a style that just hasn’t appeared yet.

Purchasing vintage and vintage-inspired fashion can have its drawbacks. The former can be worn and is seldom in new condition; although used, such fashion is the equivalent of antiques and priced just as high as new items on the rack. Vintage-inspired fashion, on the other hand, can start to become derivative, mirroring the mid-‘00s musical milking of Joy Division. Vintage inspired items, such as this Ralph Lauren handbag we discussed a few months ago, too can come with a high price tag, one, such as for this Native American blanket bag, that may be unjustifiably high.

At the same time, some brands, particularly for eyewear, are uncovering their old styles and revamping them. Brands such as Ray Ban, Carrera, and Persol could easily be mistaken as vintage but, because of the neutral and unisex looks revisited, are simply considered “classic” and transcendent of trends.

Designers and fashion magazines seldom talk about men’s sunglasses. It’s as if just black lenses on a metal frame will suffice and simply go along with the latest trends, be it a wraparound, aviator, or wayfarer style. More recently, metallic lenses have turned into a trend for men, although such sunglasses often need more care. However, if you’re a guy looking to do something different with your eyewear and still be in style, the latest look for men is geometric sunglasses.

Celebrities from B-list actors to A-list rappers have been seen sporting these styles recently. Ryan Phillippe, for instance, was spotted in angular Miyagi Dominic 1421 sunglasses. Much like wayfarers, the Miyagi sunglasses worn on Phillippe have an overall angular look softened by rounded corners; with a thin metal frame, these sunglasses can look good on just about any guy.

George Clooney, similarly, choose a neutral geometric look with a pair of Persol sunglasses. With rectangular-shaped lenses, Clooney’s Persol sunglasses have a hint of a ‘90s wraparound style. But, the ‘90s are supposedly coming back, so such a look won’t make you seem dated.

Granted, the look appeared in a music video, but the square-shaped shades worn by Will.i.am give Ray Ban’s Wayfarer Square a run for its money in terms of angularity. Designed by Mykita in conjunction with Rad Hourani, these to-the-extreme square sunglasses go in line with the Black Eyed Peas’ general fondness for less-traditional eyewear.

No matter if the rounded square style of Miyagi Dominic or the sharp angles of Mykita sunglasses appeal to you, not everyone should wear geometric shades. The angles particularly benefit those with softer or round faces, as the style adds some definition. Nevertheless, those with angular visages – square jaw looks – should think twice about going with geometric styles. While the shapes may seem congruous, the angular design of the sunglasses can make a person’s square-shaped face appear too boxy.

Where do you draw the line between “designer inspired” and simply a “knockoff”? As long as knockoff handbags, and products in general, have been on the market, the dividing line has clearly been imitation, from the design down to the nameplate. But, what if the imitating product has some strong similarities but no nameplate? What do you call it then?

Designer Monica Botkier calls it a straight-up knockoff. Last week, she wrote a blog post accusing the Kardashian sisters’ new collection for Sears, the Kardashian Kollection, of copying one of her handbag designs, the Botkier Clyde. In her post, Botkier wrote, “We were one of 50 designers supporting the effort to stop design piracy and knock-offs. Ironically we just discovered below how our Botkier ‘Clyde’ was simply copied by Kardashian Kollection for Sears. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery but we don’t think so…”

If you compare the two handbags, seen above, the only difference appears to be the leopard print. Both bags have the same shape, diagonal zippers, and side pouches. At the same time, the Kardashian sisters, in a statement, claim these similarities are just a coincidence and accuse Botkier of copying Balenciaga:

Jupi is nevertheless investigating the matter, as we take this issue seriously. In any event, it is our understanding that the Kardashian Kollection bag in question has not yet been offered for general sale. Nor is it available for sale online. Pending our investigation of the matter, we have undertaken appropriate preventative measures regarding the handbag.

The Kardashian Kollection handbag was independently created. Jupi was surprised to hear of the complaints by Botkier since Jupi is aware of preexisting handbag designs bearing substantial style similarities to the 2009 Botkier Clyde handbag, dating back to 2005. Jupi was also surprised by Botkier’s statements in the media about purported “knock offs” of Botkier handbags in light of other comments in the media noting the similarity of Botkier bags to preexisting Balenciaga bags.

What do you think? Do you think these similarities are a coincidence? Should the Kardashian Kollection bag be considered “designer inspired” or a knockoff? And, is the fact that Botkier possibly copied Balenciaga even relevant in this instance?

Attaching a celebrity name to a product often ensures that it will sell – even for a little while. Some celebrity brands have even become successful, such as Britney Spears’, Paris Hilton’s, or Antonio Banderas’ perfume lines or Jessica Simpson’s eponymous clothing and shoes. So, considering the moderate to mega success of such brands, why wouldn’t a star want to attempt to put together a fashion line?

Robert Pattinson, the actor best known as Edward Cullen from the Twilight movies, seems to be considering such a venture. According to his Twilight co-star Kellen Lutz (Emmett Cullen), “Rob and I were talking about clothing lines, he found out I was doing one and was like, ‘I should do one.’ He’s always so hipster.” Lutz himself is involved in fashion with his Abbott & Main collection that recently debuted in the United States.

Paris Hilton, similarly, is expanding her brand overseas and into eyewear. While the heiress is no longer tabloid fodder, or at least as much as she used to be, she’s developed a successful brand that includes clothing and perfume and is expanding to eyewear, including sunglasses and contact lenses. The former Simple Life reality star said, “Every girl knows that a great wardrobe of glasses is key to getting the right ‘look’ each season. I am so excited about working with OEM, who have brilliantly interpreted my style into a range of must-have frames and cute colored contact lenses for fashionable girls across Asia.” Considering the recent hype surrounding the diamond contact lenses, what do you think Hilton’s products will look like? More importantly, will her sunglasses line hark back to her oversized signature look, circa 2006, or be more modern?

Hilton, as well, went to Manila this weekend for an opening of a luxury fashion outlet for her brand. While news outlets are primarily talking about the heiress losing two phones in flight, she is going to be in the Philippines for a week for the opening of her Hilton Fashion and Handbag store.