Just
a quick update. Just Like the Real Thing is having an awesome sale on
Chloe Paddington handbags. Right now they are $165.00USD and include
shipping to anywhere in the world. You can read more about it and see more pics here in a
previous post
here. I am at roughly 76 bags sold. This is a great deal.
As
previously mentioned, this low price is negotiated with my
supplier, due to quantities bought. There are no defects on these
bags, they are not discontinued models nor do they have any poor
workmanship. They are made with genuine, super soft lambskin leather,
come with a dust bag and have all the Chloe stamps and tags. They are
AAA+ or 7 star replication quality.
I've gotten a ton of email and a lot of REALLY good questions about the bags. Just some notes to answer some common questions for everyone. Firstly, Chloe is replicated
very well
by the factory that I deal with. And as far as I can tell from
inspecting the real bag (which I own and also some friends own) and the replica, the Paddington is a fairly
easy bag to copy (that is, no intricate layered patterned leather, like
Burberry, for instance) and the Paddington replica is therefore about
99% sameness to the original. There are
no noticeable physical differences
that I see between the Chloe replica and the real bag, however, the replica is still a
replica and therefore was not made in a Chloe authorized factory, but
rather a factory in Asia. In case you're wondering, the replica uses the exact same lambskin leather and
copies the hardware very well. If you wanted to differentiate between the original bag
and the replica, you would find it by removing (ripping out) the inside
lining of both bags or by verifying the serial number with an official Chloe
database.
The
most detail oriented part of this bag is the metal studs, their size, shape and their placement on the bag. As I have written in the past, hardware is where the replica factories make or break the likeness. Incidentally, copying the leather is usually not a huge issue for them. Exceptions: some Burberry bags and LV Epi leather.
Here is a
link to Nieman Marcus'
site, you
will see that maroon coloured Paddington here. I am posting the pic here however, please note that I am not picture manipulation savvy and so I could only do so much with a flash picture.
Aside from lighting and Nieman's picture being a lot brighter, you will see that that the two handbags do look the same.
Let's
do a checklist on every detail to ensure we're on the same page. Open up another
tab or session of your web browser. Keep that link side by side with
this blog entry and let's go through the details together.
Studs:
Handle:
You
will see three studs of two different sizes on each handle looking
straight at the bag, the pattern is SMALL rounded stud, BIG flat stud,
SMALL rounded stud. You can zoom in on the pic at the Nieman Marcus
site and see this detail. I will post different angles of the replica
bag as we discuss more details.
Closures / Loops:
Focussing on the right side of the bag (right by the "g" in
"Thing"), so we're all on the same page, you will see square shaped loops to attach the handle to the bag and once attached you will see
a elongated piece of leather that attaches right onto a tear drop shaped piece
of leather. Like the original, you will see double stitching around
the tear drop piece since it is securing the handle well to the bag.
Right where the tear drop is double stitched to the bag, you will see 4
metal studs, in pairs, at the top part of AND on either side of the tear drop, and two same
sized metal studs at the bottom of the tear drop. The studs do not form
a perfect square and are not supposed to be in perfect alignment. See it? You can also go to the Chloe
site and see some more pics of the Paddington bags there.
Immediately to the farther right of the tear drop patch is a mock adjustable clasp, with the square C-shaped hardware. The hardware has the Chloe stamped right on it as well. Here is a
close up of the hardware on the Chloe site
You can see from the pic to the left that the hardware is also squarely C-shaped hardware on the replica.
The C-shaped closure is attached to a narrow piece of leather which is studded to the front and back of the bag. This strip of leather is
not sewn to the bag.
Here is an extreme closeup. When you have a high resolution picture like this you need more light, hence the difference in appearance. And from the replica picture on the left, you can see "Chloe" inscribed on the square C-shaped hardware.
Please note that on this
pic, there is Chloe inscribed on the square C-shaped hardware and that's because it's not! Chloe does only inscribe "Chloe" on one square C-shaped hook. It is always on ONE side of the bag. The Chloe website photo is showing the C-shaped closure / loop to the RIGHT of the lock. If you go to the
Nieman Marcus site, and zoom in to the far left, you will see the inscription on that pic, but if you zoom in on the far right, you will not see any inscription.
Still with me? And you wonder why I might leave handbags!
Bottom studs:
The bottom of the bag has 16 studs of two different sizes. The outside of the bag has small studs in the four corners of the bottom of the handbag. These same studs are found along the length side of the middle of the bag as well. Intertwined between the small studs are 6 slightly larger studs that act as the feet of the bag as well.
Lock and Key:
A very characteristic and hence important part of this bag. The lock, key and hardware on the replica all match in look, weight
and feel to the original bag.
The key comes attached the bag with a strip of leather. It is removable. For the brass locks, the key matches in weight and look. It has "Chloe" inscribed on it. The lock is always wrapped in the same leather as the bag itself. On that leather strip is inscribed "Chloe", you know, in case you forget who makes the handbag!
The Diamonte keys are bedazzled with the diamond crystals that are the
exact same size as the crystals on the lock. Both Brass and Diamonte
locks are exactly the same size.
I
know this is a lot of information. By the way, this is my job when I
scope out bags. Welcome to my world!
Metal Plate:
This pic at first looks like a
mistake on the part of the replica. If you
look up at the Nieman Marcus picture, you will see that you can see the
lock placed DIRECTLY on the metal Chloe plate. What you cannot see in
the Nieman Marcus picture are the two leather zip closures that you can attach
to your bag to a) keep your bag closed and locked and b) keep the metal lock from rubbing up against and scratching the metal
plate. If you look at this
picture,
on the Chloe website, you will see the two leather zip closures / metal protectors dangling
next to the lock. In my pic, I have closed up the bag and slipped the zip closures on to the metal hook and locked the lock onto the bag. Therefore, in my picture, the metal plate is obstructed. In
Nieman Marcus' picture, you can see that while the bag is zipped up, it is not locked closed and so the metal plate shows.
To me metal rubbing metal is never a good
thing because you can easily damage your hardware and it will look crappy in no time. Also if you're like me and walk very fast, you will hear the
clink!, clang!, clink! with every step!
The metal plate itself is very simple. Studded in four corners and glued to the bag, it
simply reads, "Chloe". No "made in...", no "of Paris". Nothing. Just
"Chloe".
Where the flap that houses the metal plate
meets the bag, is also an inscription, right onto the leather, of
"Louis Vuitton"! Just joking!! Remarkably, it too reads, "Chloe".
Here, in the leather, it also reads "MADE IN ITALY" in all caps.
Zippers:
There two opposing direction zippers on any Chloe Paddington bag and they are always (scratching head to try to think of an exceptions), always silver in colour. Despite the fact that all the other hardware is brassy goldish in colour the zipper is still silver. The zipper's ties are what come together on both sides and lock into place onto the metal plate so that you can add your decorated lock for extra security! Remember those leather zip closures / metal protectors I was talking about above? Those are the pulls for the zipper. Each pull has 4 studs and these studs match the studs on the mock adjustable straps located on each side. You can see the silver zipper teeth
here and in the replica you can see the silver teeth on the blue replica Paddington here:
Handles:
The handles in the
Nieman Marcus picture are very misleading. I've never seen such perfect, self, straight standing handles in my life. In my pics you can see an invisible string, holding the handles up so that I can show you size and length. My handle holding apparatus also causes the leather to bend in certain ways. You can see simple bending on the
Chloe site. Please note that another slightly misleading factor in the Nieman Marcus picture, and I'm sure it's just done for aesthetics to make everything seem smooth, is that the handles are covered with extra leather. Nieman Marcus makes it look like there is a very smooth leather covering, almost paper thin. In fact this is a whole second layer of leather at the top of the handles.
It's here for the usual reasons: to protect most of the handle from the sweat produced by all palms (don't laugh, it's true), for a more comfortable grip, and overall reinforcement for an area of the bag where it gets, well
handled, a lot! The reinforcement leather is sewn into place and does not slide all over the place.
Lining
Unlike other designer bags, where the lining can be quiet intricate and fancy with woven logos and brand names, the lining in a Chloe Paddington is simple cream coloured cotton. It has no distinguishable Chloe features and is plain. The lining, as far as I can remember from the original bags and the replicas, is always a plain, cream coloured cotton lining. There are other Chloe bags that have slightly more ornate linings but I am (almost) certain it is never the Paddington.
And there you have if, folks. The Chloe Paddington replica dissected and examined. What did I forget? I think I have covered the roughly 7 million questions I had to answer! If I forgot something,
write me and I will clarify.
Take advantage of this Chloe Paddington offer, folks!
