FAKE designer bags!!!!

[kathyjeanc]

regarding the fakes on canal, the people who sell them are so shameless about it, just displaying it out on hooks and tables.

one time when i was passing by, a whole police squad was going to each and every stand, giving out fines and forcing each shop that sells fakes to close. it was pretty hilarious. there were tourists and locals who were crowding around to see the spectacle. you can literally see, from where i was standing, shops that were second in line to be inspected and the owners were scurrying to collect everything and hide it in the back.

another time, i was looking for NYC posters to give to my brother before he went away to college, and i thought canal st would have it (big mistake). so i went into a seemingly innocent souvenir shop and asked if they had posters. the lady runs to the back room and brings out a book and shows me pictures of LV multicolore fakes. i just gave her this look and ran out of the store before having a good laugh with my friend.

[Andro]

I was wondering if anyone has heard of reputable retailers that were fooled into selling designer replicas in their own store(s)?.... I remember reading an article online a couple months ago that said ' Maxfield's On Melrose ' in West Hollywood, CA; mistakingly sold fake Louis Vuitton bags believing that the items were vintage versions. As it turns out, the Maxfield's merchandising manager was mislead by the details on the replicas that are characterists of earlier Vuitton creations... Yikes! imagine that!!

As many people know, designer bags are priced much more than the actual costs to produce them... But does anyone know of any
company(s) that sell quality hand-bags, which aren't overpriced; but actually worth about the same amount it takes to make them? Give or Take??

I know Dooney&Burke sells decent priced leather bags but those are too ugly for my taste.

[cyberfruit]

Is this Vivienne Westwood Abstract Orb Chain wallet fake?

http://www.styledrops.com/handbags-10250.html

I've never had anything Vivienne Westwood and I don't know much about this site. You guys can probably tell.

[spiralsnowman]

Originally Posted by Andro

I remember reading an article online a couple months ago that said ' Maxfield's On Melrose ' in West Hollywood, CA; mistakingly sold fake Louis Vuitton bags believing that the items were vintage versions. As it turns out, the Maxfield's merchandising manager was mislead by the details on the replicas that are characterists of earlier Vuitton creations... Yikes! imagine that!!

That's kinda hilarious, especially since Maxfield's is like one of the snobbiest "upscale" boutiques in L.A.
Their decor is all minimalist and abstract and they've been known to use security to forcibly remove regular customers when celebrities like J.Lo show up.

[spiralsnowman]

I didn't know whether to post this here or on the "Yay or Nay?" thread. It's by HYPE and sells on Bluefly for $186. It's not really a replica bag, but the Silverado influence seems pretty darn strong to say the least...

[maraschin0]

Originally Posted by spiralsnowman

That's kinda hilarious, especially since Maxfield's is like one of the snobbiest "upscale" boutiques in L.A.
Their decor is all minimalist and abstract and they've been known to use security to forcibly remove regular customers when celebrities like J.Lo show up.

How conceited that they chase the regulars away. Haha well NOW they should be careful on ordering designer items... =P I wonder where they ordered the fakes?? Somewhere not too reputable I suppose

[ohoh609]

i bought a fake balenciaga bag yesterday lol...i think that fakes are fine as long as they dont have fake logos on them

[Luxx]

Ok I'm back with pictures from Canal Street as promised! I tried to snap as many as I could. Hopefully they'll illustrate just how many fakes are down there. I've blurred out the faces of the sellers and/or any people buying things/walking around since it would be unfair to put their pictures on the net. I don't think it spoils the photos though. I was surprised by how easy it was to take pictures. One would think that the sellers wouldn't want people to take photos of this stuff but they really did not seem to care at all. Fakes are a really huge problem here but seemingly the only people who get busted are the ones buying fake Vuitton or other logo print bags. Those are the ones that aren't sold directly on the street. Instead there are sellers with sheets of paper advertising which styles they have and they lure people back to warehouses or back rooms where that merchandise is kept. Everything else is sold right in plain view.

If ever you see a person walking down Canal with a big black plastic bag its probably because they've bought a fake bag.

I've included pictures of most of the stuff I mentioned as well as a few really hideous fakes. To try and gage price I asked one of the sellers how much a revolting fake Hermes Kelly cost and the price was $350!! It wasn't even leather! Alot of these seem to be made out of this horrid vinyl material. Really cheap looking.

Of course as I snapped these people were buying them. I saw alot of people looking at the bags and/or purchasing them. I really wanted to stop them but I figured I was being risky enough. Its really odd to me since alot of the people buying these seemed to not be from NYC. They came in groups from other places to buy these horrible really cheesy looking bags. What a waste of a vacation.

Sigh, and Canal is just a jump, skip away from Soho where there's some real damn good shopping. When will people learn.

[Luna]

All the Balenciagas and that sparkly spy is great.

I think LVMH is the only handbag company to legally take action against fakes being sold on the street... or maybe I'm making that up... I forget.

[LouiseyPeasey]

Wow, Luxx, thanks!! That was really above and beyond the call of duty. Great pix - it's kind of overwhelming...

[Yasmin]

Luxx those pics are really cool. I think you have captured a social milieu there, this is really a photo-documentary. I don't know if you tend to make photo-documentaries in general but you may want to consider it if you haven't yet

PS. I wonder why there seems to be so many people carrying trashbags. (I mean actual black trashbags not slang for ugly bags.) My guess is that they sell it to you and present it to you in a trashbag? Cause I mean that just adds even more class to the whole experience.

PPS. Those pictures make me feel kind of sick of all handbags in general, know what I mean?

[masquerade]

Originally Posted by spiralsnowman

I didn't know whether to post this here or on the "Yay or Nay?" thread. It's by HYPE and sells on Bluefly for $186. It's not really a replica bag, but the Silverado influence seems pretty darn strong to say the least...

i actually think that bag is cute, and i think the silverados are hideous. i would have never thought of a connection

[bgyoshi]

Originally Posted by masquerade

i have to admit, i had a fake louis vuitton about three years ago, but i have grown up a lot since then and i think fakes are ridiculous now. i was fourteen/fifteen, i would never get another.



a couple of days ago i got back from a trip to europe, and the amount of bad fakes i saw being sold and other tourists carrying was crazy. they had fake guccis that didnt even have g's, they looked like 69s, and the louis vuittons were lx, not lv. every time i saw them at the market or whatever, i thought "who would buy something so blatantly fake?" and then i would see dozens of women carrying them.


they even had a fake louis with the x's that was like cut up, and then sown together again. i wish i had pictures, it was hilarious.

Hello there. I am new to the forum! I have been lurking around cuz I just bought a bag from efashionhouse.com and i am still not sure about its authenticity. But I was just reading around and I had to comment because I used to buy fakes and now I will never again because I've experienced real things =P But I remember when I was in Hong Kong over the winter I saw these fake LVs that were more like Ltriangle...there was line connecting the top of the Vs. Also, fake coachs were more like Os instead of C.

[Kalista]

Thanks for the pics Luxx Those are truly hideous ......

[Diorella]

Kalista, I second your views...