Spotting A Fake
There is a lot of buzz in the fashion world about legitimacy and copyright. Designers in America have been, ever since copyright laws were formally passed, pushing for apparel and design copyrights to be addended to them. So what’s the big deal? If it looks like a gucci and I liked the style of the design why does it come upon me to nitpick? People are divided, largely along financial lines I might add, on this issue: Who cares if its a Fucci or a Phooey Vuiton? I’ll never tell and you’ll never know!
Au contraire mon frere!
While there is something to the concept of “paying for a name”, much of what you pay for in designer costs are legitimate costs: high end material, professional seamstressing, original pattern, copyrighted print or pattern (depending on the country its in and their copyright laws), and then name licensing. Some fabric is simply more expensive than others for a variety of reasons (ease and malleability, perfection of weave, rarity of raw materials, etc.). Don’t think for a minute that an eye for style won’t notice the quality difference in leathers, cottons, silks, or wools between an original and a reproduction. Most discriminating eyes can look at an item and tell if care was put into its production.
Translation: Lady at the wal-mart checkout…we know your bag is fake.
So What?
This is where it comes down to taste and personally, I prefer to have the real thing if I can manage it. If you don’t then it is a matter of opinion whether that is okay or not (I’ll spare you the lecture on child labor/china). But to those who do prefer to “keep it real” on the cheap, here are some tips for you:
1. Control numbers:
If you are buying an accessory on ebay and it claims to be authentic, do not bid based on the fact that it has tags or bags or boxes. These things are easily purchased wholesale from china along with the fake wallets/sunglasses/bags themselves. Think to yourself: how many times have I seen a sample credit card or auth card? Did it include a number that was obviously fake?
Example: Gucci wallets will NOT be under the control number 1234567890. Never! All auth numbers on wallets are usually also stamped into or printed into the wallet itself. If this isn’t the case…return the purchase or report the seller to ebay or BOTH!
2. Logos:
Do your homework on the logos and study auction pictures carefully! Any misprint on the fabric or irregularity should throw up a red flag. Stock from a designer is heavily controlled for quality standards and chances are you haven’t happened upon an irregular but a small design difference that a faker has used to escape culpability for fraud or copyright infringement. Study the logos on respected and legitimate e-tailers or retailers that provide similar products until you can basically tell in your gut when you aren’t looking at a perfect print. If you think the camera is at fault…ask the seller to take a better picture of the item if possible…if the answer is no or there is no answer, don’t bid!
Example: Louis Vuitton bag iterations are in the hundreds to the point that if you didn’t get it from the retailer…you are probably carrying a fake. Check the alignment and placement of the pattern from a legitimate bag against the one you are considering bidding on…then check the dust bag against real photos…then check the seams…Louis bags will be consistent in the pattern placement and alignment and will: NOT come with plastic around the handles and NOT have hanging tags and NOT have stamps in the vintage purses and NOT have buckled seams or imperfections in the sewing.
3. Seller:
If the seller seems like they are hosing you….THEY ARE HOSING YOU. Don’t think for a minute that all ebay sellers care about you like a department store or boutique owner might. There are some good guys out there but be wary. Also, the most important thing about the good guys is that they will be prompt and knowledgeable about their own products…if not…RUN FAR AWAY! If the seller doesn’t know how the item is authentic it could be for two reasons: they are selling it for someone else or were given it and legitimately don’t know much about it OR they are willfully keeping important information from you, is it worth the gamble?
Anywho…hopefully that will help some people out when making purchases here and until next time…toodles!
K