Founded in 1987, Kipling is a Belgian fashion company specialising in bags and purses. The company has stores in 55 countries across the world, and the business conducts many sales through online auction sites. Each bag and backpack sports a small monkey keychain; each collection features a different style of monkey on the keychain. The company maintains quality control restrictions on their bags, but the market is replete with fake versions of the bag.

  • Founded in 1987, Kipling is a Belgian fashion company specialising in bags and purses.
  • The company maintains quality control restrictions on their bags, but the market is replete with fake versions of the bag.

Look for the plush monkey mascot in the form of a keychain. Discount the bag as a fake if it is missing this key detail, as almost every Kipling product has one, aside from small wallets, make-up clutches and limited-edition bags.

Examine the monkey mascot's left arm; a genuine Kipling bag will have a Kipling name tab sewn to it, whereas counterfeit bags often have the tab sewn directly onto the body of the bag.

Scrutinise the colouration of the round Kipling logo on the front of the bag; a genuine bag's logo will be nearly exactly the same colour of the bag, while logos of inauthentic bags are of a very different colour than the body of the bag.

Look for a white label inside the bag that states the colour, the product code and the Kipling name; every Kipling bag made since 2003 has this label.

TIP

If you are buying from an online auction website, look at the seller's feedback rating, as sellers of spurious products often receive low scores and negative feedback.