WITHOUT FAKE: HOW TO IDENTIFY A FAKE

Tips for those who want to be confident in their purchase

The crisis, the soaring exchange rate of the euro and dollar and the approaching spring holidays are a fatal combination for those who love branded items and are not ready to spend extra money. During the season, when sales are already coming to an end, salaries are rapidly disappearing, and appetites are only growing, you just want to go from the official websites of fashion brands and department stores to groups like “Shopaholics Anonymous” or, even worse, to sites with advertisements. For those who are willing to take risks in pursuit of a desired and unattainable gift, ELLE has compiled a list of recommendations that will help distinguish the original from the fake.

A POINT ON THE MAP

The first and most important thing to keep in mind in order not to become the owner of a counterfeit is the place of purchase. Only official boutiques of the brand, official corners in large shopping centers and official online retailers can give you a 100% guarantee of authenticity - don’t be lazy to look at their full list on the brand’s website. If you buy a product secondhand, it would be a good idea to find out where and how the owner received it (especially if she doesn’t have a receipt confirming the purchase!), and then double-check the information with consultants: as a rule, they remember the collections of the last seasons and will tell you exactly what was Do they have such a model? The situation is more complicated with stock stores and websites selling premium brand goods from past collections: it can be much more difficult to double-check how and where things get to them. Reviews of satisfied or dissatisfied customers on the Internet are information that can be taken into account, but nothing more.

QUALITY MARK

How to spot a fake when choosing a branded bag or pair of shoes? Take the time and effort to get to know the brand whose product you are planning to purchase. What exactly does its logo look like? Signature stitch? Accessories? Lining? What decorative elements are iconic? What is the design of the box, boot, bag? How is the Certificate of Authenticity issued? It would be a good idea to go to the official boutique and get acquainted with the products from the current collection: even if you are going to buy something released five seasons ago, the brand’s approach to working with material has hardly changed dramatically. Look at what fabrics are used, what kind of processing they undergo, ask a couple of careful questions to the seller - often even tactile sensations are enough to notice the difference between an original item and a counterfeit. And, of course, crooked seams, protruding threads, fasteners with peeling paint and cheap fabric on the lining should immediately scare you away. If an item, although branded, is very “ancient”, it will still not be difficult to find photographs of it on the Internet: this way you will at least be convinced that it was really in the collection and on sale. By the way, some brands that openly fight counterfeits are ready to help their customers avoid making mistakes. This is what Christian Louboutin does, for example (you can read more about this on the brand’s official website in the Stopfake section).

QUESTION PRICE

Remember the expression “There are no miracles”? If you purchase a product on a dubious website or secondhand, it is the best fit: a branded item cannot cost five times less than in a boutique - unless its seller decides to organize a charity event. How to determine the original from a fake? At a minimum, don’t lose your head and take your time, but find out as much as possible about the product itself, the place of purchase, the manufacturer and the seller. If in front of you is an employee of a fashion brand or a person from the fashion industry (both are easy to check using social networks!), perhaps she received the item as a gift, and she is ready to part with it for next to nothing. One way or another, it won’t hurt to look at the owner’s page on social networks - as a rule, you can distinguish a scammer from a girl who, for some reason, is selling off her fashionable wardrobe, with a couple of clicks.

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