Fashion

HOW TO SPOT A FAKE CHANEL BAG

According to the pro

Haven’t heard of the Vestiaire Collective yet? Shame on you. This website sells all kinds of musthave designer items. This ‘Deluxe Ebay’ was set up in 2009 and already has over 4 million members worldwide.

The gorgeous mademoiselle Fanny Moizant (who is CEO of Vestiaire Collective) recently came to Amsterdam to tell us all about her company, so I jumped at the chance to head over and ask her all there is to know about scoring high-end fashion items without being ripped off.

What’s the best way to get bargain deals, Fanny?

“Everything we sell is second-hand so our prices are a lot better than in stores. However, it can still be a hassle to purchase that exact item from your wish list, which is why we provide the option of setting an alarm. It limits your search. If you’ve been looking for a specific pair of shoes for example, you can indicate this on the site and you get notified as soon as someone has that pair on offer. But you still need to stay on top of your game with highly sought after items. We sold a Hermes bag in 17 seconds the other day.”

Your website sells and buys loads of designer bags on a daily basis. How do you recognize a rip-off?

“We’ve hired a team of fashion experts who are specialized in recognizing the authenticity of a real designer bag. They look at the quality of the leather, its smell, the finishing on the stitching, zippers and thousands of other tiny details. Every designer brand has its own particularities.”

Can you tell me what these are on a Chanel bag?

“The letter ‘E’ in the logo holds a well-kept secret: The bottom line is 1 millimeter longer than the top line. Our team can see if it’s been tampered with just by looking at it. But it’ll always be hard for the layman to recognize. There are plenty of women out there walking around with a fake bag, thinking it’s the real deal.”

Don’t you spend half your monthly salary on all those sweet deals?

“Fortunately I’m not that far gone. Yet, haha. I can go weeks without buying a single thing, and then there are times where I can hardly get a grip on my wallet. Right now I’m wearing a Hermes bracelet that I just couldn’t resist either.”

Are you more of a shoe-girl or a bag-girl?

“Definitely a shoe-girl. Bags aren’t really my thing, but shoes… I could never have enough of them. I love every pair by Gianvito Rossi, whether it by high heels or sneakers. But a nice Acne loafer goes a long way too.”