How to tell a designer handbag from an imitation.

More and more news stories are coming to light about desperate attempts to pass off fakes as genuine designer handbags.

On a recent trip to Italy, we couldn’t get from one corner to the next in major tourist areas without being offered a $30 knock-off of various high-end designers.  Many fellow tourists were tempted by the low quality substitutes proving that there is indeed a demand for fashion statement purses, even if it was a totally underhanded way to impress your friends back home.

By Michal Osmenda from Brussels, Belgium (Street sellers of fake designer handbags Uploaded by russavia) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

You don’t have to go to Italy to be offered a fake designer bag. They can be found online, in flea markets, from a friend of a friend, etc.  But investing in a designer handbag can be pricey. Many designer handbags sell for upward of a thousand dollars and true investors are looking for a quality item that lasts, not a one night stand with a handbag that falls apart during the appetizer.

1- Buy from the official boutique.  You may not get the deal you are looking for, but you can’t go wrong when buying from the stores authorized to sell your dream genuine bag.

By Fridolin freudenfett (Peter Kuley) (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

2- Check out the price.  If it’s too good to be true, it is too good a price to be a real designer bag.  Don’t bother.  Consider buying a bag from up and coming designers.  What’s not to love about Sydney Love?

Sydney Love reversible tote available at PrimaBambolina.com

3- You wouldn’t buy a car without familiarizing yourself with its specs would you?  So before buying a high end handbag, read up on it.  Does the manufacturer have trademark features that a counterfeiter might not bother with.  Details like serial number stamping, certificates of authenticity, specific lining.

4- Some knock-offs are legal knock offs.  Although it may look identical to a Louis Vuitton bag from afar thanks to its brown and gold pattern, a closer look reveals the name, logo, or designs are different enough to make them legal.

5- Study the handbags stitching for evenness, thread color, alignment.  Authentic designer handbags won’t let foul ups out the door.

6- Study the quality of the hardware and any hardware or logos that is specific to a designer that may or may not be missing, as well hardware color.  Are all the closures, buckles and snaps the same color?

The hardware on this designer’s modern diaper bag features the designer’s unique embellishment.

7- Check out the inside of the handbag.  Is the designer’s name stamped or sewn into the inside of the handbag?

This overnight bag features trademark hot pink lining consistent with the designer’s trademark playful use of colorful lining.

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