Check a few areas on the Dooney bag to make sure it isn't fake.
You're looking around for a designer bag but aren't sure tell a fake one from a real one. From Coach to Louis Vuitton to Burberry, each design house adds its own distinctive details to every bag it makes. Recognizing these specific marks can help you determine the difference between a knockoff and the real thing. There are a few such details you can look for when identifying an authentic Dooney and Bourke bag. If you're not shopping for your bag at an authorized retailer, check the outside, inside and embellishments of the Dooney bag to make sure it's not a fake. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Outside of the Bag
1. Look at the stitching of the bag. The thread color should match the color of the "DB" logo on the outside of the bag. If it doesn't, the bag probably isn't real.
2. Feel the bag. All Dooney and Bourke bags are made of genuine leather and should feel like leather. Some bags are made of wrinkled leather while others are made of smooth leather.
3. Look at the zippers and clasps. Some of the more colorful bags will have a rainbow zipper, while others may be made from brass or nickel. These bags are also adorned with decorative pieces called fobs. Brass fobs appeared primarily on bag models from the 1980s and 1990s. Solid nickel fobs started to appear on models made in 1990 and on. Nickel-plated brass fobs have been seen on certain bags since 1998. However, you can still find all three of these fobs on bags being produced today.
Embellishments
4. Look for a brass duck on the outside of of older bags. The duck is a small charm attached to one of the bag's straps.
5. Check for a nickel duck on the outside of newer bags. Some of the bags will have a heart shape rather than a duck, but the heart-shaped charms are very new.
6. Look for a leather duck sewn onto older bags, either onto the front or back of the bag. Some of the newer bags will have a nickel piece that is engraved with the name "Dooney and Bourke." This piece will be sewn onto the outside of the bag.
Tags
7. Check the tags located on the inside of the bag. Older bags (made between 1983-1984) will have green, red and white cloth tags sewn into the interior lining. The tags will say "Dooney and Bourke," "DB" and "Made in USA." Bags made between 1981 and 1982 don't have tags. They have a "DB," with a backwards "D," embossed into the leather. This embossing can be found on the inside leather pocket.
8. Check the tags of newer bags that were made after 1985. Look for a hang tag sewn onto the inside of the bag, right under the bag's top seam. The tag should have"Dooney and Bourke" written on it with "Made in the USA" written underneath, on the same tag. These tags are red, white and blue. Lift the tag and look for a registration number, which will be on the back of the hang tag.
9. Look at the tags of bags made starting in the 1990s and up until the present day. They will have a red, white and blue Dooney and Bourke tag over a blue and white tag that says "Assembled in Costa Rica." Or, the tag might indicate that the bag was assembled in China, Italy or Mexico. Check the back of the white tag for a registration number. The letter at the beginning of the number refers to the country in which it was assembled. "C" stands for Costa Rica, "I" stands for Italy, "H" stands for China and "M" stands for Mexico.
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