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.

Who cares?

I have two Dior, one LV and one Gucci bag, I can’t say I’ve ever thought about other people’s bags being fake or not.

Where’s the envy?

I had a friend who bought a fake Gucci bag, knowing it was fake but just like the shape and colour and it looked perfectly fine quality. Until she was caught out in the rain one day and the bag shed dye and stain all over her genuinely expensive pale coloured coat.

I suspect you are right OP, I think there are a lot of fakes out there. Love your name

We went in to a shop in Feythie in Turkey last month, just for a look as it was a lovely shop, but was still in the centre of a strip in Turkey. The bags looked great but I presume they were fake. When I asked about the price of a little chanel quilted one he said it was 350 euros. We left but he didn't even try to stop to try barter with us. Who pays £350 for a fake bag.

Completely derailing the thread, but has anyone read Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen?

It's a story about two women who go into business selling counterfeit designer bags.

I was given a fake Birkin bag as a gift, it was bought in China and was real leather and very well made. This was a good few years ago and cost about £50. They cost about 30k so I was never going to have a real one.

My colleague had lots of designer bags, her job as an academic was for pin money as her DH was a property developer.

@TurquoiseBear same here.

I'm sure a few are real. There is a market for those products and people who have the money to pay for them.

Anyone who has ever been to southern Europe though will have seen the fakes being sold for 20 euros on market stalls or from blankets on the pavement. I volunteer in a charity shop and we see a LOT of those sort of fakes. They might look great when you walk past someone on the street carrying one, but as soon as you start to take a closer look most are cheaply made and poor quality.

I actually count on the fact people think my chanel bag is fake. Less likely to be stolen!
My friend has the most beautiful fake designer bag, you would never be able to tell.

I agree that ones like Mulberry are generally likely to be real in that they are actually affordable. However ones like Chanel are so far out of people's affordability they are more likely to be. Half the other names mentioned on the thread I haven't heard of so I wouldn't even know I was supposed to be impressed anyway. But again I subscribe to the belief you buy one for you to make you happy not others and if its the fake that makes you happy or a real one then that's OK too

I bet I could tell the difference between real Chanel and fake. It’s more difficult with LV monogram. However if you covet the real thing, nothing else comes close! The buying experience for a start.

There is a lot of tat but if you tell them that you wanted something more special they have others that are not on display! I didn't buy but a friend who lives in Istanbul was in the know and asked for some to be brought out.

In my time, I've had about a dozen real designer bags, not all at the same time. I've sold on, when I've had enough. I've probably now got 4, 2 mulberry, 1 Gucci, 1 Paul Smith.

I'm using Fairfax and Favor mostly now, I have 2 and thinking of getting the Tetbury next. F & F are know where near designer prices, I choose them because I like them, not for perceived prestige and I couldn't imagine anyone being interested.

I couldn't care less if people think they are fakes.

I know a lady who has a huge collection of fake birkins they look good quality but coupled with farah fawcett style wigs and ridiculous eyelashes, overall it doesn't scream wealth, as she thinks it does.

I have a lot of designer bags and they’re all real, inc chanel but most of those are at least 10 years old because the price hikes are ridiculous.

I always see people on here saying they assume they’re fakes but the only time I’ve seen anyone sell fakes is at a stall at a boot fair, they were quite expensive too and imo they looked fake, wrong material/lining/logos/stamping, but that’s it. Is there somewhere that sells them that I don’t know about? I’d like to see what they look like irl!

further proof that money does not buy taste or class

Yes

Even if they are designer it would still be the same product that you can buy on the high street if you pay enough. They may make them in Italy but they import the leather from China and pay their workers minimum wage. Before buying a designer bag check the ethics of the company .

The deep dives I saw on this (more than one source) said that coach is the best value and better quality than higher end ones.

Please can I see a picture of your Birkin? Would love to see it!

I assume that all branded handbags I see are fake.

I saw a woman on the train—dressed in a very ordinary way, a bit dishevelled maybe, clinging very tightly onto her Mulberry like it was the most precious thing in the world to her. I'm sure it was real, but it made me feel a bit sad. I just wondered what the story was behind it?

I have two designer pieces, a Gucci bag and a Hermes belt. I refuse to wear both now thanks to the rise in folk wearing fakes. It takes the shine off them for me.

What irks me most is children at DDs school who are head to toe in these fakes, or "dupes" as my DD calls them and she can't understand why we won't buy her the fakes. It makes other kids feel less. If you can't afford it, don't pretend you can.

I was in a cafe not so long ago and a girl beside me had lovely adidas trainers on, I commented on them and she was delighted to tell me they were fake off some website! Adidas isn't even unaffordable!!

She must have thought you looked dodgy

I know for a fact that real Gucci bags can also do this. I was told when I bought mine that some colour transfer during rain was unavoidable and so I should try not to take it out in the rain.

So am I.

I know many women with Birkins and not one of them is carrying a fake with the real one at home. Why would they? Frankly the vast majority of people that have a Birkin can afford multiple. They’re not worrying about keeping it pristine, it’s being carried and enjoyed in the full knowledge that it’s entirely replaceable