If you saw someone with a Louis Vuitton bag ...

[HauntedArmchairOfDoom]

... and it was a fairly small bag, and the person was obviously not a millionaire, but just sort of pretty average, would you assume it was a fake?

I've wanted one all my life , and have A PLAN. I'm having a HUGE wardrobe clearout and am going to put the money I get from getting rid of heaps of clobber and unworn shoes towards a Posh Bag (I've never had one), and have my heart set on LV, but DH says there's no point because people will just assume it's not real.

What d'you think? Are my girlish dreams all for naught?

Here's on on Vestiaire any good ?

Please do not buy counterfeit or fake bags - you are supporting organised crime in a worst case scenario. Awful. Just get a high street rip off/similar style but don't support counterfeits.

OP - go for it if it gives you pleasure and yes, I would assume it is real.

I own several Mulberry bags and they make me happy and where I work (City) most Mulberry bags are genuine - you can tell when a bag is fake, unless it is an excellent copy.

That's a really good point World - I actually thought the eBay one looked genuine (after obsessively close comparison with photographs) but the point is I have no idea what will arrive in the post. Also, I emailed the seller to ask about a certificate of authenticity and the reply was a little incoherent and poorly-spelled, which might mean nothing or might mean a lot (the answer was 'no').

The one that kicked off this whole business is this one on Brand Alley, which we can assume is real (unless Brand Alley have been charlatans all this time, which I suppose is possible!

That's the very one on Vestiaire Yoni and cheaper than the BrandAlley one! But wouldn't the same apply (with regard to it being a private seller therefore possibly a fake)? Or is Vestiaire well regulated??

Thanks by the way!

Also if and when I do get one I fully expect to be spotted on the street by MNetters

I do so agree about knowingly buying counterfeits, Chisle. I won't even buy clothes from shops that have poor manufacturing ethics never mind out-and-out criminal activity.

I wouldn't notice that you had such a bag. I wouldn't recognise one if it came up and introduced itself to me.

I sometimes wonder if I am the only person in the world who doesn't notice people's bags, watches, jewellery, purses, shoes, cars. Its like my brain filters them out. I am 100% more interested in what a person has to say than how they adorn themselves.

I'm more interested in how most people adorn themselves than what they say, personally

Vestiaire are like a middle man, the seller posts the item to them, they check the condition and authenticity, then post it to you. So yes it's authentic! But LV flies in and out of Vestiaire - nearly 4000 LV items listed on there at the moment but that's the only one of that bag, so be quick if you're buying! I bought a new without tags Marc Jacobs from there and was satisfied with process, pricing and authenticity, def recommend them over EBay for second hand designer stuff.

Yes, I don't really bother speaking to people, I just stare at their baubles and trinkets and sneer or smile accordingly

Thanks Yoni, I shall discard eBay with a snort of derision. I had never heard of Vestiaire, so that's helpful to know.

I love that Vestiaire site. Has anyone sold on it? I have a few designer items that I can't justify keeping - some Gucci shoes that no longer fit my post-pregnancy feet, a Versace belt that would be tight on a size 8 and a pair of Louis Vuitton shoes that I have never worn.

However, I have no receipts for any of them, I'm not that organised and I've had them in my cupboards for several years. Do you have to provide proof of purchase?

Ha ha at whole LV luggage sets

I have pretty much the whole LV shebang .. Live in Dubai ..

But they're real (everyone here assumes they're the Karama knockoffs) I sometimes totally straight faced tinkly laugh and mock horror you don't think I'd actually spend ALL that money on LUGGAGE?

I can tell a fake. I'd rather have a no brand nicely made bag than a sweatshop label

OP go for it .. it doesn't matter what other people thinkI love bags some people don't understand (the bench crew) but it makes me happy and will last for years.

My birthday is coming up .. Am coveting the new Smythson teal collection.

Haven't sold on it, only bought - I think commission is quite high though. But by the time you've sold on Ebay and paid PayPal fees etc it's probably comparable.

ROARING at Labootin

I love it that you pretend real are fakes. Plus, I want to be you even for just like an afternoon. I would perch on a really massive LV trunk and pretend to be Wallis Simpson.

The thing is. Imagine the kind of person who wants a real LV bag. Right? Are you imagining her? Okay, now imagine the exact opposite, and that's me I am not Jo Brand

But still, there it is. And if it's wrong, I don't want to be right. I am just waiting for the money to appear in my bank account then either the BrandAlley one or the Vestiaire one is mine. MINE I TELL YOU.

It depends on what you would be wearing imo

haunted this site malleries ,is very reputable.i havent bought anything from them but they have a huge selection of celine,chanel and LV.

Go for it. My 19-year-old niece has one she bought with her own money.

Oh gosh Santa that's wonderful - they have just the one too, at a really good price (if my dollar to sterling calculations are correct, which they probably aren't). And great photos showing how UTTERLY LOVELY it really is

Expat getting one from your own money at 19 is pretty amazing Wish I'd had that kind of forethought!

You're not buying it for anyone else or wearing it for anyone else so if you've been savvy enough with your pennies to afford it then go ahead and treat yourself I say. My days of worrying about what other people think are long gone....

I've done it.

I feel a bit lightheaded.

Squee! Congratulations

I have a £900 Mulberry Alexa I'm pretty average not a millionaire, I often spot other Alexa's when I'm out on average looking people! Enjoy your new baby bag!

I have a few LV bags although they are not ones with huge monograms on. I am quite average and no one has ever assumed that are fake. Athe do get commented on a fair bit but not everyone knows they are LV.

I tend to assume the monogram ones are fake, but not in a negative way, just that they have spent less than others.

I hope you enjoy your bag.

Thank you

I literally do feel quite sick. I opted to get the one from BrandAlley - it was a tiny bit more expensive than getting it from an auction site but I think as it's my PFB first one I'd better do it right.

ARGH!!!! I want it to arrive NOW

Congratulations Haunted ! I'm getting LV bag for my birthday this year...I've always wanted one, don't care if other people think its fake, because I will know its real...and dp and I are making pilgrimage to Edinburgh LV store so that we can be called Sir and Madam and have my new darling cosseted in tissue paper and put in a schmancy carrier bag!
I haven't been this excited about a birthday present since I was 10 and got a red radio so that I could listen to radio 1 in my bedroom

Congratulations! That light-headed feeling is lovely and perhaps a little addictive .

enjoy your bag

but was going to say that i know people who have the monogrammed LV bags and they look v obvious in my opinion - Sorry - but I dont like them. but thats just my opinion.

Meanwhile - I bought my lovely Anya hindmarch maxi satchel for my birthday and nobody (apart from DM, DF (who fainted at the price) and MIL) has commented on but thats ok with me - i bought the bag for me and i love it and its not so obvious that it is an expensive handbag.

but enjoy your bag - you have worked hard for it and thats all that matters.

Yay haunted, please post a picture for us !