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.

And what??

What is the point, what is the aibu

I know but I think that leather can not be ethical because you do have to slaughter an animal to get it. But I'm also a vegetarian and really sensitive about killing animals unless you absolutely have to (disease/danger to humans). So don't really understand why someone who is ok with an animal being slaughtered in order for them to have a bag would worry about it coming from "ethical sources".

But that's just your personal views. Animals kill animals and its far more traumatic than slaughter. If an animal is killed to eat every single part gets used, nothing would go to waste. If anything not using the skin to make bags shoes or anything else would be incredibly wasteful and disrespectful to the animal.

Yes exactly - appreciate vegetarians are not going to be on board with byproducts of the meat industry but it's best to use this up versus buying "vegan leather" i.e. plastic. Depends on your priorities.

I have a genuine question. I don’t have designer bags, I’m way too frugal for that, but I really appreciate good quality clothing, accessories and shoes. It doesn’t automatically equate expensive or designer, but it does mean that I pay a lot of attention to craftsmanship, durability, materials and detail. It’s not about the price tag but quality, some of my favourite garments are vintage, bought secondhand or were handed down to me.

But having something good quality means to me that you get used to good quality, expectations change and I find H&M and co. stuff annoying and wasteful. I don’t want clothes that last a week, I don’t want synthetic materials, I don’t want bad fit, and clothes that are bad for the planet. How do you square the circle of wearing something really well made with Primark?

Surely this? If you can't tell all is well!

I have quite a few genuine Mulberry bags, one of which I wear every day but I’m often to be seen wearing Primark, Next, New Look etc clothes so my bags may appear fake. I did once have an excellent fake Alexa that was bought in China, and was complemented on my ‘gorgeous Alexa’ by a man on the tube, I’m still not sure if he thought it was genuine or fake. I can’t usually tell if a bag is fake or not but I admit to liking the fact that mine are all genuine.

I have a slight addiction to Mulberry Alexa's. I have 5 in different colours, as well as many other designer bags. All are real.
If you make assumptions about me based on my ripped jeans, metal band shirts and leather jackets then thats on you. I really don't care.

People might well think mine are fake as my clothes are from the high street, more New Look than John Lewis for example. I'm not fussed as I know they are real, they give me joy and one day my girls can have them. I wouldn't buy a designer fake though, I'd rather wait till I can afford a particular bag and some I just couldn't justify so don't have them in my collection.

Meh. I dress down most days but my main grab bag cost 4K and my purse 1k and both are Gucci. I love designer handbags.

I don’t wear Primark as their sizings don’t suit me but I have clotted ftom Sainsburys, Asda, Dorothy Perkins, Debenhams & other high street brands that are great quality & years old.

What determines whether a handbag is "designer" ? Surely a handbag purchased from Matalan or similar has been designed by someone.
FWIW- I have been around Mulberry offices and factory (went for a job interview) and they are made in exactly the same way as any other handbag.

honestly, your colleague might be onto something, a lot of the designer bags we see out and about could be reps, and most people wouldn’t know the difference unless they really knew what to look for. these days, some are made so well it’s almost impossible to tell. i’ve seen a few from hypereptime that looked surprisingly spot on, definitely makes you rethink the whole “wait until i can afford the real one” mindset.

I have numerous vintage Mulberry bags I got on Vinted, but you have got be super careful and know what you're looking for as there are loads of fakes out there. I used to report them to Vinted, but they rarely took the listings down.

Years ago, pre-Vinted, I had two top-notch fakes, a Mulberry and a Chanel, that I bought after protracted haggling in Istanbul and Dubai, but both got stolen from me during work I had done in my flat. I'm torn between being annoyed that they're gone and slightly amused that the thieves obviously thought they were real. Nothing else was taken.

I don't know how your friend would ever know in passing?? Unless it was particularly terrible. Or there were clearly some other obvious signifiers which I wouldn't want to type here as I don't want to be mean.

I might be dubious over a Hermes bag given the hoops you have to go through to get a real one. It if someone who traveled to Dubai or Turkey regularly. But outside of that no.

All mine are real as are all of my friends. I have a couple of friends who do not buy new - they're from Vestaire.