I accidentally bought a fake The Row N/S Park Tote from my go-to eBay Japanese reseller, Brandear (who didn’t do me wrong for five straight secondhand Row purchases). I actually bought this one for a friend so I was quite bummed when I got it. I knew as soon as I felt it that this was a fake. The leather was rubbery and the handle was too stiff. But since that’s not much to go on, I thought I’d list out the various ways I knew this was a fake (and it was a really good fake at that too). Luckily the reseller took back the return, no questions asked (didn’t even ask for photo proof—just took me at my word), paid for return shipping, and refunded me in a timely manner. I was also happy to see the item not relisted on their website (which I’ve seen happen both at Fashionphile and the RealReal after telling them my concerns 🤦🏻‍♀️). But without further ado here are the signs that The Row Park Tote is a fake:

1) Dust Bag

The first one was pretty obvious, and it was the size of the dust bag. Now when purchasing secondhand, there’s always a chance that the previous owner got their dust bags mixed up so this isn’t a foolproof way to tell. But when added with the sum of my other points, it was obviously a fake dust bag. The shape was different (as pictured), and the font of the tag on the fake dust bag is slightly larger.

2) The Leather

For me, the feel of the leather was the first tell that the bag was a fake. The leather on the fake tote feels more plasticky. Visually, the leather on the fake bag is shinier with a smaller grain. The authentic pebbled leather park tote will never be shiny (though in the black leather has a slight sheen, all other colors are very matte). I also noticed that the leather on the fake tote had some striations or veining. I’ve never seen a real bag from The Row with any veining, and I think they purposely choose leathers that are completely without irregularities.

3) The Leather Edging

My second clue that the bag was a fake was the uneven and thick leather edging. The real totes have very smooth and thin edging, with zero bumps or irregularities. And take particular notice of the leather edging where the handles meet the body of the bag: it should be smooth and even, without any major gaps between the handles and the body of the bag.

4) The Handles

The handles on the fake Park tote were way stiffer than the handles of the real ones. Assuming it’s a newish bag, you can push down the center of the handles (when they’re standing up) of the real bag, and the body of the bag shouldn’t move. But on the fake one, since the handles are so stiff, when you push the center, it kind of lifts the edge of the bag from the table. Of course this might not hold true for a well used fake bag, but TBH I have yet to see a well used fake Park tote (my theory is that the people who buy the fake Park totes don’t see the magic in it—because it’s all in the high quality leather The Row uses—and so they don’t use their bags, thus the fake Park totes are mostly new and unused).

5) The Foil Stamp

Older models of The Row Park tote have a silver foil stamp on the top center of the bag (newer models of the colored totes don’t have any foil, just a stamp). The edges of the silver foil stamp should be clean, without any wonky edges. Also I noticed that the silver foil stamp on the fake bag was a lot shinier than on the authentic one.

6) The Inner Stamp On The Suede

There is another stamp on the inside of the bag, on the suede lining that says “The Row” and “Made in Italy.” Those stamps should be very clear with crisp edges. On the fake bag the inner stamps are hard to see because the inferior leather is shaggier and less smooth. This applies mostly to non-black Park totes because the black Park totes have a black inner suede where it’s hard to see the stamping in the first place.

7) The General Shape

So the general shape of the authentic tote bag is more of a smooth “U” shape, while the fake one had some pronounced corners on the side. This is mostly because the fake bag must have been stored folded, and the stiff fake leather tends to hold the creases more. But I wouldn’t say this is a hard and fast rule since some fake ones may be used consistently enough that the leather “corners” relax a bit. Or an authentic one might be stored folded and flattened for a long time, leaving creases in the leather (but who in the right mind would do that to an authentic Park tote lol?).

To be honest, it’s hard even for me to be able to spot a fake Park Tote just from pictures, since the real difference is in the leather quality and feel. So I think if you’re looking to buy one secondhand, I highly recommend buying from a place that accepts returns and also trying to see this bag brand new in person at a reputable store (I know that’s asking a lot, but if it’s possible…). Also even though I’ve owned five Park Totes (in my lifetime so far) and I’ve written this guide, please don’t ask me to authenticate with pictures since like I said it’s generally hard to tell the real deal unless it’s in my hands.

And if you missed it, my full The Row Park Tote Small vs Medium vs Large review is here and you can find all my other reviews of The Row here.

P.S. You can find a short video about how to authenticate The Row Park Tote here.

{June 2024 Update: I’d like to qualify that this pertains only to Park Totes from the Fall/Winter 2023 collection and before. As of Spring 2024 there are Park Totes with striations (though from what I understand, they’re not all the way across the front like on the fake here). Since leather suppliers will change from season to season as will the quality of the leather, I can no longer say all authentic Park Totes will be flawless. And unfortunately since The Row doesn’t do date stamps, you can’t really tell what season that Park Tote is from and whether or not flaws or suspicious. In general I think the replicas are catching up these days and buying any bag from The Row secondhand is sadly a risk.}

{October 2024 Update: I have now seen a bunch of really good Margaux 10 fakes out there where these tips might not help when trying to authenticate via pictures. The font embossing is perfect and the leather edging is fairly clean. I think the only way to really differentiate the real ones from the fakes is the leather, which is not easy to see from pictures (in your hands they will feel a bit plasticky and be a little too shiny). I’ve seen a bunch of fakes get through the RealReal, Fashionphile, and Brandear so when it comes to the Margaux 10 I have to say buyer beware.}