HOW TO SPOT FAKE DESIGNER CLOTHING.
Introduction.
Counterfeit designer goods are readily available
these days. The internet is full of online ads for
fake clothing. The steady increase in the
flow of counterfeits is having an effect on
online traders as the level of trust from
customers diminishes. It has been suggested that
60% of the goods on eBay are counterfeit!
Actually though, it's 90% or more! According to the International
Anti Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) about 18% of
the counterfeit products seized
by U.S. Customs each year are made up of
fashion-related items. If you intend to
shop online for clothing then we recommend that
you steer well clear of eBay.
The good news is
that LIMELITES have been trading in designer labels for
many years in the UK and we consider ourselves
experienced and adept connoisseurs of most high
end clothing labels. Now that we are
trading here on
www.limelites.co.uk, we have decided to share
our knowledge with you through this guide.
The aim of this guide is to educate you and
thereby allow you to make informed online
purchases. We hate fakes and we want to
prevent you from buying them! Read on!
We have encountered many
fake garments in our time in the trade, but having dealt directly with
real quality for so long in our direct commerce
with Juicy Couture, Firetrap, Evisu and such
like, it's
not difficult for us to tell what's real and what's
not. It is now time to share our knowledge
with you!
Pre Purchase
Guide.
OK,
we all know that not everyone can afford to shop
on the Juicy Couture or Dolce & Gabbana website.
We are all bargain hungry by nature and that's
why we find ourselves trawling through the net.
Right? So you're shopping online and you come
across a great deal on designer apparel. How do you know you're getting the
real thing and not some cheap knock off from
China?
Something to bear in mind is that the bigger the name, the more likely
it is to be faked. Counterfeiters want to shift big numbers, so there's little point in
counterfeiting barely-known designers
whose clothes don't sell as well as the
big brands. Bear this in mind.
It
can be difficult to spot fakes just by looking
at them on the net as you don't have the physical
product in front of you to inspect.
In this case, you really have to rely on your
best judgement. Here are some things to
consider before you purchase:
1.
Is
the trader using pictures of the authentic item,
downloaded from the manufacturers website, or
are they using their own photos? Put
yourself in the traders shoes here. If you
were selling authentic Dolce & Gabbana or Juicy
Couture would you be using photos downloaded
from the manufacturers website, or would you be
using your own photos with detailed pictures of
the tags and labels? Obviously, traders
who take the time and effort to photograph the
product they're selling are more likely to be
genuine traders. Traders using readily
available photos pulled from the web are really
likely to be selling fakes.
2. Look for
detailed, close up pictures of tags, labels,
stitching and details. Traders who are
selling real goods are likely to take time out
to photograph tags and labels and promote the
fact that their goods are authentic.
Traders who use smudged, blurry photos or photos
that are less than clear are usually trying to
hide something. Authentic Traders have
nothing to hide and they will always provide
clear, close up photos of the labels, tags and
detailing.
3. Continuing on
from 2. above, I need to clarify that just
because there are pictures of the labels in an
ad, doesn't mean it's real. It can also be
the case that the Trader is 'brass necking' it
and taking pictures of fake tags and labels
anyway. Fake tags and labels are really
easy to spot though. These traders wont
last long as it's just a matter of time
before their found and prosecuted.
4. Inspect the
photos of the labels and tags. Look for RN
numbers inside on the sewn label (Registered
Identification Number Database). If
these numbers are not clear from the ad, then
ask the trader for the RN number. All
designer labels sold in the UK and the USA have
their own range of RN numbers. The RN can
be traced back to an individual business, the
manufacturer, distributor or retailer and even
to the exact item. Thanks to the
registration program run by the Federal Trade
Commission, the data search should return an
address or phone number (or both) and you can
contact the manufacturer or retailer from that
point.
5.
It's usually the case that people selling fakes
on the net are not the most intelligent of sorts.
Their ads tend to look amateurish with lots of
html, flashing banners and big bold fonts with
formatting that looks childish. These
people tend to overkill the terms "100% authentic", "100% genuine" and
other enticing adjectives. They think that
the more they tell you it's real, the more
you'll believe it. Honestly, you can spot
these ads a mile off. If the goods are
genuine then they will be showing you close up
pictures of the tags, labels, details and RN
numbers! As the saying goes, a picture
speaks a thousand words.
The above few points are generalised statements
and are not brand specific. It does become
much easier to spot fakes if you're looking for
common, brand specific blunders.
Accordingly, we've taken some time to write a
few brand specific guides.
How to Spot Fake Boss and Armani Suits.
This is an easy one. All fake
Armani and Boss suits coming in from China will
have monogrammed inside linings and monogrammed
buttons. The easiest way to tell a fake
suit! Real Boss and real Armani suits,
NEVER emboss the lining and the buttons are
NEVER embossed with the company logo.
There are other ways to spot fake suits of
course, but this is the easiest way to tell
because ALL of the fake suits from China
are monogrammed. As easy as that really,
but there are other signs too. Fake care
labels will be littered with spelling mistakes
and contradictions. 90% wool and 10%
polyester is the normal on fake labels, but it's
just never seen on real designer suits.
The cardboard hang tags are easy to tell apart
too. On Boss for example, the big BOSS
will line up perfectly with the little HUGO BOSS
below it. On fake tags the don't line up.
How to Spot
Fake Juicy Couture.
There
are a few good guides out there on Juicy gear,
but all of them neglect to mention that All
Juicy Couture clothing has RN numbers on the
care label. All Juicy Couture RN Numbers
begin with RN929xxx. If you ask the trader
for the RN number on the care label and they
don't answer with RN929 something then it's
fake! There are other ways to tell
but this is
the most reliable. If the care label is
missing though, then look at the length of the
inseam (always 32" in fakes and generally 34" in
authentic items). The quality on real
Juicy Couture is the real proof though.
Authentic Juicy is absolutely fantastic quality
with an absolutely perfect fit. Fakes are
cheap and nasty and the fit is generally far too
tight. All Juicy Couture Clothing tags are
colour coded according to size. (XL; Light
Blue), (L; - Green), (M; - Beige), (S; -
Orange), (P - Pink). Another easy way to
spot a fake is that they mostly all have orange
labels, regardless of the size.
How to Spot
Fake Evisu Jeans.
First under no
circumstances should the selvedge on any Evisu
jeans be missing. The selvedge is the
stitching on the inside along the lining of the
pants leg. All Evisu jeans have double
stitched inseams and they come in three
different quality ranges; No.1 (the best denim
Evisu make); No.2 and; No.3 (the lowest quality
jeans that Evisu make). You can see these
numbers on the tag/brown patch on the back right
side of the jeans. The buttons of Evisu
jeans all say Evisu. If you happen to see
one with the godhead/Buddha man then it is fake.
All men's Evisu jeans come with five button fly,
so if you see one with a zipper then it is fake.
In summary:
1) Evisu Genes
all have 5 buttons.
2) The selvedge must be shown in pictures
when one is selling Evisu Genes.
3) The Evisu sign/gulls must be surrounded
by thick, double stitching.
4) Most Evisu have two toned stitching
colours.
5) Inside of the leg at the bottom should be
red and white stitching.
6) Inside of the jeans should have a label
saying 'Japon'.
7) Take a white damp cloth and rub against
jeans and colour shouldn't fade.
8) Buttons only, no zip fly on Evisu jeans
whatsoever.
How to Spot Fake Burberry.
Authentic Burberry patterns always
match up on the sides and on the bottom of
your item. If you have a handbag where there
is a different pattern on the sides of the
purse, it's a fake, as each side of
an authentic Burberry is identical to the
other. Fakers use
inexpensive versions of the embossed leather
or metal tag that authenticates Burberry
products. All Burberry wallets will have,
'Burberry-London' embossed on the left side. Hardware will only ever be gold or
silver toned on authentic Burberry. The hardware will always be neatly embossed
with the word, 'Burberry'. Just like other
name brands, look on the company's website
and scrutinise the item you're interested in
to check for flaws and signs of fraud.
How to Spot a Fake COACH Bag.
On authentic COACH bags, the pattern will
never be crooked and all of the stitching
will be absolutely uniform perfect. All larger COACH bags have a number
stamped onto the inside, with each numeral
leaving a slight depression. Fakes will
either omit the serial number or will just
paint numbers onto the leather without
creating an indentation into the fabric. The
signature "CC" design will NEVER be on both
the inside and the outside of an authentic
COACH product. If your COACH item doesn't
have the microscopic letters "YKK," embossed
into the zipper, then it is counterfeit.
How to Spot a Fake Louis Vuitton
Many fakes can easily be figured out simply
by checking to see if that particular style
was ever made in the colour it is available
in. Often, counterfeiters choose to create
their own patterns and colour combinations, a
quick Internet search will help you figure
out what is and isn't fake. Next, before
handing over hundreds of pounds, make sure
that every single detail on the bag you're
about to buy is also on the bag in actual
department stores. Fakes often have extra
feet, a different lining and other details
that are not quite right. Authentic LV
handbags go through a rigorous quality
check, so if stitching and patterns are
remotely off, then it's a guaranteed fake. Also,
Louis Vuitton products will NEVER go on sale
in a reputable department store it just
doesn't happen, so buyer beware if a trader
suggests that they are able to offer it at
such a low price because they got it on
sale, they are lying.
Post
Purchase Guide.
Once you get an item in the post, it
will not be hard to tell if it's fake.
You're now able to inspect it physically
and there quite simply is no comparison.
Fakes look very cheap because they are
cheap. Authentic clothing is
always heavy, high quality material and
the workmanship id always of an
extremely high standard. Fakes are thin and flimsy,
made from inferior fabric and usually
they are easy to prise apart at the
seams due to poor quality stitching.
Here are the things you should be
looking for after you receive your
goods:
1.
Many of
the Chinese knockoffs come in plastic
packaging with the company logo printed
on the outside. This is usually a
sign that it's fake, but not always.
If your goods arrive in packaging like
this then it should make you question
the authenticity immediately.
Juicy Couture NEVER comes in such
packaging, but fakes pretty much always
do. Exceptions to this rule are
Evisu, who do tend to ship their
garments in this type of packaging.
2. One of the biggest giveaways of
fake designer clothing is the material
the product is made from. Nearly all fakes
are cheaply made using low cost, inferior
fabrics and cheap labour. Examine the garment
and look in detail at the stitching.
Poor
quality is always apparent in the fine details. The stitching on a designer item will
always be superior. The stitching
in cotton garments will will match the
fabric and in most instances
you shouldn't even be able to see it.
After all, that's what design is all
about. Examine the inside of the
garment. Where you can see it, the
stitching should be tight and even,
something you simply won't find on the
fakes, where quality is far less
important than quantity.
3.
The proof is in the pudding as they say.
Try the garment on! Fakes are
pretty much always small made. If
you've bought a size S and been sent a
size M then something is not right!
If the garment feels tight or the fit is
weird then it's likely a fake!
Counterfeiters have real difficulty
reproducing the professional cut and fit
of designer brands and fakes will always
fit badly. This is particularly
noticeable in jeans and trousers where
the inseam trends to be far too short
and the waist is too tight compared to
normal garments of the same size range.
Sleeves tend to be too short and the fit
generally is poor. These are the
things that counterfeiters just cannot
master.
4.
Look inside the garment at the care
label where you will find an RN number (Registered
Identification Number Database).
If these numbers are not present,
something is amiss. All designer
labels sold in the UK and the USA have
their own range of RN numbers. The
RN can be traced back to an individual
business, the manufacturer, distributor
or retailer and even to the exact item.
Thanks to the registration program run
by the Federal Trade Commission, the
data search should return an address or
phone number (or both) and you can
contact the manufacturer or
retailer from that point.
What to do if
you find you've been landed with a Fake.
Traders who trade in fake merchandise of any
kind risk prison sentences and asset seizure.
It is a serious crime and it is frowned upon
more and more these days by the courts.
Sentences of 6 years are not uncommon in these
cases!
In
the UK, contact Trading Standards at
tradingstandards@north-ayrshire.gov.uk
giving details of the website, trader and
contact information (both yours and theirs). Trading standards will generally
be back in touch within a day. They do act
quickly where fakes are concerned as there is a
lot of hype right now since judges have been
making examples of fakers with lengthy prison
sentences.
In
the USA, dial 1-800-report-a-fake
(1-800-737678-2-3253)
Also, in the UK, if you
unknowingly purchase fake designer
clothing then you are protected through the ‘Distance Sellers
Act’. You have 7 days to return the goods
without penalty (full refund). Also if
you use your credit card you can request
your card issuer to do a cash back as
the products was not accurately
described. Similarly, if you paid
via Paypal then you are able to
report a claim and get a full
refund from Paypal.
If you have any concern about
being scammed please get
involved! Take action!
Summary.
It used to be easy to spot fakes but it's
getting harder and harder to tell the
difference. As the factories and
technological advancements in China become more and
modern, they are also getting better and
better at ripping off big brand names. If
you're not wise to it then you really have to be
very careful. However, if you've read this
guide then you will be much less likely to be
duped.
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