Gucci or Goochi??

I love my clothes and love certain brands. I buy them for the quality and style. I love my shoes and have paid alot for some. but I love them. I am not really a bag person I have a few designer ones but I do like them and they are practical for me to use. if you love your bag then don't worry about it. the fake market is shocking and people buying them are supporting money laundering operations sex trafficking and people smuggling. there are certain bags I wouldn't buy due to the amount of fakes I see. like the lv nerfull and the marc jacobs camera bag. don't buy stuff just to show people and be all on instragram. botegga actually doesn't have an Instagram page they are not on social media people buy cause of its quality etc. the row is another quiet luxery brand. buy cause you love and afford it

Then you don’t know many wealthy women. I know women with multiple Hermes. They dress in an understated way. Lori Piana, Bottega, The Row. Some of the bags are real. Some are fake. You’d never know.

These are handbags, not works of art. To me a bag is a functional piece, like a coat or shoes. They need to be good quality, look good and do the job they are meant to do. Does it really matter if it is a fake or not if you like the bag and the quality is good? Brand boasting is so tiresome.

Am I unreasonable to now think a lot of people own fake and I’ve wasted my money and should maybe buy a fake for when I go on nights out so I don’t worry it gets ruined.

YABU to have bought a bag for show.

if you wanted a Gucci bag you would still want a Gucci bag. Fact is you wanted to show off your Gucci bag, given you now realise lots are fake and most people don’t know.

I thought about naming them, but I’m afraid I am reluctant to, because my bag is old! I’m worried that the quality of workmanship or materials could have deteriorated in the last few years. I don’t want to disappoint.

This article explains the problem well: https://bagsandthegirl.com/20-emerging-bag-brands-you-need-to-know/

Do inspect potential purchases in person if you can. Usuf Osman, a luxury leather crafter, has some good tips: https://youtube.com/@beingyusufosman?feature=shared

I think that if I cared about having a supposedly prestige brand and bought a good fake, I would get far more satisfaction from knowing that I’d saved myself a small fortune.

I used to work in fashion a million years ago and the same happens w clothes. Same place that makes bikinis for H&M makes them for Armani. Just different materials.

Judgmental much?! I know some very wealthy women who happily buy fakes

Even experts struggle to always identify good fakes

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/04/magazine/celine-chanel-gucci-superfake-handbags.html

I accidentally fell into the world of replicas on Reddit and I’m blown away to be honest. There’s cheap copies and then this is another level!

This, I think you can always tell a fake. Not always by the item, but by the person themself.

Don’t buy the fake - although you think there is no real difference you will always know it’s knock off and using it just won’t feel so good.

Although I can’t believe nobody has suggested you just cart your stuff about in a bag for life yet. Or better still buy a trumpet or a park bench - iykyk.

I don’t think Gucci handbags are that good quality. I certainly wouldn’t buy one although I am going to get a pair of their loafers. Dh says his Gucci shoes are incredibly comfortable. He also has a pair of LV. Too ostentatious for me, but he loves them.

I buy for quality & longevity. Two brands of handbags I love which get complimented and I think you can tell the difference are Bottega Venetta & Loewe. I also like my Mulberry handbag. I’d gone into Selfridges to buy a Demellier, but when I saw them in person I thought they looked and felt cheap. It was the hardware.

Tbh I wouldn't know a designer handbag if it hit me in the face. I see people with bags that look nice but unless they have the designer name on it, it means nothing to me - and even then it could be a fake. When we went on a day trip to Turkey everybody, apart from us, came back laden with fake designer goods.

My work colleague put a picture on Instagram of her husband's birthday present to her - a designer handbag that had apparently cost £900. If it hadn't had the tag on it I wouldn't have a clue what it was.

I just don't get the designer stuff but each to their own.

I feel the same.

There's that saying, 'We buy stuff we don't need to impress people we don't know'

There are some amazing fakes around. I read that cartier are refusing to give authentication for love bangles now as they cannot tell the difference between them.

If you've bought it for the label then you may as well have got a fake. If it's for the quality and craftsmanship, or as an investment then it's worth the cost.

Agree with this. I’m really not into designer items anyway but if I wanted one I’d buy the real thing.

Never really understood the whole moody designer gear thing even back in my younger days.

I wouldn’t buy either.

I just don’t understand it.

why pay more just for something to have a label on it?

I don’t believe all the “it’s better quality” garbage; as you say, they are all made in sweatshops.

Just buy what you like. Doesn’t have to be Gucci or fake Gucci. Designed stuff is all a con.

Except if it’s a mirror replica of a non tacky bag then it won’t be tacky.

If the handles were not even leather then that was a poor fake. Top fakes are impossible to tell by anyone but an extremely experienced expert. Even then they can be fooled. without deconstructing and seeing the lining, inner stitch quality etc. it’s almost impossible to tell
What does happen is the fakes don’t tend to wear as well. But sometimes they do.
some brands now have chips inbedded. The counterfeiters are even counterfeiting those though.