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The most important summarized
- Make sure you buy your Michael Kors bag from a reputable online store (post to dubious Michael Kors fake stores note)
- Sale prices with 40% discount or more indicate counterfeiting
- Please note our instructions especially regarding the manufacturer's label and the inner lining (see description below)
- Listen to your gut and refrain from buying if you are not convinced
Originalo purchase recommendation:
Reputable online stores for Michael Kors bags & fashion include:
These stores offer a wide selection of Michael Kors fashion and bags at fair prices.
The most important authenticity features
How can you tell if the Michael Kors bag you want to buy or have bought is original? Follow these steps to check the authenticity of your bag.
Michael Kors bag - charm pendant
Very many Michael Kors bags, such as the "Jet Set" model, come with an MK tag (leather strap with round MK metal tag). Note these points:
- The two MK letters are close to each other
- The engraving is clear to read, deeply embossed and cleanly made
- The metal should not show any small bubbles or dents, should be polished to a high shine, and should not be chipped anywhere.
Metal applications and lettering
Authentic Michael Kors bags have charms, buckles, eyelets, snaps and other metal applications. These metal applique for Michael Kors bags have many shapes and designs and unfortunately are relatively easy to counterfeit. Some high quality fakes are even equipped with original MK metal appliqués, which are illegally sourced from original MK suppliers.
The following features are important:
- Michael Kors metal applications show only MICHAEL KORS and not the abbreviation "MK".
- Real applications should not show holes or imperfections such as bubbles in the metal.
- The labeling must be clearly defined
- The fitting should have a polished, smooth sheen. This gloss is produced by a particularly high-quality coating process. This also prevents the coating from flaking off, for example, which can happen with counterfeits.
Fake Michael Kors Metal eyelets or bucklesThe forgeries differ in that they use a different font and the letters are more closely spaced than those of the original.
On original Michael Kors bags, the letters of the lettering are always glued on individually. Fakes, on the other hand, connect the letters, for example, by a metal strip.
Michael Kors bag lining
The lining of a Michael Kors bag depends on the model and has changed over the years. This makes it difficult for the layman to distinguish an original from a fake.
Basically, the following applies:
- The inner lining is a soft synthetic material
- The leather trim for inside pockets is always sewn in and not glued
- The zippers, borders and seams are always sewn.
If you notice that leather applique or manufacturer tags have been glued, then it is a sure sign of a fake bag.
Inner lining with MK honeycomb pattern
The lining of many Michael Kors bags shows the letters MK surrounded by two circles that are connected to each other and form a kind of honeycomb shape. This so-called MK honeycomb logo can help identify a fake:
In many counterfeits, the honeycomb pattern logo is merely printed on the lining. It is noticeable that the lining lacks the shine that is typical for original Michael Kors bag linings. In addition, the material looks cheap and feels like plastic film.
On higher quality fakes, the lining is almost indistinguishable from an original MK bag. However, if you look at the circles around the MK, they often appear somewhat oval on fakes. This is an indication of a fake.
Inner lining with fur pattern
Michael Kors bag lining always shows the MK logo. The exception is the MK bags, which do not contain lining. But if inner lining is used, and the lining does not have MK logo, then it is fake.
Michael Kors bag zipper
It is often described that Michael Kors exclusively uses YKK zippers for its bags. This is usually the case, but zippers from producers or brands like IDEAL are also used. As with YYK, you will also find the inscription of the manufacturer on the zipper.
Michael Kors also uses no-name zippers for the inside pockets of some models (e.g. the Michael Kors Hamilton).
Make sure that the main zipper of the bag, such as the Michael Kors Selma, always comes from YKK or Ideal. If a no-name zipper was used here, there is a risk that the bag is a fake.
Michael Kors bag seams and thread
Basically:
- The seams run in a neat straight stitch
- The seams run at a uniform stitch spacing
- The color of the core is always similar to the color of the bag
However, it happened in the past that original MK bag series had unclean or slanted seams. The reason for this is that Michael Kors partly outsources its bag production to external companies in order to be able to meet the increased demand. However, the outsourced factories do not always deliver the same standard as the Michael Kors factories, so even an original bag can have an unclean seam.
Leather strap with brand name (Heat Stamp)
On a genuine Michael Kors bag, you will find a leather flap with the Michael Kors lettering inside the bag. This can be found in almost all bag models and always has the same font and size. The only exception are MK reversible bags, which have no leather flap.
On most original bags leather tabs always show the text
"MICHAEL"
"MICHAEL KORS"
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in two lines. The print should be clearly defined.
Especially with Michael Kors Retail Outlets bags, it's not uncommon for the lettering to not be printed deep enough by the hot stamp and look a bit indistinct.
On some bag models, the traditional hot stamp has been replaced with metal tags. Most often found on Michael Kors Tote and Michael Kors Greenwich models.
Counterfeit example
Michael Kors fakes can be recognized by the fact that the leather strap has a faint imprint of a Outline around the MK lettering around, which is caused by a cheap gravure stamp. On genuine MK labels there is no outline and the letters are evenly distributed.
If the flap bears the imprint "Michael Kors" & "EST. 1981", this is an indication of a fake. Michael Kors does use this lettering on bracelets and bags, but it is not present on the leather tab inside current MK bags.
Michael Kors Manufacturer Label / Type Label
On genuine Michael Kors bags, you will find a manufacturer's label inside the bag with information about the country of origin and the date of manufacture. This is accompanied by a type label printed with the model number. The tabs/labels can be different colors, but are usually
- transparent
- white
- black
- brown
The color of the tag may indicate whether the bag was produced for a Michael Kors outlet (black and brown) or a Michael Kors boutique (clear and white).
Manufacturer label until 2016
The signs mostly follow a standard format:
The country of manufacture "MADE IN" followed by one of the countries listed below
Manufacturing date code for example in the format "AP- 1502".
"AP" is the factory designation and "1502" stands for "February 2015."
Behind the "MADE IN" label, there is a small white sign that states the Model number of the bag is printed. Plain Michael Kors counterfeits lack these tags. The high quality counterfeits may contain the tags, but often with a wrong or missing model number.
Most Michael Kors bags are made in these countries (made in):
- China
- Thailand
- Indonesia
- Vietnam
- Philippines
- Bangladesh
- Turkey
- Myanmar
- Italy
Manufacturer label from 2016
New Michael Kors bags as of 2016 include a QR code along with the model number, date of manufacture, and color and country of manufacture information.
The new sign is constructed as follows:
E-1606 - "E" is the movement designation and "1606" is the date of manufacture ("1606" means June 2016).
T16 - This is the season of the bag.
30T3SLMS2L - This is the model number of the bag.
303 - This is the color code of the bag.
Current color codes are:
| Color | Color code |
| Black | 1 |
| Silver | 40 |
| Pearl Grey | 81 |
| White | 85 |
| Cement | 92 |
| Luggage | 230 |
| Celadon | 303 |
| Navy | 406 |
| Dusty Blue | 438 |
| Electric Blue | 446 |
| Pale Blue | 487 |
| Cinder | 513 |
| Chilli Red | 613 |
| Brick | 616 |
| Misty Rose | 623 |
| Plum | 633 |
| Pale Pink | 656 |
| Grapefruit Pink | 665 |
| Fuschia | 670 |
| Dusty Rose | 673 |
| Sunflower | 719 |
| Gold | 740 |
| Coral | 802 |
| Cherry | 848 |
| Steel Blue | 926 |
Practical tip:
So just check the model number:
- Visit the Michael Kors homepage
- On the Michael Kors site, enter the model number in the search
- Compare the displayed bag with your model
If you do not get a result it may be that the bag is no longer available or is from a previous season. Then try the following:
- Go to Google or other search engine
- Enter "MICHAEL KORS " along with the model number
- Switch to the image search and compare the displayed images with your model.
If most of the pictures show a different model of bag, it indicates a fake.
Video: How to spot a Michael Kors fake bag
Here you can find a video explaining the differences between a fake and an original MK bag.
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