[imagesouce: Reuters]

Sheesh, remember that guy above and his (infamous) leather jacket?

What a fashion statement, and apparently the pockets came into practical use when he was stuffing them full of the Guptas’ money.

Let’s talk rather of headwear, and a story that begins with wanting a red beret.

Yesterday, we covered the EFF’s new online shop, which featured everything from berets through to boot sneakers for R1 500.

At the time, the link through to the store didn’t work, but it appears that’s now sorted.

I dabbled – I know you’re keen, so here’s the link – and this was my personal highlight:

Juju and Floyd Shivambu looking very impressed with themselves.

In the same story, we also linked to https://ancproducts.co.za/, which has a wide range of ANC-branded goodies available.

An eagle-eyed reader (thanks, Deon) then sent us a link, asking if that site was flogging fake Louis Vuitton caps with the party’s branding.

For R450, you can buy ANC Cap CA003:

UPDATE: The cap appears to have been removed from the ANC’s online store. The plot thickens…

Not for me, thanks, but the design does look rather familiar.

We have the colours of the ANC, and then we have … well, that’s just a Louis Vuitton rip-off, isn’t it?

You can clearly see the trademark ‘L’, with the ‘V’ on top, but I’ll point it out clearly for you:

There she is.

Exhibit A, from Louis Vuitton’s official US site, is this ‘MONOGRAM DENIM BOB’ hat, retailing for $620:

Not only is the ‘LV’ the same, but so too are the patterns.

Also, if you’re paying $620 for a hat, you need your head checked out.

Exhibit B, again from Louis Vuitton’s site, is the 1.0 ‘MONOGRAM LEATHER CAP’, which mercifully does not have a price:

To really drive home the point, although we can’t find the official listing online, Louis Vuitton has sold these caps in the past:

Perhaps the party has permission to replicate the design, but it does seem a little odd.

If you dabble in bags, and are a fan of Gucci, you may also want to check out this, and this, both of which bear a remarkable resemblance to the world-famous brand.

Then again, our politicians have always shown a healthy appetite for the finer things in life.

Malema and Shivambu’s lavish lifestyles are well documented, and many of the ANC top brass are similarly flashy.

When you give yourself the nickname Mr Razzmatazz, for example, you need to keep up appearances.

Along with all those ministerial perks (some of which have been scaled back in recent times), it’s pretty good living.

[source:ancproducts]