So which came first? The pattern or the Neiman Marcus designer outfit?

As I was browsing through the latest Neiman Marcus mini catalog I came across this summer top and cropped pants. The designer is Joan Vass. The cotton top sells for $155 and the cotton pants sell for $115. Mmm-hmm, you read that right, $155 and $115. By the way, I do not shop at Neiman Marcus - I can't afford it. However, my incredibly fashionable and well-dressed co-worker gives me her high end store catalogs and mailers when she is done looking at them. What really caught my eye was the design. Not so much that it is a "wow! I gotta have that and I don't care what it costs!" It was that I had purchased this Butterick pattern - 4814 - last year when it was first released. In fact, I already sewed the top, decided I disliked it and donated it to the local thrift store. Now why can't all designer ready-to-wear be so easy to knock-off?