To think many designer bags I see are actually fakes

[MattBerningerstrophywife]

Talking at work about designer bags and I mentioned that when our mortgage is paid off I’d maybe treat myself to a fancy bag. Colleague mentioned that many designer bags we see out and about are fake

thinking about it: many that I see carrying Chanel, goyard, LV etc bags could be fake. I would have no idea how to check or not.

Some will be fake, some won’t be.

I have 3 designer bags, none are fake.

I went for a birthday meal yesterday, I wore a top from Tesco but I also had a real Gucci bag.

There is no way to tell. Fashion is so weird now that you can see a girl in a full comfy tracksuit from Primark and a real Chanel bag.

I don't think there's as much market for fakes as when I was a teenager and there were monogrammed LVs in every market stall in the land!

I have 2 amazing quality fake Mulberry bags which I love.

Is the authenticity of a strangers bag really relevant? If you want a designer bag then get it. Personally I wouldn't buy a fake. I can't afford the bag I would buy, so I just don't get it. It doesn't feel "special" carrying a fake, feels more showy. Id rather just get one from the high street like Zara than carry a fake bag. Someone I know paid quite a bit for a "super fake". I'd rather save longer for the real thing or just get one off the high street. I wouldn't find any sentiment in it.

Unless somebody extremely polished and glam like Patsy from Ab Fab is carrying one I assume they’re all fake. Same with a lot of designer stuff.

If you can't tell if it is fake or not ( I can't) then why would you pay for the full price one? Either the bag is nice, feels good, colour is right etc, or it isn't.

There’s a lot of fake Goyard bags about

Yes my niece has some really convincing dupes (well I think they’re convincing no idea if a more ‘trained’ eye could tell?) and says a lot of her friends have fake designer bits and pieces.

Exactly! I never know why anyone would spend real big money for obvious designer styles when you see the absolute state of people schlepping around who’ve paid a tenner off Ali Express for something that looks more or less the same.

And yes, of course the quality is going be vastly different but at a quick glance (which is all anyone is going to do in reality) there isn’t going to be much difference.

I’m actually surprised at the mulberry fakes: wasn’t actually expecting them. But then again, I’ve also seen falraven and longchamp fakes, and they are more affordable than mulberry bags.
💼

I have a real Mulberry Bayswater that I got in the sale as a gift when I got my first research grant, but also have a fake Mulberry Alexa that my old boss got me from the fake market in Shangai. The clasp is broken now but the bag is real leather, so was worth the £60 it cost. It has everything they say a real one should have, so they are very hard to tell apart.

I assume people who have more experience with designer bags (than me) would be able to tell the fakes apart. I collect silk scarves and it’s very easy for me to spot a fake one, but the expertise, effort and work hours that are needed to make a real one make the whole exercise of making a convincing fake cheaply pretty much impossible.

I agree that fake Fjällräven or fake Sezane are a bit surprising, the originals are not exceptional quality to start with.

If no-one can tell then why does it matter?

I've got a couple of Mulberry bags but we live within an hours drive of Bicester and they've both come from the outlet at significant reduction. I'd never want a fake anything, I'd rather go without. I've also got rid of loads of other bags I had (like Coach, Kate Spade, Osprey) as they just seem crap in comparison.

But if makes the owner happy, then who I am to judge. We all like different things.

I recently saw a woman with THE tackiest pink Chanel trainers. Obvious market-stall fakes.

And then I saw her get in to her Bentley, and decided they were probably real. Still hideously tacky though.

I’m not remotely polished or glam.
But I have multiple real designer bags. Worth 000s. I’ve never thought people might think they’re fake. I think that’s quite funny tbh!

Depends on who has it- I work in the City and the women are wearing expensive clothes so I assume the bags are real.

On holiday somewhere with bad fakes of certain bags (say a rubbish copy of the Chanel quilted flap bag) and people with them I assume they are fakes.

Ive worked in that industry and when you know what to look for, you can spot a good proportion of the fakes. Yes, there are a lot, especially LV bags. They are widely available in Mediterranean tourist resorts and in the middle east, despite increasingly strong laws in Spain there simply isn't the resource to enforce.

It really bugs me, people think nothing of buying fakes but don't realise how much effort goes into designing and producing the real ones. Good quality ethically sourced leather, buckles & other metal trims, decent linings, manufacturing in a country with good labour laws - these things all cost.

Your cheap fake bag is made with stolen designs, low quality materials produced in sweatshops, manufactured by underpaid/poorly treated labourers. The processes are probably flushing toxins into water supplies, using chemicals that harm the environment and the workers health.

You are better off buying an inexpensive bag from a less chichi brand, with a respectable supply chain, than a fake luxury brand one.

I guess some are fakes but definitely not all. I dress like a tramp some days but carry a bag that cost £1500 🤷

I’m aghast that people don’t know they are supporting crime including human trafficking by buying fakes and are so blasé about it.

I assume most of the Chanel bags I see are fake because they are so much more expensive than other designer bags. I have one real designer bag – people probably assume it’s fake as otherwise I am not that well turned out 🤣

Yes, I'm always amazed that people don't understand this and think there's no harm in it. The human cost of fakes is high.

@TurquoiseBear same for me! I comfort myself with the thought that at least if people think my bags are fake, I'm less likely to be mugged for them

My aunt has a wardrobe full of bags, some genuine designer, a few fakes, most though are just bags she likes the shape or colour of.

As she said, they all do the same thing, whether they cost 50p from a charity shop or thousands from Chanel, she also says most people assume her real bags are fake.

I only buy designer bags and it wouldn’t bother me at all if people thought they were fake - I know they’re the real thing and it makes me feel good having a nice bag (and shoes!) I always buy decent bags and shoes but will buy clothes from the high street (I think I’m very good at only buying expensive/classy looking stuff)
I must admit I do usually assume a bag is fake if the owner isn’t polished in general and wearing slobby clothes. Good hair/teeth are also usually a good indicator of whether someone is affluent or not.

I’d feel like a phony carrying a fake bag but that’s just me.