How to Authenticate Matelasse Bags

[MissM]

Hi all, the Matelasse is growing on me, but atellier.naff does not have a line about it..

Does any of you know how to authenticate?

One very kind user told me, that her bag reads 168031.213048 on the leather tag.. But would that be the large or the medium/small??

LETS GET TO KNOW THE MATELASSE!!!

Thanks

 

[Glimmer]

One very kind user told me, that her bag reads 168031.213048 on the leather tag.. But would that be the large or the medium/small??

That's the medium/small. When I first got mine I was very concerned about authenticity because the handles are textured and feel plastic-y. The tassels are as well. Also, the front pocket is not functional. The zipper opens but the pocket is stitched up. Ridiculous, actually. I was nervous until I actually compared with an authentic bag at NM.

Not to say there aren't good fakes out there, but here's a really bad one!

 

[hgbags]

168032 is the style number on the large.

 

[Deana]

I knew gals would want help with this if they wanted to buy a Matelasse, so I took lots of photos of mine. It is the medium size, or the smaller of the two that are out now. It has the leather tag, with the telltale black stitch across the top. I took close ups of the tassels because they are very different from normal tassels. For one they are super stiff (not much help when looking at photos), and they also have a stitch running down the center of them the entire length of the tassel. I am not sure how far fake manufacturers will go, but I would bet many will overlook this stitch. As you can see from the photo, it is very easy to see, so I would deffinitely ask for a photo of the tassels from potential sellers. The outside front zippered pocket is not a real pocket. Another thing that could potentially be overlooked on fake bags. And lastly, on the front panel of the bag, on the left and right edge there is half quilted diamonds only. Then if you go one row in you can count 3 full diamonds from top to bottom with two half diamonds at the ends, on the top and bottom edge. Sounds confusing, but if you look at the front diamonds it's easy to see. Of course the number of diamonds will be different on the large Matelasse. If you look at the fake pictured above you can see the diamond count is different, and the tassels do not have a stitch down the center. I hope this was helpful.

 

[Deana]

WOW thanks!! This style has really gotten my interest lately... I am bummed that that front zipper pocket is not for real though... That's one of the things I like on my b-bags... Could you describe the inside "compartments" for us too? (especially since I'll never have the opportunity to see one irl unless I order it!) - I don't recall seeing inside info. on websites either.
THANKS AGAIN!!!!!

Your welcome! There is one inside zipper compartment, and it seems similar to the City size compartment. Yeah, Bal is deffinitely lacking in giving us ladies places to put our things. I use the outside pocket on my other bags for my cellphone, and I would imagine many put there keys there as well. I lose everything if it is not attached to me, so I leave my keys in my car and use my key enter pad to open it. I wonder why they couldn't put an outside pocket on it.

 

[baiyishang]

I had the same doubts when I received my Matelasse. The tassels on the outside zipper are made with the same material as the handles and front panel. They are more like cowhide leather instead of goatskin leather. The tassels on the mirror are same as my other Balenciaga bags.

I hardly ever saw any fake Matelasse. I’ve seen one fake Matelasee, but it’s nothing close to the real one. The fake Matelasse I saw has a real front pocket instead the decorating one.

 

[Fraublucher]

I had the same doubts when I received my Matelasse. The tassels on the outside zipper are made with the same material as the handles and front panel. They are more like cowhide leather instead of goatskin leather. The tassels on the mirror are same as my other Balenciaga bags.

Baiyishang, where the paper tag reads CUIR: SUS SCROF i think that refers to the leather used for the handles, the front panel and the front tassels. It should be wild boar skin, if I recall correclty my french, not cowhide.

BTW, I just received my black Matelasse Grande in the mail, I'll be posting pictures of that style as well. the main telltale sign for fakes I've seen so far is that on the original bag the quilting is not made with simple stitches on the leather (like the classic Chanel quilting) but rather the leather looks like "folded over" every stitching so that the actual stitching does not show over the quilting (I hope this makes sense). I will also post pics of the tags, but I just preview that the second series of digits on the back of the leather tag of my Grande reads 3444, exactly like my City and (AFAIK) also some Twiggys.

 

[baiyishang]

Fraublucher. Thanks for the information.

Unlike other Balenciaga bags, Matelasse is made by goatskin, not the lambskin, so the leather on Matelasse is not as soft as all the other Balenciaga handbags. The tag inside is very similar as other Balenciaga, which I beleive is made by lambskin, and it's softer

 

[baiyishang]

Fraublucher. Thanks for the information.

Unlike other Balenciaga bags, Matelasse is made by goatskin, not the lambskin, so the leather on Matelasse is not as soft as all the other Balenciaga handbags. The tag inside is very similar as other Balenciaga, which I beleive is made by lambskin, and it's softer

Actually, city, work, etc are made with goatskin, sorry for the wrong information.

 

[Fraublucher]

Actually, city, work, etc are made with goatskin, sorry for the wrong information.

...except for the metallics, that are made of lambskin!

Based on the info given by the paper tag (Deana, I'm quoting your image here!), it seems that the bag is made of goatskin (chèvre) except something made of wild boar (sus scrof) which I guess is handles, the front panel and the tassles, that look almost "pebbled", I would say.

 

[divingcandie]

I'm planning to get my first Balenciaga bag in this 'matelesse' style, but I have no knowledge about this brand at all, so I actually have questions for you all expert.

I'd like to know if this med size comes with extra shoulder straps (as they usually come with in other styles).
Is the leather really hard to be taken care of?
And I've noticed Deana's pretty matelesse with colorful tassles on the front zipper pull. Does that come with an orginal purchase of the bag? Do you have to buy extra?

TIA. I'm looking forward to hearing from you guys again soon.

 

[Fraublucher]

I'd like to know if this med size comes with extra shoulder straps (as they usually come with in other styles).
Is the leather really hard to be taken care of?
And I've noticed Deana's pretty matelesse with colorful tassles on the front zipper pull. Does that come with an orginal purchase of the bag? Do you have to buy extra?

TIA.

Hi Candie! the matelasse comes with no shoulder straps, but has only the handles. The Grande's (the bigger style's) handles are long enough to fit over the shoulder, while the Medium size's handles fit on some girls' shoulders, but did not fit on mine with some bulkier clothes on. As for the colored tassles, i think that was Deana's nice addition to the bag. The matelasses come with the usual same-colored tassles.
The leather is even easier to take care than the traditional Balenciagas, due to the quilting. i use mine every day and it looks brand new!

 

[fxvanleeuwen]

This thread is old, but since there's so little info on the Matelasses, I'd like to thank the ladies here, especially Deanna for posting her pictures, for all the info/authentication tips.

I just bought a Matelasse and I'm waiting for it to get here (maybe it'll arrive next week).....

Yesterday mine came to me and i was just checking here, I know one thing i realy do love it. I have a grande(big) brown 2007 1 168032 D94BN 1075
Its lovely i hope Yours wil come very fast Hugs FX

 

[wantmore]

fx - Thanks! I'm so looking forward to getting it in the mail. I can't hardly wait! Congrats on your new matelasse. Did you post a picture of your bag somewhere in the forum yet?

I was emailed the receipt and the # on the tag is the same as Deana's (it's the medium).

 

[hoku_art]

Thank you so much for all the info on your beautiful matelasse! I just purchased one on eBay and I am still a bit doubtful (I've been burned twice before with knock offs). Can you tell us what the hardware is like? Shiney silver vs. muddled/gunmetal? Also, does it smell like leather (mine has a wierd fruity smell - but this could just be the smell of the seller's home). And also, can you post photos of the metal hardware (rivets & parts attaching the handles), as well as a photo of the dust cover? The dust cover I received feels stiff (I know this shouldn't matter, but I'm still looking for even the smallest detail to determine the authenticity of mine). I paid $900, which is significantly less than the retail, but if it's a fake then it's so not worth that much.

Hope you can help. Thanks again ~Hoku