As a huge Kipling fan I find it very frustrating when I come across counterfeit bags particularly when I see them being being passed off as the real thing on auction sites. I love these sites and have managed to track down some beautiful "vintage " Kipling items for my collection over the years however I would urge potential bidders to exercise a degree of caution before bidding.
Many people come home from holidays abroad with a collection of poorly made fake bags they have picked up from shops and markets some are easy to spot but the counterfeiters from the Far East are sometimes quite clever using fabrics and prints that closely resemble genuine Kipling ones and copying the zip pulls, insignia or bag furniture which can be quite deceiving when posted and photographed on an auction site and described as “genuine”. So what should you be looking out for?
Here are my top 5 tips to spot a fake …
Design – Bags do not always closely resemble a genuine Kipling design. Often they look like a couple of styles or collections cobbled together. For example City Collection trim on an If Collection bag
Lining – Watch out for logo lining used by Kipling in their luggage, Hip Hurray and older City Collection bags appearing in what is claimed to be a bag which in design looks like a basic or If Collection Bag
Zips – Uneven, cheap looking, metallic when you would expect to see self-coloured and odd looking pulls that don’t look at home on a basic or if bag. Sometimes they look genuine until you check the spelling of Kipling embossed into them!
Finishing – Badly finished, hanging threads and bad construction not consistent with the quality you would expect from Kipling
Monkey – One of the easiest ways to spot a fake. Check the position of the label it should be on the left arm not attached to the monkey’s body. Don’t worry if the monkey has a yellow name label older monkeys from the USA had a yellow label and they are perfectly genuine. Older monkeys may have a white label they are also genuine just less common nowadays. Next check the expression the face may have odd looking eyes, the face have marks and the mouth somewhat downturned. The shape is often squashed looking with the feet in the wrong place so it falls over! Finally check the name of the monkey, a large proportion of fake Monkeys are named “Andy”. Quite often the monkey colour won’t match the bag and they tend to be made in just a few colours but most often they are black. Watch out for monkeys with bells attached too.
I hope that you find these tips useful and help you to avoid the disappointment of buying a counterfeit Kipling item.