Chloe Paddington Bag
With eBay being sued left, right and centre for selling fakes and backstreet clothes shops getting better and better at replicating top designer handbags it's becoming harder to spot a real bargain amongst all the rip-offs.
Female First show you how to spot a fake from a real designer handbag....
The Quality
One of the biggest tell-tale signs of a fake handbag is in the quality of materials used. Designers such as Chanel, Chloe and Fendi only use top quality leather which is usually soft to touch and of a consistent colour all over. However the fakers are getting wise to this and replicas can be made of good quality materials too so don't rely on this alone.
The Detail
Designer handbags are expensive for a reason. A lot of hard work goes into the detailing on them with hours of hand stitching put into making sure every part of the bag is perfect. So check any handbag for flaws in the stitching, loose threads or any other parts of the design that aren't absolutely accurate. Fashion houses have strict quality control procedures so any real designer handbag with a flaw would not make it out of the factory.
The Label
Labels are also a great way to check if a bag is real. Although manufacturers of fakes can recreate the labels of top brands they don't always get it completely right. Top designers always sew labels into the material of their handbags so any cardoard label that is just hung from the strap is a giveaway that the bag is fake.
Also check zips and clasps for branding. Real designer bags often have their logo or name on as many components as possible to combat countfeits. So have a good look at every part. The best thing to do is to examine pictures on the internet or check out the real article in bigger department stores and compare the handbag you buy to one you know for sure is the real article.
The Location
You have to use an element of common sense when it comes to buying a designer handbag at a discount price. Chloe and Gucci don't make a habit of sending shipments of stock to a Turkish market or a backstreet shop so rarely can you expect such places to be selling genuine designer bags.
When it comes to eBay the same rule applies. Usually if a seller is from the far east and has more than one of the same bag on offer you can pretty much conclude that they are fake.
The Price
Finally, if it seems to good to be true it probably is. If you see the latest Marc Jacobs bag being sold for £50 it's almost definitely a fake. You have to ask yourself why this person would be selling a bag that costs upwards of £600 for such a low price? The answer it's probably either a fake or stolen- either way it's best to stay well away.
Caz Moss- Female First