Are your branded accessories original?

With the market booming with international brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Michael Kors, there are a lot of fakes which are selling like hot cake too. But with a little care, you can escape getting cheated.

According to Anvita Mehra, luxury expert and founder of Confidential Couture -- an online portal for buying and selling pre-owned designer accessories -- it is easy to spot the fakes.

Here's how:

* Louis Vuitton (LV): It is extremely easy to judge a fake LV from its logo itself. LV uses genuine leather and one piece of leather is wrapped around from the front to back, so the backside has upside down logos.

Any piece with a separate piece on the bottom will have the LV's right-side up on both sides. The brand is very particular about the number of stitches as the same will be similar on all Louis Vuitton bags present on Earth. The hardware is heavy and not hollow as it is crafted in brass, shiny golden brass and shiny silvery metal.

* Gucci: The brand's hardware is heavy and well cast and is engraved with the company logo. Zippers are made of either metal or plastic, with the company logo or YKK. The stitching is straight, neat and even and the trimmings are made from high quality leather and not polyurethane.

Gucci products always have a serial number at the back of the interior label. The embossed Gucci logo should be clean and crisp, with "made in Italy" marked below and should be uniform on all the zips.

* Michael Kors: Michael Kors' logo in full or MK is on the lining of the bag and in some cases on the interior of the handbag too. The font along with the space between the logos will be same on the lining and on the exterior of the bag.

The hardware is of solid metal and will not flake or chip. Some pieces are engraved with clean and a high quality finish. The stitching is straight, neat, even and clean.

--IANS

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