She may work for luxury stationery brand Smythson, but Samantha Cameron isn't above dabbling in design's lower-end. Mrs C has been roundly castigated by the editor of Elle Decoration, Michelle Ogundehin, for buying a rip-off of a designer lamp – 1962's Arco lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni – for a fifth of the price of an original.
Ogundehin called her "cheap, hypocritical and fake" on her blog, writing: "That's all we need, the endorsement of faux-furniture by the prime minister's wife." She argues that buying reproductions disrespects the legacy of the designer, suggesting originals are worth their price tag because of the skill involved in making them. An original Arco lamp currently costs £1,372 at Heal's and The Conran Shop. Sam Cam's fake cost her £250 from Iconic Lights. That was her real crime – she could have got one for £199 at Barker and Stonehouse.
Arco is one of a select club of arguably overpriced classics that have been successfully, and legally, reproduced. Here are the top five sellers:
• The Eames lounge chair and ottoman, £898 from Interior Addict (original: £4,208.35, from Heals).
• Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona chair, £379 from The Furniture Market (original: £4,572, Utility Design).
• Arne Jacobsen's Egg chair, £299 from Milan Direct (original: £3,996, Utility Design).
• Eileen Gray's side table, £79 from Milan Direct (original: £575, Aram).
• Poul Henningsen's PH lamp, £150 from Iconic Lights (original: £584, nest.co.uk).
