How to Spot a Fake Fendi Baguette Bag

Last updated on December 29th, 2025 at 09:03 am

My Polene authentication guide continues to be one of my most popular posts, and I’m glad it has helped so many shoppers! I recently purchased a pre-owned Fendi baguette and went through a similar process of conducting my own due diligence. I’ve summarized my findings here, and hope is equally as helpful to prospective 🥖 collectors out there.

One of my favorite Fendi limited releases was 2021’s Lunar New Year collection. Even though I mostly wear neutrals (which, I’m trying to change!), I love a good pop of color every now and then. I found a great deal on a pre-loved bag from said collection and hopped on it immediately, just in time for new year celebrations.

In general, Fendi is a great brand to purchase pre-loved, as bags can easily be found for 50%+ off their original retail price. Unfortunately, they are also widely faked – and faked quite well. I purchased from an independent reseller and not one of the larger established sites like Fashionphile. So, I wanted to do my own additional research in order to verify authenticity.

Note: These tips apply only to newer baguette styles from the last few years, and not to vintage ‘90s and early 2000s baguettes a la Sex and the City. And I am not a professional authenticator, these are my observations as a casual enthusiast.

PS: If you want to twin with me there are currently two Lunar New Year baguettes available on Rebag (one and two) and one on Fashionphile!

The Obvious Tells

This article at Legit Grails is a good starting point, I won’t repeat a lot of what is covered there. However, a few details are missing to authenticate between your typical Canal Street replica and the so-called “super fake” replicas.

The Unreliable Tells

Moving from Canal Street into the super fake realm, there are several details that super fakes, unfortunately, tend to get correct.

For example:

• Exterior Fendi logo pattern & placement. For embroidered bags, these are done very well on replicas and much harder to tell apart from photos alone.
• Stitch counts on smaller areas like the front flap buckle. I found that this can vary from bag to bag, even of the same style. Though, it should generally be 12 to 13 stitches across the bottom.
• The embossed FENDI on strap clasps. Again, aside from the obvious font weight differences covered in the Legit Grails article, there are some fakes that get this correct as well.
• Interlocking FF on the end of the interior zipper track. I was hoping this would be missing or misshapen, but alas it is not.
• Interior gold “Baguette Fendi Made in Italy” plate. This plate appears on the embroidered baguettes (leather bags have a leather tab), and the font type and weight is nearly spot on.

How to Really Authenticate a Fendi Baguette

You might be thinking – so what can be reliably used to authenticate a baguette? Two things…

Number One: Interior serial stamp number

• The number itself: The serial number will be the same for all bags of the same style. For a medium-sized baguette, it should start with 8BR600 followed by a series of 4 letters and/or numbers, 3 numbers and then 4 or 5 numbers, with short dashes or dots in between each section.
  • Use listings on Rebag or Fashionphile as a reference. Some examples: one, two and three. Tip: If you don’t see your bag currently for sale, try using Google image search to surface sold listings as well.
• Stamp font style: It is a serif-font, not dissimilar to a tall Georgia or Garamond font, and surprisingly, does not “feel” perfectly printed. And may even look almost squished on the tag. Or totally crooked. Whereas on a fake, the serial stamp is perfectly centered with plenty of padding and usually a smaller font.
• Font orientation: Lastly, the serial number should be oriented such that the top of the serial number is closer to the sewn-in seam, and the bottom is outwards towards the loose end of the tag. Most fakes will have this be “upside down”.

Number Two: Backside of the front clasp plate

The large interlocking FF front metal clasp is attached to the bag with 4 screws, with FENDI embossed into the back. As mentioned in the Legit Grails article, the four screws should be secured horizontally and aligned, all facing the same direction.

Fake bags will typically have FENDI Made in Italy instead of simply FENDI embossed on the back – which may have been accurate for older bags, but for the recent re-issues is inaccurate.

I hope you find this guide helpful! Again, these tips primarily apply to newly re-issued 🥖 in the last few years in the medium size. There may be differences for bags in different sizes (ex. Mini and Large), and also special edition materials.

Partnership Disclosure: This blog post was not sponsored by any of the brands listed above. As always, all opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links, in which I earn a commission on purchases.