Can you tell an Original from a Fake?

Obviously you would know a fake designer bag (or an original copy) from an original designer handbag when the former costs less than 100$ & the original costs more than thousand dollars. But is the huge difference in the costing of an actual designer handbag to a knock-off the only difference?

You call yourself a brand freak, but do you really know how to spot an original from a copy if they are both kept infront of you?

Worry not TSC is here this time with a very interesting post to educate all of you on ‘How to Spot an Original from a Fake’

Last year on my Birthday my mother gifted me a Louis Vuitton Speedy 30 Handbag.I thoroughly inspected the bag to really know why these bags cost a fortune. That’s when I realised that I wanted to make all my followers aware of all the detailing that goes into a luxury designer handbag. Some details might be specific to the Speedy handbag (so don’t murder me if you end up choosing this as your first LV Bag rather than the typical Neverfull Bag)

Me with my LV Handbag at the Burj Khalifa in dubai.

Before we get into authenticating a designer handbag lets get some facts straight–
A legal imitation is “designer-inspired” but not a direct copy. Provided such a bag does not claim to be the original designer’s bag and does not attempt to use the trademarked symbols, logos, or features. An imitation can legally imitate the style and colors of an authentic designer bag while taking care of any defining features deviate in evident ways in order to avoid copyright. An imitation is actually very similar to the original but yet not the same. If looked at closely the differences can be spotted.

Illegal/fake bags put themselves across as being the genuine designer’s bag, right down to the very last logo, tag, charms, etc. Fakes copy everything about the designer bag, with no attempt to distinguish themselves as look-alikes. It is illegal to make fake merchandise, and while buying it is also considered an illegal activity.

A lot of the pointers below are generally present on all designer handbags & are not specific to just Louis Vuitton.

Packaging- All original designer handbags that are bought from the brand’s store will be very tastefully packaged & will always have a felt bag for the storage of the designer bag.

Logo- In a fake bag the logo will always be slightly tweaked, yet looking very close to the original. In an LV bag for example the flower prints aren’t the same on a fake. On a Chanel bag instead of a “C C” there will be an “O O’. The same Logo is seen inscribed onto the material of the bag & on the metallic bearings of the bag.

Some bags can have the logo upside down one one side due to one continuous piece of material being used. It yet is an original

Symmetry- On an original bag you will always have the print in perfect symmetry. All the LV for example printed on the bag are in a straight line which ever part of the bag it may be.All the flowers printed in the monogram print are all also in symmetry.

Lining- Even the lining used inside the bag is off a good quality material and shouldn’t feel plastic-y.
Stitch- The stitch on an original designer handbag is always impeccable & infact even hand stitched. Thus, actually the stitches are all at a slant unlike a straight machine stitch.

Material- The materials used in an original designer handbag are always of top quality and will never feel cheap or plastic-y. The Louis Vuitton bad has a coated canvas called the Damien Canvas as the material of the bag. The trimmings & the handle of the bag are made of pure cow hide. Even with just the smell you can prove the authentic leather. The cowhide leather infact with age tends to darken which normally wouldn’t happen if the leather isn’t of good quality.

Date Code- each and every designer handbag will have a date code on the inside of the handbag. This way the company can actually track down where and when the handbag was manufactured.

Hardware- The metallic zips are of topmost quality & most of the metal bearings will have the brand name embossed on them. Inafct the LV Speedy Handbags come with a little lock (with the LV logo on it) that can be put on the main zip of the bag.