[JadeLeaves]

Here are the pics of the O rings on my 02 SS black arena leather fbf for comparison:

[Babi]

Hi girls!

I'm posting here some pictures of a FBF second season was eyeing on eBay. I've been told on the ATC it is fake, so I think it could be useful for everybody to post the pictures here and let the less expert people (like me) understand the differencies with an authentic one.
Is it because of the leather tag? Of the hardware? I can't find detailed pictures of FBF and I'd like to be able to understand where to recognize the "fake signs"
Please, share your knowledge Thank you!

[RealDealCollection]

^ I don't see anything that points to fake in those pictures. It looks like a S/S '02 Black First to me from the wider handle rings and interior tag. The corner has a little hole, but I have a FBF that does too, and it hasn't gotten any worse. What looks fake about this bag?

[slinks]

Yep, looks totally authentic to me too

[Babi]

Originally Posted by RealDealCollection

^ I don't see anything that points to fake in those pictures. It looks like a S/S '02 Black First to me from the wider handle rings and interior tag. The corner has a little hole, but I have a FBF that does too, and it hasn't gotten any worse. What looks fake about this bag?

OMG...I've also cancelled my bid!
I don't know what screamed fake about this bag and since I'm not an expert I've asked here. Now this unexpected opinion opens a new bag-hunting

Thank you RDC and slinks!
Another question I had was: have you ever found fake FBF? Because I can't remember this...I saw several fake PH bags, but not FB.
And if it happens to see fake FB, what should we look at? Thank you!

[pluiee]

there was a suspected fake caramel fbf a while ago when everything checked out but the bag had a pierre cardin black lining. that was the closest i remember to possibly being fake. there was no official conclusion, i think LP said there might be a mix up at the factory and the bag was real.

[hmwe46]

I believe that one was authentic too: LP chimed in that the bags were hand made and not in exclusive Balenciaga factories, so the lining was just a fluke

Originally Posted by pluiee

there was a suspected fake caramel fbf a while ago when everything checked out but the bag had a pierre cardin black lining. that was the closest i remember to possibly being fake. there was no official conclusion, i think LP said there might be a mix up at the factory and the bag was real.

[KayMomto3]

Originally Posted by JadeLeaves

BUT, would you buy a fbf with a pierre cardin lining? I wouldn't, not even if I know I am keeping it forever. Upside down buckles are one thing, a completely 'off' lining with another brand name is another. At the back of my mind I will always wonder if the bag is authentic, and I don't want to have that hanging over me.

I guess if it was a REALLY good price I would go for it. Also I remember it was the front pocket lining that was the odd lining. That wouldn't bother me as much then if it was the main compartment.

[sunspark]

Perhaps all the bags made that year or season had PC linings. Especially if only a small number were made in a factory where many other brandswere made.

Originally Posted by hmwe46

I believe that one was authentic too: LP chimed in that the bags were hand made and not in exclusive Balenciaga factories, so the lining was just a fluke

[menopausalmama]

There was an explanation as to why the lining was Pierre cardin quite awhile back in the forum here, but without the search function its hard to find....The bag is 100% authentic ....I wish I could find it.....Pierre Cardin google his name and see what can be found......
That bag that you have is a true collectable. I would keep it if it were me....

[JadeLeaves]

Quoting the following posts for relevance:

Originally Posted by JadeLeaves

For what it's worth, I thought everything abt that bag looked authentic too, except for the lining.

BUT, would you buy a fbf with a pierre cardin lining? I wouldn't, not even if I know I am keeping it forever. Upside down buckles are one thing, a completely 'off' lining with another brand name is another. At the back of my mind I will always wonder if the bag is authentic, and I don't want to have that hanging over me.

Originally Posted by hmwe46

I believe that one was authentic too: LP chimed in that the bags were hand made and not in exclusive Balenciaga factories, so the lining was just a fluke

Originally Posted by KayMomto3

I guess if it was a REALLY good price I would go for it. Also I remember it was the front pocket lining that was the odd lining. That wouldn't bother me as much then if it was the main compartment.

Originally Posted by sunspark

Perhaps all the bags made that year or season had PC linings. Especially if only a small number were made in a factory where many other brandswere made.

Originally Posted by menopausalmama

There was an explanation as to why the lining was Pierre cardin quite awhile back in the forum here, but without the search function its hard to find....The bag is 100% authentic ....I wish I could find it.....Pierre Cardin google his name and see what can be found......
That bag that you have is a true collectable. I would keep it if it were me....

Hi gals,

Just to clarify, my previous post, was made in reference to the caramel FBF another tpfer posted here earlier on. She bought one which had pierre cardin on the lining, which I noticed on the auction pics when she listed it up for sale. Someone, I think Z&J or zacorey (I always mix up the two) posted it on the ATB thread, and I replied to that post asking if anyone else could see the words "Pierre Cardin" on the lining.

The auction was taken off when the seller was contacted by one of us (I believe Nicole offered to contact the seller so she wasn't bombarded by a lot of msgs).

Awhile later, the seller (I presume) came on tpf asking for help with authenticating her caramel fbf with the pierre cardin lining, saying she purchased it from a tpfer. She has taken it to Balenciaga where the manager (who had worked at Bal NY for a number of years) said it isn't authentic. (before anyone jumps in and say that we shouldn't trust SAs, yes, I know that sometimes even we know more abt bbags than the SAs)

Louisey Peasey said she thinks the bag is real, and that bbags were made in factories not exclusive to Balenciaga, and that might be where the mistake was made.

We all thought it was a fluke.

HOWEVER, I finally got off my a** to take macro shots of the FBFs in my collection yesterday, and I noticed something which really, really upset me.

One of the FBF in my possession has the wording "Pierre Cardin" on the outside of the inside pocket, the bit that the leather tag is sewn on.



I am shattered. Like I said before, I will not buy a bag with 'pierre cardin' on the lining, because I will never be sure that it isn't a fake. And now it turns out that I had actually bought one without knowing. This particular FBF, I bought DESPITE the one upside down buckle on the front of the bag. Actually, I bought it because I thought the upside down buckle was quirky. I could live with that, but the lining?

Where do I go from here?

[KayMomto3]

Originally Posted by JadeLeaves

Quoting the following posts for relevance:










One of the FBF in my possession has the wording "Pierre Cardin" on the outside of the inside pocket, the bit that the leather tag is sewn on.



I am shattered. Like I said before, I will not buy a bag with 'pierre cardin' on the lining, because I will never be sure that it isn't a fake. And now it turns out that I had actually bought one without knowing. This particular FBF, I bought DESPITE the one upside down buckle on the front of the bag. Actually, I bought it because I thought the upside down buckle was quirky. I could live with that, but the lining?

Where do I go from here?

Urggghhhhh. First was the bag authenticated?? Do you really think this is real or do you suspect this to be a fake?

IDK I remember the one with the PC lining and the leather looked good, the hardware looked good, the tag looked good - it was just the darn lining fabric. I think it is really hard to fake the leather quality and the hardware quality of those earlier bags. What season was that bag? and what season is yours??

Honestly I am still leaning to these bags being authentic, but just someone grabbed the wrong lining fabric when they were made Maybe I will be proved wrong. How can we really know for sure?

OK getting off my a** to check mine.

[JadeLeaves]

Originally Posted by KayMomto3

Urggghhhhh. First was the bag authenticated?? Do you really think this is real or do you suspect this to be a fake?

IDK I remember the one with the PC lining and the leather looked good, the hardware looked good, the tag looked good - it was just the darn lining fabric. I think it is really hard to fake the leather quality and the hardware quality of those earlier bags. What season was that bag? and what season is yours??

Honestly I am still leaning to these bags being authentic, but just someone grabbed the wrong lining fabric when they were made Maybe I will be proved wrong. How can we really know for sure?

OK getting off my a** to check mine.

I bought it from a lovely tpfer off eBay. I know she has had it authenticated on the ATB thread.

I agree that I thought the caramel fbf looked good too, as in, everything checked out ok, except for lining. This particular fbf of mine is season 2, arena leather. I have a season 2 pebbled fbf and the lining is all black, and the lining on all my other FBFs are ok too.

Exactly - With all due respect to LP, how does one know FOR SURE that it is authentic? There will always be a niggling doubt at the back of my mind that I have bought a fake fbf.

[KayMomto3]

Originally Posted by JadeLeaves

I agree that I thought the caramel fbf looked good too, as in, everything checked out ok, except for lining. This particular fbf of mine is season 2, arena leather.

Is yours a caramel too?

I checked my caramel 02 (F/W) and it has just the black fabric everywhere.

Are there any documented fakes of the FBFs out there??? I am still leaning towards a sewer grabbing the wrong fabric. Your first has a patch in the main pocket and the other first had the fabric in the lining of the outside pocket. Can you post pictures of the other features of your bag? or compare to the other fbfs that you have??

[JadeLeaves]

Originally Posted by KayMomto3

Is yours a caramel too?

I checked my caramel 02 (F/W) and it has just the black fabric everywhere.

Are there any documented fakes of the FBFs out there??? I am still leaning towards a sewer grabbing the wrong fabric. Your first has a patch in the main pocket and the other first had the fabric in the lining of the outside pocket. Can you post pictures of the other features of your bag? or compare to the other fbfs that you have??

This particular one is meant to be a black arena leather season 2 fbf.

I'm uploading pics I took yesterday, I took lots of comparison pics, so it's taking a long time to process and upload. Will post more later when it's done. Thanks for checking yours!