Luxury fashion isn’t for everyone, but for a lot of people with a keen interest in clothes and beauty, buying high-end branded clothes is their vice and something they love to spend their money on. As the name suggests, luxury fashion often comes with a luxury price tag, meaning there are lots of counterfeit suppliers out there who look to make big money form fake clothes.
As someone who is into fashion, buying a fake designer item is a worst-case scenario. Sometimes it will be obvious if something isn’t authentic, but there are a number of suppliers out there who are getting better at making items seem like the real deal.
To help prevent you from being scammed, we’ve put together a guide on how to tell if designer items are authentic or not.
Material
High end fashion houses use quality materials to make their clothes from – many of which are based in Italy and sourced responsibly. There is a definitive difference between cheap fabrics and quality ones, and this is the number one way to tell if an item is fake or not. For example, the weight of a genuine Palm Angels t shirt will be heavier than a counterfeit option, as will the material used on a legitimate Mulberry bag as opposed to a fake one.
Stitching
Alongside the material, another obvious sign of a fake clothing item is the stitching. Counterfeit suppliers don’t have the same attention to detail that fashion houses have, so things like loose threads and uneven stitching tracks are commonplace. With this in mind, make sure you’re closely looking at how things like hems and seams have been sewn together, and keep an eye out for any unevenness or loose threads, including around labels.
Fonts
Counterfeit suppliers are getting better are mimicking fonts used by fashion houses like Dior and Burberry, but they’re not 100% identical. Spotting the difference in fonts used on labels and packaging isn’t always easy, but if you have a genuine item that you can use as a reference point, it will be easier to notice slight differences. You’ll be looking for changes in the weight of the letters and the spacing between them.
Buttons
Most luxury fashion retailers engrave their logo onto buttons and zips. Fake suppliers don’t tend to have the means to do so, and if they do, it’s typically poorly done. If you’re buying a designer coat or shirt, you should find it comes with engraved buttons where the logo is straight and the button feels high quality.
Packaging
The final thing to look out for when buying designer clothes is the packaging. Luxury packaging is something that is heavily associated with high end fashion brands, with every item hand-wrapped and packed with care. You should find a lot of tissue paper that has been neatly folded and sealed with a branded sticker, and it should sit flush within a box or bag.
If the item you order is rattling around the box, it’s likely not genuine. Likewise, if there is a lack of cushioning to protect the item, or if things like tags and packaging slips are missing, you’ve probably bought a dud.
Summary
If you want to be sure the item you’re buying is 100% genuine, your best bet is to go directly to the fashion house of your choice, either in store or online. That being said, there are a number of retailers out there who supply genuine designer items at a discounted price, but filtering the real from the fake can be hard. Hopefully these tips will help you to better identify an authentic item from an authentic one.