We were forced to take this story down but now that Sophisticated Spirit is no longer in business, I’m putting it back up. Maybe we were a factor and thus helped in saving unsuspecting shoppers from the heartbreak of buying a fake. In any case, it’s a good story.
We’ve all been there: dying for a bag, months in on that wait list, every time you see some bitch with the bag you want to rip her eyes out. Desperate times calls for desperate measures, right? Even if it means buying bags from, ready for this? An unauthorized retailer!!! The horror of it sends shivers down my back. A few weeks ago, we received an email from one of our readers, who we will call X, asking to help spot whether or not the Paddingtons selling at www.sophisticatedspirit.com were fake. We checked it out and sure enough, they were not the real deal. These are pictures shown on the website.
X even had the seller send detailed pictures of the bag and we went as far as forwarding them to our expert source to take a look, even though it was clear compared to the Paddingtons in my closet it was all amiss.
Our assessment was that the handles looked too thin and far apart, the zippers were wrong, the seams were puckering and the price of $1,199 was a dead giveaway that it was a fake. But our gal was beyond persuasion, she had lust blindness and went ahead and bought it. Luckily, the story has a happy ending. We received this exciting email from her today.
Hi Snob!
I just HAD to tell you. I bought the Paddington today at Bergdorf Goodman (they got one chocolate brown in, and the woman working there knew how much I wanted it and called me first!).. and let me just say, you couldn’t have been more right about the first one.. it was SOOOOO fake. Now that I have the real thing, I am shocked at how wrong it was. In and of itself, it was a pretty bag – but there is no comparison to what I have now. You were SO right about the handles and everything down to details on the zipper were wrong. I am so glad you planted the bug in my head about those things -cause the feelings of doubt and uncertainty were what made me return it. I am an assistant buyer for a department store and I can’t believe how much this woman tried to play me for a fool. I would never carry a fake and I am so glad I talked to you. I am so happy that I found your blog and was able to figure out the right thing to do. Sometimes I guess when you really want something, you’ll try anything – but it’s best to wait for the real deal.
Thanks again,
X
This was an email sent by the owner of www.sophisticatedspirit.com after X asked many questions as to the authenticity. This just makes us crazy MAD!!
Dear [X],
You are so smart to ask and you have caught on to some of these scams on the net!!!!! I ordered this directly from Chloe, it was sent to one of their top Italian Authorized boutiques and then it was shipped to me. This is how I order almost all of my merchandise!!! Completely authentic straight from the designer!!!
Thanks so much for writing me and please let me know if I can help you in any other way.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Lynda Higgins
Owner
Sophisticated Spirit
Kudos to you on exposing http://www.sophisticatedspirit.com. I was having such a HARD TIME convincing the ladies at the purse blog forum that sophisticated spirit sells fakes because it was already planted in their minds that the bags are authentic I finally gave up. It’s their money, not mine. But good job on the article!!
I own an original Chloe Paddington bought from a Chloe store and my mother has just come in with a bag that she bought from a ‘vintage’ store that I am beyond certain is fake (when I compare the two) – a couple of questions, though:
1. If the zipper is sealed at the end, does that mean its fake?
2. If the inside lining is suede, is that a fake?
3. If the serial number is only 6 digits, is that a fake?
4. The apostrophe on the back of the lock looks like it is a ‘regular’ font apostrphe rather than the one on the logo – this is a dead give-away but I want to give the benefit of doubt before I go crazy! Please let me know… Thanks!
I can’t even tell from your pictures which one is real and which one is fake…which begs the question…will anyone else?
I find it hillarious that Helena suspects that her mom bought a fake. If you can’t tell, does it really matter?
Honestly guys, I’ve been to YSL, Fendi, McQueen and Chanel recently, and their stores are filled with beautiful bags. If you have the money they are for sale!
I just want to comment on Lynda Higgins at Sophisticated Spirit. Her purses really did come from Italy. I was an Account Rep with TNT and her purses always were stuck in customs.
Hi Just came by your web site. Can anyone tell me what years the blue paddington were produced?
Hi Andi,
the blue nuit paddington was produced in 2005!
Hi everyone,
I found a Paddington on the internet at a very nice price, but how would I know whether it is fake? I have some pictures, could you please help?
Many thanks!
Sofia
This was me! I’m X! So glad you still have this up! And interesting that the Paddington is back in stores these days.. mine has been up in my closet for years (after all of that!).
Lol and so happy you’re still reading our blog after all these years! xoxo Tina