Fool’s gold: fake Mulberry brouhaha

What would push me to go back writing here? Yeah, a bag post!

To say that I am heartbroken is an understatement. For years, I have been searching for a Mulberry Piccadilly in Oak Darwin that won’t break the bank. It is my HOLY GRAIL. I even wrote this elaborate longing on my Tumblr more than 4 years ago. Up to this day, this EXACT Piccadilly is on the top of my wishlist. How can you not fall in love with that patina, that kind of brown and the sheen only an aged-leather can give off? I’m still in love.

Fast forward to four years after, the fire is still burning. However, my extremely popular and most-Googled Mulberry entry is a cautionary tale – caveat emptor. But my heart skipped a beat when I saw an ad listing back in March. It was simply listed as a Mulberry leather bag, but it surely looked like a Piccadilly to me.

To cut the story short, negotiations fell and I did not buy the bag. I ended up with this:

Black Alexander McQueen De Manta Leather Tote Bag

Equally lovely, but not as heart-stopping as the Piccadilly (sorry Lee). Why do these Brits have to make the nicest things? LOL

Then while absentmindedly browsing, I stumbled upon the same Mulberry campaign ages ago, before the cut above. I thought of the Mulberry from March and asked for it again. That is the time that the mind must master the heart and be as rational as possible. The listing was originally up with a single photo and like the old adage on any online selling websites – ‘If it is too good to be true, then it probably is’.

The bag was, according the seller, cleaned in Singapore. It had been sent back to Manila for sale, and then it traveled back to Singapore. I am curious to see the details of the bag. Given the wealth of information that I acquired while researching Mulberry closely, I needed to see detailed photos to be sure. I asked for photos via email, but I was sent a similar bag for sale in Singapore. I was even asked if I would like it to be sent via DHL if I could not wait for July 9. Before deciding on this, I politely asked for the pictures of the actual item and waited with bated breath.

While opening the attachments, my heart was pumping madly. Then it came to a stop. Do you want to know why?

First of all, it was not a Piccadilly. It was a Bayswater. My eyes might have been playing tricks on me, with the angle of the original photo.

What is ‘supposed to be’ Mulberry bag in Oak Darwin

But even if it was not a Piccadilly, the Bays would have been okay. Unfortunately, the bombs did not stop there.

Fake Mulberry serial number, the infamous 026904

Fake Mulberry zipper pull

These hardware and details looked very familiar, non? But then again, the one and only pic earlier available was a dead giveaway: the keys look funny to begin with.

I was momentarily dumbstruck. When I recovered moments after, I had to inform the seller that it was a fake bag (i.e. mentioning the two details above) and I do not recommend it being sold. And as expected, along with several people who sell bags of unknown provenance (whether knowingly and unknowingly, I cannot exactly judge on the case at hand), the seller said that it is very unlikely.

And according to her, “this is a hand be down bag fr my rich sister base (sic) in NY… she doesnt (sic) use inspired or fake bags“.  This is cognitive dissonance at work, even when she was faced with overwhelming evidence.

I just replied “Nah not reall (sic LOL, I even committed this typo). Even Paris Hilton was caught using fake LV MC. Just google Mulberry 026904. It is the number one fake serial number for Mulberry bags“.

This was the exact photo I was referring to with my reply. Sometimes I just laugh at myself when I remember things as trivial as this one.

Paris Hilton with fake Louis Vuitton Papillon Multicolore bag (Photo from spotbags.cr)

All in all, it was with mixed emotions that this Mulberry Piccadilly chapter had to stop. It was very disappointing that it was not what I thought to be. Moreover, that the seller still had to believe her story given that she was told that the bag is not a Mulberry at all (in the truest sense of the word). On the other hand, I finally can move on from waiting for July 9, when I get to finally inspect the item closely. It would have been a lot of trouble and time to see a counterfeit Mulberry bag, and I don’t know how I would politely tell her in person that it was fake. Bullet dodge, I guess.