DIOR HOMME - Accessories: Ties

I have received several requests from readers of this blog for information on Dior Homme neckties. Ties are easy to fake and a bit hard to authenticate. The reason being that they are so simple. Many of the online auctions for Dior Homme ties have small blurry pictures with little detail. Of course, actually feeling the fabric and seeing the stitching in person is the best way to authenticate a tie, but there are some things you can watch out for. The first step is to check out the seller. Look at the other items he's selling and skim his feedback and look at the items he's sold. Even if you can't tell if the tie is fake he may have sold some other knockoff that is obviously fake (which would suggest, though not prove, that the tie is fake).

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The fake above looks like it is made out of an old couch. When buying Dior Homme online, keep the designer's aesthetic in mind. If it looks like a thoughtless 80's Christmas gift you received from your aunt, do you really want it?

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Speaking of the Dior Homme aesthetic; this beauty has a large gray "CD" logo printed on the front of the tie. In-your-face logos are not the brand's style (the women's line is another story). At first glance this tie looks like it may be an older piece from Christian Dior, circa their creatively-starved 70's and 80's years. However this gem has a fake Dior Homme label on it and was listed as a Dior Homme piece. The lining has a fake version of the "Dior" repeating pattern, with the letters spaced too far apart.

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The fabric content tags in Dior Homme ties are located in the fold, on the back of the skinny part of the tie. These tags are always silver with black stitched lettering, and the label is sewn folded in half. Above is an example of a fake fabric content tag. There are several things wrong with it. For one thing, the label is a blackish purple or something, not silver. Second, the lettering is too close together and stitched in white. Lastly, it reads "Made in China." Dior does not produce any clothing or accessories in China. To the best of my knowledge, Dior Homme makes all of its ties in Italy.

In the end, ties are one thing I recommend buying direct from the store. They run around $170 (USD) and the authentic ones don't sell for much less on eBay. If you do choose to bid on one remember to ask for detailed photos if none are provided. Also, feel free to ask the seller where he purchased the tie from and if he guarantees authenticity. Keep in mind that the seller's response in no way guarantees authenticity. But, some sellers will try to warn off informed buyers with a line like "It looks authentic but I can't guarantee it," or "I'm selling it for a friend who says it is authentic."

JOHN GALLIANO - ...or should I say Balliano?

Hot new brand, or really bad fake? You decide.




...and from the makers of Balliano comes (?)alliano. Note the slyly placed drawstring.

DSQUARED - Denim: Logo Labels

Dsquared jeans have a black rectangular fabric tag sewn inside the waistband. The label should be sewn on the wearer's left side of the waistband (the right side if you're looking at the jeans straight-on). These tags are not sewn in the center of the back like many other brands. This tag measures 2.25 inches long and just a hair over half an inch tall. The fake versions of these labels vary a bit in size and shape and are often sewn in the center of the back of the waistband.

Example (click to enlarge):

In the example above there are two key distinguishing factors between the real label and the fake label. The first is the stitching around the edges. The stitching should be straight and parallel to the edges of the fabric. As you can see in the fake, the stitching is further from the edge than it is in the authentic label. The second thing to note is the size of the text in relation to the label. In this example the fake text is larger.

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This one is pretty obvious. Not only is the stitching crooked, but the label is cut crooked, the letters are too large, they are located up a little too high, and the label is the wrong proportions (too short). Furthermore, if you look closely you can see that on the fabric content tag of the fake jeans it reads: "Made in Hong Kong." Well, I don't think I have to tell you that authentic Dsquared jeans are not made in Hong Kong.

These fake labels range in quality so keep an eye out.

DSQUARED - Shirts: Size Tags

Some of the fake Dsquared shirts out there have incorrect size tags. In shirts, this tag should be a light grey color and it should come out of the left side of the black Dsquared2 logo tag. The size tag should stick out ruffly half an inch and it should be just a little over a quarter of an inch tall. The authentic size tags vary slightly but they all keep to this approximate measurement. If you see a size tag that looks odd, chances are the shirt is fake. Keep in mind that some of the fake shirts do have the correctly proportioned size tags so an authentic-looking size tag does NOT guarantee an authentic shirt.

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The example above shows a fake black size tag. A large percentage of the fake Dsquared shirts on eBay have this fake black size tag. It is coming out of the right side of the logo label (not the left side, as it should). This fake tag is black instead of a light grey, and the sizing letter is on its side. The authentic Dsquared size tags always have the size positioned straight up, never on its side.

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The letter should be in a normal typeface, not bold, as seen in the above comparison photo. The authentic tags can vary a bit in length depending on how they are sewn in but the fake one above is extra stubby.

DIOR HOMME - Shirts: Metal Logo Tags

Some of the t-shirts from earlier collections had metal logo tags connected to a couple chain links and sewn into the shirt, instead of the silver fabric label.

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This is an example of the tag. I have not seen any of these faked yet. It is much cheaper for the counterfeiters to stick with the fabric labels rather than producing the metal ones... cheaper for Dior too, which is why they switched (to cut production costs). But still be on the lookout!


UPDATE: I have found a fake Dior Homme leather jacket online with a fake metal logo tag. Here it is:

Example (click to enlarge):

As you can see above, the fake tag is slightly longer than the authentic one, and the text is slightly larger. Furthermore, the fake text looks like it was stamped into the metal, whereas the authentic looks like it is engraved into the metal (note the sharper edges). The The fake also has an extra link or two in the chain.


Keep On Huntin'

JOHN GALLIANO - Denim: Rubber Logo Tags

DSQUARED - Denim: Leather Logos

Some Dsquared jeans have these leather logos sewn on the back of the waistband. Some say "Faith," some say "DC/DC," some say "Lord2," etc... However, there should always be an embossed Dsquared2 logo below it. The key to authenticating these tags is in the stitching. These tags are leather (or sometimes suede leather) with cut-out leather letters sewn on them. The fake tags usually have shaky stitching that doesn't follow the shape of the lettering very well. The fake stitching is usually one continuous stitch, whereas the authentic labels have no stitching connecting the letters.

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As you can see in the example above, the white stitching on the fake tag is connected between the letters. The letters of the authentic tag are sewn separately. These tags do vary in color though so disregard the color difference in this example.

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The above example of the DC/DC logo also demonstrates the difference in the quality of the stitching. You can see the fake stitching is quite poorly done and it doesn't line up with itself. The authentic example is a photo of a used pair of Dsquared jeans, so the edges of the DCDC logo are a little tattered. When the jeans are new the edges are crisply cut.

All-in-all, the stitching of these logos is a dead giveaway. It's the easiest way to tell if the jeans are fake or not. I have never come across a pair of fake D2 jeans with a properly stitched DCDC / Lord2 / or Faith logo. However, only some of the Dsquared jeans have these leather letter cut-out logos though. Other have more basic tags or logos, in which case it is a good idea to also check the tags and labels before purchasing.

DIOR HOMME - Shoes: CD Logos

Example (click to enlarge):

Most Dior Homme sneakers have an embossed "CD" (christian dior) logo on the back of the shoe. This, again, concerns quality. The logo should be deeply embossed with clean smooth edges.

DIOR HOMME - Shoes: Embossed Leather Logo

Example (click to enlarge):

Many of the Dior Homme sneaker styles have a "DIOR HOMME" logo embossed on a strip of leather going up the side of the shoe. Some don't, but the ones that do should look similar to the authentic example. It should be embossed and not sharply punched or cut in like on the fake pair. If you enlarge this photo you can get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

DIOR HOMME - Shoes: The Rubber Sole Logo

Dior Homme sneakers have a "DIOR HOMME" logo on the rubber sole, on the outer side of each shoe. Many of the fake logos are spelled out as one word; "DIORHOMME." The original shoes have a small space between the words.

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Above is an example of a fake logo with no space in comparison to the authentic logo with the space. You can also note the poor construction quality of the fake shoes in contrast to the real shoes. Oftentimes, the fakes have uneven stitching, poorly cut leather, and uneven rubber soles with rubber excess on the edges (as seen above).

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Here is a close up view. This fake shoe has the rubber indented around the logo. The authentic shoes should have the logo with no sign of stamping. Please keep in mind that there are a lot of fake Dior Homme shoes that have this logo done 'properly' so always check the other "points of interest" to determine authenticity. Although, if you do see this logo printed improperly it is a dead giveaway.

DIOR HOMME - Coats/Jackets: Silver Logo Tags

Coats, Jackets, and Suits have this larger silver logo tag sewn inside the chest just below the inner pocket (if there is a pocket). The earlier Dior Homme collections (like Luster) had embossed Dior logo tags. Later they changed them to stitched embroidery.

Example (click to enlarge):

Above are two authentic examples of these tags. The one on the left is embroidered and the one on the right is the older embossed version.

The suit coat tags are approximately 2.5 inches wide by 1 inch tall. The tags that are sewn into outerwear (ie. overcoats, jackets, etc.) are approximately 3 inches long by 1.5 inches tall. The embroidered "D" is 5/16 of an inch tall. The embossed "D" is 1/4 on an inch tall.

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Above are two more authentic examples. The one on the left is from a wool overcoat. The one on the right is from a suit coat.

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Now we get to the fakes. The key to distinguishing these fake tags is in the proportions. The lettering of the fake tags is often larger than the authentic tags. The fake "D" is also usually more elongated. The authentic tags are stitched with a stitch in each corner, which is often omitted on the fakes.

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However, as you can see above there are some pretty good fake tags out there. The differences here are subtle but still present. You can still see the elongated "D" and the material of the tag is different. The authentic tags are printed on a very smooth silver material with very little texture. Although it is not part of the tag, the other giveaway in the fake shot is the stitching in the upper right and left of the photo. It is very cheaply done and not even.

If you are looking at an online auction for a Dior Homme item and there are no pictures of the tags or labels, request them. They are one of the surest ways to identify the authenticity. If the pictures are provided in the auction compare them to the real labels. Remember to keep an eye on those "D"s.

DIOR HOMME - Denim: The Leather Tags

The leather logo tag is sewn into the inside of the waistband at the back (The F/W 07 collection now uses a different tag though). This leather tag should have squared corners and the stitching should be even with the sides. Furthermore all the letters in the logo should be even.

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The above fake example shows the "D" is slightly higher than the rest of the logo. All of the letters should be perfectly aligned.

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The above examples of fakes I have provided are of pretty decent copies, though you can see the sloppy printing of the silver logo (especially in the second fake example). The authentic printed logos can wear off with washing and wear, but they are not printed sloppily. Furthermore, some fake Dior Homme jeans have leather tags with very rounded corners (see the example below). The corners should always be squared (or slightly bent if worn).

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This is a decent looking fake but the stitching is crooked. The black stitching around the edges of the black leather tag is always aligned with the edges. Furthermore, the stitching at the top of the tag is usually the color of the stitching in the jeans.