Tokidoki: Can you spot the not?
March 28th, 2008 by Chrissy D. Icamina, Editorial Manager, Summit DigitalPosted in Fashion Files, Other Stuff |
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I honestly can’t blame people who end up buying inauthentic bags—especially if they purchased them for the design and not for the purpose of flaunting the brand. Not only can’t everyone tell the legits from the fakes, but there are some people who simply are unaware that there’s an “authentic” version of that particular item, mostly if they aren’t familiar with the brand in the first place (although it would be nice if people knew better).
Coincidentally, I’m a big Tokidoki fan and someone happened to drop us an email asking how to tell an authentic Tokidoki bag from a fake.
I guess the best way is buying the bag from an authorized seller. And here in the Philippines, you can find authentic LeSportsac Tokidoki bags (and all original LeSportsac bags for that matter) in Rustan’s. But what if someone’s selling the bag directly to you? Here are a number of useful “spot the not” tips I found in a Tokidoki blog, though the phony ones may display only one or a couple of these signs.
First, the Qee (the Tokidoki keychain). The imitation bags didn’t use to have one, but let’s just say that some eventually learned to hone their “skills.” Take a look at the photos above. The one at the right is, well, not the right one. According to the Tokidoki blog:
1. The real qee has a red star on its left arm, and the fake one does not.
2. The real qee has a thicker, smoother keyring than the fake qee does.
3. The yellow stripe in the rainbow on the fake qee’s chest is much wider.
4. The real qee has black marks on its left ear, and the fake qee does not.
5. The real qee has a pink heart on its left cheek, and the fake qee does not.
Second, is the inside tag:
Is this authentic because it says it’s “Made in USA”? No, because Tokidoki bags are made in China!
Third, is if it’s missing a “tokidoki for LeSportsac” on the bag and has the words “Flower Spring” on them instead, like the following photo:
Fourth, the under side of the zipper head should have a “riri M6″ engraving, like the one at the left:
Fifth, is when the print or colors are off—the prints aren’t that sharp, the colors not as rich or solid, and the prints looks so much different when you check their official site (so always do your homework!).
Authentic print:
Versus the fake print:
There are many other differences between the authentic and imitation Tokidokis. Read more about them here, here, and here.
In other news, did you know that there’s a Tokidoki and Hello Kitty collaboration? Cuteness times two if you’ve seen their products (provided you’re not a Hello Kitty hater)! Will post an entry about that soon.
All photos from the Tokidoki blog.
March 28th, 2008 at 11:17 am
I’m a tokidoki bag fan since I first saw them in HK, and you are right, the fake ones are super nice looking and you wouldn’t even care that it’s fake! But then, thanks for the post, at least if someone sells us a Tokidoki bag saying it’s an original, at least we now know how to spot the fake ones
March 28th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Another way of spotting a fake tokidoki bag right away is to look at the zipper itself - just look at the lame gradient of colors from the fake ones. The zipper of a real tokidoki bag would have a distinct different color for each one of those tiny metal strips of the zipper.
March 28th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
if a person is knowledgeable in sewing materials/designs and also the proper workmanship details of a typical type of item you can easily see the difference between fake to original.since the tokidoki designs are a big blast in market, i am not amaze with fake le sportsac items sold in our country because even other brands have fake items too. this is my little tip on how to see the difference on every fake items to original. “see how it was sewn underneath the item,there should be lockstitch at the end of every corners and the edges should be overlock or hide. see the stitch carefully if it looks like it was wavy and not straight or aligned then it was sewn under mass production and not a designers item” hope you can apply it. thankx…
March 28th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
another thing, i like le sportsac since mid 90″s. i was in grade school by then and simply see how it was made for perfections. i was amaze by then cause it was 800p-1000p per small bag(expensive for a grade school by then) and have cute pouch with it, i think that’s their trademark.
March 29th, 2008 at 2:21 am
for authentication of other bags you can visit.. forum.purseblog.com. people who bid in ebay goes there to have bags and other designer stuff authenticated..
March 29th, 2008 at 8:10 am
um, I think you should check your posted images (the site doesn’t seem to like you hotlinking them)…
March 30th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
I don’t own a tokidoki bag… but I want to own one just because of their designs pero syempre mas okay din talaga kung original yung bag
but I’d have to agree that a few lang talaga yung may alam na meron authetic tokidoki 
March 31st, 2008 at 3:01 am
so where to buy original tokidoki items?
April 1st, 2008 at 12:19 am
Cher, you can buy original Tokidoki items at Rustans.
Tokidoki prints are oh-so-cute. I don’t mind buying the small purses everytime I see some nice designs/prints. But at least I know they’re not the real ones.
April 4th, 2008 at 11:46 am
would wnyone know where i can buy past issues of Real Living mags,aside from the ones available in the mall stores like Filbar?