The Thrifty Runner: …But is it Real?

Thrift stores are notorious for selling fake purses. (I’ve come to terms with the fact that if I ever come across a real Louis Vuitton, I need to get a lottery ticket.) I‘ve gotten really good at authenticating vintage Coach (which I posted about several years ago) and Dooney and Bourke bags because they have such a following that there’s a lot of information from a simple Google search. I have also come across a few Kate Spade and Marc Jacobs bags so I have some practice knowing what to look for in a real designer purse. A few times, I’ve come across Longchamp purses and those are also pretty easy to authenticate (this website is VERY helpful!) But what about their other bags? I came across this little backpack just sitting on top of a rack and paced the store trying to find any information that would help me figure out any information that would help in my search.

I managed to find a few listings for a similar bag, but with just one detail off from the one in my hands—some had different colored hardware, others had a plain canvas lining, but nothing that looked exactly like it. The bag was $10, so I decided to take a chance and it would give me some extra practice authenticating. It is a little beat up, but nothing that a little cleaning (and maybe a dab or leather dye here and there) can’t help.

Before I gave the store my money, there were a few little details that made me feel fairly confident. For one, fake leather feels terrible. It usually feels plasticky, doesn’t lay nicely, and sometimes it also smells pretty bad. This had a nice feel to it, looked like a lot of pebbled leather bags and it also actually took some effort to get it to sit and stay up. The stitching was also in good shape so each stitch has a fairly even length (in a line of stitching the stitches should all be the same—none should be longer or shorter than another one), and be in a nice flowing line so you can almost imagine someone took their time when sewing this bag.

The stitching on the strap is perfect!

Same by the zipper!

Now this is where the link for the tote authentication came in handy because most (if not all) Longchamp bags have that same iconic zipper pull of a circle with the jockey on a horse seeming to jump across.

The G in Longchamp goes in ever so slightly on the circle pull, but what about at the bottom? Usually a Longchamp bag has 1948, but this says “France” on one side, “Paris” on the other. No worries—that checks out! It’s just an older bag. The zipper also has 45 on the metal piece that goes between the teeth on the zipper. But what about the other hardware? Not all the hardware is stamped with “Longchamp” which is actually a GOOD thing. I’ve found with other designer purse knockoffs, the more a bag has the company’s name on the hardware, the more likely it’s a fake. It’s almost like the people making the fake have something to prove. Besides the zipper pulls, this bag only has Longchamp stamped on a rivet used to reinforce the strap attachment to the bag.

Another part that checks out!

The leather tag also checks out when compared to the other similar bags that I found. The stamping on the leather piece is also consistent—the ring around the Longchamp logo has the same amount of pressure all the way around, same with the logo itself even though it’s lighter than the ring. (Same with the stamp on the very front of the bag, which you can see in the first picture.) The lining also checks out because even though Longchamp mostly uses a plain canvas liner now, at one point they used a jacquard liner with the company name, the horse and either “Paris” or 1948. (I suspect they may have stitched the word “Paris” because it was made in France.)

Many of the similar bags I found online also has this stamp underneath the leather piece. The lack of a plastic tag inside is slightly concerning, but can also confirm that it’s an older bag. The stamp that appears on the top of the leather piece also shows underneath (it was hard to capture on camera.)

So at this point you know where I’m going with this—my fairly low stakes gamble paid off! This bag is a Longchamp Veau Foulonne backpack. (It took some serious searching to find the name, which also means it’s probably at least 10 years old.) What cinched it for me was also finding several bags that matched mine exactly on several resale websites, and one was on TheRealReal, which is a consignment website that specializes in designer pieces and authenticates everything that they sell.

I also took some of my fashion knowledge into my confidence in saying this bag is real. Longchamp is known for their Le Pliage nylon bags that come in multiple styles, sizes, strap lengths and colors. There are plenty of fakes out there of that style because of their increasing popularity and price point for what is considered to be a higher end bag. (And with a fantastic lifetime warranty. As of this posting, if your Le Pliage tote has worn corners or if the stitching on the handle is coming apart, you can fill out a simple form, send it in and they’ll fix it and send it back free of charge!) Anyways—counterfeiters are focusing their energy on the totes because that’s what people want right now. Are they going to focus on a random backpack that didn’t seem to be in high demand when it’s in production? Doubtful.

Before writing this post, I took a poll on Instagram asking how many people think it’s real. Here are the results: