FAKE VICTORIA BECKHAM ROCK & REPUBLIC JEANS : eBay Guides

HOW TO SPOT FAKE ROCK & REPUBLIC VICTORIA BECKHAM FOR ROCK & REPUBLIC CROWN JEANS

1. THE BASICS...

You should find out some basic information about them (e.g. wash, cut and crown colour) before bidding. If you don't know this information, read on and I will explain both the crown colours and the cuts. But by doing this simple check, you can save yourself from being scammed; fake auctions very often have jeans that do not correspond to their code. If you think a pair of jeans may be genuine, then I urge you to take a closer look at the inside tag. The inside tag will have a code written on it, a mixture of letters that stands for the jeans cut and crown colour. The code will look something like this:

MRDCWNW

In this example, the MRD bit stands for Madrid, which is the cut of the jeans. The CWN part simply stands for crown and then the end letter/s will stand for the crown's colour: in this case, W for white.

2. PRICE

The price is not really a factor when deciding whether the jeans are fake or not; I have saw both genuine and fake pairs go for the same price so it is more important to concentrate on the specifics instead. Don't be swayed by very high prices; this doesn't necessarily mean they are real! Although the jeans originally retailed for £300-£400, you can pick up a (used) pair from £40 upwards. I did a search today (07/07/2011) and this was the going rate at the time of writing.

 3. CROWN COLOURS

As I said before, please find out what the official name of the crowns are before you go bidding. Often, there are some completely fabricated colours up for sale. An example is baby pink crowns on white or blue jeans - this colour doesn't exist, I'm afraid! Below is a list of the only colours that crowns are available in. An asterisk (*) denotes pairs that come with crystals. White crowns come in crystal and non-crystal pairs.

• Black
• Red *
• Blue (a baby blue)
• Gold (a dull gold shade)
• Silver *
• White (can sometimes look blue-ish, but this is often from the dye from the jeans) *
• Fuschia (a very dark, hot pink "Barbie" shade)
• Yellow (very bright shade)
• Pink (hard to describe, very, very pale but if it is genuine, it will have shimmery thread) *
• 60's (lime green)
• 70's (Copper, nearly orange, but not quite as bright)
• 80's Wash (very pale green-gold colour)
• 90's (a more metallic, brighter gold colour)
• Apricot (peachy/ verging on gold shade)
• Foam (gorgeous aqua, "sea foam" colour ) *
• Lilac *

Another member in the U.S has compiled a picture guide of all the available crown colours, which is extremely helpful because the best I could do was describe them! CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES OF ALL THE REAL CROWN COLOURS!

PLEASE NOTE: White jeans are available only with gold, silver, red, blue, white and black crowns. Black wash jeans are only available in silver crowns.

4. COMMON THEMES IN FAKE AUCTIONS

 a). I've had an alarming amount of people contacting me who have bought the jeans in bulk, via sellers who claim they are selling the jeans wholesale... ROCK AND REPUBLIC NEVER, EVER SELL THEIR JEANS WHOLESALE! If a seller claims to be a wholesaler of Rock and Republic, then you can be 100% sure that they are fakes.

b) Another common theme I have noticed in fake auctions. The seller has "purchased the jeans from America" for themselves or a "wife/sister/friend" but they were too small. They are now selling them at a rock bottom price because they got them cheaper in America! SOUND FAMILIAR? Sellers like this are just lulling any potential bidders into a false sense of security. Many bidders think that, just because the jeans are from America, they are real. Although R&R jeans are undoubtedly cheaper in the U.S, fakes can be found on both sides of the Atlantic!

c) Another tell tale sign is when the seller is selling loads of the same pair of jeans (complete with same picture for each auction) but in a range of different sizes. You would never find real jeans in such abundance like this as they are simply far too rare. STAY AWAY FROM AUCTIONS THAT SEEM TO HAVE THE JEANS IN BULK!

5. QUESTIONABLE PHOTOGRAPHS

Common themes with regards to photos in fake auctions:

• Tiny pics that you can hardly make out so, from a distance, the jeans look as if they could be real. Often, sellers have photos of the jeans from strange angles, meaning they look convincing enough to deceive people.
• Often, sellers will mix pics of real AND fake pairs to confuse buyers. Be careful! Look out for continuity in pictures if you think this may be the case.
•  If the seller ONLY has stock pictures of the jeans and no real photos of the actual jeans they are selling, I would refrain from bidding. By stock pictures, I mean photos of models in genuine jeans which you would find on the Rock & Republic website or another reputable department store. 
• I would also steer clear of any seller who ONLY has pics of Victoria or any other celeb wearing the jeans and then claims that they are selling the same ones

A good, honest seller should have loads of clear, good quality pics and if they don't, you should ask for more detailed photographs! If they are genuine then they would have no trouble in fulfilling your request.

6. SIZING

THE JEANS DO NOT COME IN 30" OR 32" LEG LENGTHS IF THEY ARE GENUINE AND UNALTERED! The inseams are very, very long, typically 34" or sometimes longer. You just need to get them altered to suit.

Another note on sizing. The jeans do not come in dress sizes, but waist sizes! Many real sellers, of course, state the waist size and its equivalent dress size. But if you see jeans that have dress sizes on the tags, STAY WELL AWAY!

Please note also that Rock & Republic's sizing is HIGHLY ERRATIC! I speak from experience here! My advice for finding the right size would be NOT to automatically bid on your usual size. Go by the seller's measurements (AND I MEAN THE ACTUAL MEASUREMENTS THE SELLER HAS TOOK WITH A TAPE MEASURE, NOT WHAT IS ON THE LABEL!) And compare these measurements to a favourite pair you already own/are comfortable in.

NOTE: The biggest size the jeans come in is a 32" waist (approx. a UK size 16 I think). So if you see some seller flogging size 33" or above, I'm sorry, but they are fake! The jeans also ONLY COME IN WOMEN'S SIZES. YOU DO NOT GET KIDS/INFANT SIZES IN VICTORIA'S JEANS! If you see some cute baby/kids size jeans - they are FAKE!

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Now that I've covered these basic rules, and you think the jeans you want to buy *could* be real, let's move on to examining the jeans themselves in detail! And if you're still not sure, PLEASE, just email me and I can assist in authenticating! I DO NOT MIND AND I GLADLY DO IT FOR FREE!

Lets move on to...

THE DREADED FAKE BLUE TAGS!

For some bizarre reason, a lot of fakes have a blue tag that says "Rock & Republic" on one side, and in red lettering on the other, "DRY CLEAN ONLY DO NOT WASH"! NO V.B JEANS HAVE THESE TAGS! Here is a pic of a fake tag:

You may also have spotted some that sport black leather tags, that look almost like keyrings. Some real pairs do have these, but please do not take this as a confirmed sign of authenticity, and instead look at the jeans as a whole.

• Also, genuine jeans DO NOT come in plastic bags with "Rock & Republic" printed on them! 
• Nor do they have black tags with a silver crown and "Victoria Beckham" in silver writing printed on them.

THE CROWNS ON THE BACK POCKETS

• The crowns will be positioned centrally on the pockets. I have seen loads of fake pairs where the crown is just far too high up on the back pocket.
• The stitching on the crowns will be very, VERY neat, not sloppy at all.
• The thick, quality stitching should be obvious!  The stitching on fakes is usually thinner and more wiry.         
• The flower shapes on the non-crystal crowns are almost 3D. If you run your finger over them, you should be able to feel that it's raised, NOT flat like you see in a lot of fakes! Obviously you can't feel it before you buy it, but if you have doubts about the crowns, ask for a close up before bidding!
• Also, note the thick shape of the flowers. On fakes, the flowers are the wrong shape, almost "spikey" looking.
• If the pair of jeans is a non-crystal pair, then the crown should have stitched dots along its outline (see below pic). If the pair has crystals, then the jeans will sport crystals where these dots usually are. THE JEANS WILL NEVER, EVER HAVE BOTH. Real jeans will never have crystals glued OVER the stitched dots, or around them!

Here is a real crown, taken from my own pair of white Madrids:                                                 

NOTE: The only place where there should be a crown is on the back pockets, one on each back pocket. I have noticed some fakes include a mini crown on the tiny fifth pocket of jeans: this is wrong.

THE BLUE VICTORIA BECKHAM PATCH

• It should be on the back, right hand side of the jeans.
• Again, text should be extremely well stitched and very neat.
• Tag is sewn on straight and the crown will be perfectly proportioned and neat. 
• The patch will ALWAYS be blue with white writing and stitching on the blue wash jeans. The patch will also be like this on white jeans that have red crowns.
• On white jeans with silver, blue, white or black crowns, the patch will be white with silver writing.
• On white jeans with gold crowns, the patch will be white with gold writing.
• On the black jeans, the patch will be black with silver writing!
• The patch will never be leather looking! I have seen this on a few fake auctions; the patch is a heavy cotton like material.
• The fakes sometimes get the colour wrong. Should be a dark shade of royal blue, NOT PURPLE OR LIGHT/SKY BLUE!

  Here is a pic of a real patch on the left:

And here is a fake patch, on the right. The fake patch is a bit wrinkly looking, not taut like the real one. Also the crown is just too "messy" looking and isn't as symmetrical as the real thing.

CROWN TAG

• Should be on the inside of the jeans, sewn to the middle of the waist band, DEAD CENTRE!

Here's a pic from my own jeans again;

• After the crown, the tag says "Victoria Beckham for Rock & Republic" (just like on the blue patch). Here, you can just about see where the 'V' for Victoria begins.
• Text will be as neat and pronounced too, just like the patch.
• The tag should always be sewn vertically (in a loop) like the above picture, and will never be placed horizontally.

The crystals should absolutely be NEATLY aligned, not all over the place. PLEASE look carefully! 

I hope I do not need to tell you that the pair on the left are the genuine ones! When you compare these to what you see on the right... there is just no contest! Hopefully just by seeing this HUGE difference below, you will be made aware that most of the jeans offered on eBay are badly made, ugly copies!

If you look closely at the fake crown, you can see that it also has stitched dots AND crystals glued over them! AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THIS IS WRONG!

• Also, notice on the fake crown that some crystals aren't aligned properly at all. They are simply randomly stuck, and not placed within the outline of the crown's stitching! Messy messy! 
• The crystals should also just be on the crown itself ONLY! Not anywhere else on the back pockets or anywhere else on the jeans AT ALL!

ALSO, REAL JEANS DO NOT USE DIAMONTES! IT'S ACTUALLY SWAROVSKI CRYSTALS! The crystals are extremely sparkly and catch the light brightly. If you look at my example, you can see that they glisten in multi-coloured tones and are not flat looking and dull, like the fakes.

THE DOUBLE R TAGS

This is what they look like and where they're positioned. Near the fly, on the edge of the bit of material where the button is attached. And also on the right hip, note the positioning. (NOTICE HOW THEY ARE ALSO BACK TO BACK, WITH ONE OF THE R'S BACK TO FRONT!)

CUTS

Here is a list of cuts that the jeans come in. The other name which I have included in brackets corresponds to the Rock & Republic name for that cut. Names like L.A and London, etc are the V.B names for these styles, but they are the same fit as their other name!

NOTE: The V.B jeans will never have the other R&R name on them. If they do, they are fake. Alot of fakes, for some reason, say 'Roth' on the label so be careful!

The Victoria Beckham cuts are:

L.A (same as R&R's Kiedis fit) = Bootcut

London (" Jagger fit) = Bootcut also, but with a super low rise!

Madrid ( " Roth fit) = Flared

Stockholm ( " Costello fit) = Straight leg

 St. Tropez = Mini skirt

South Beach = 3/4 length (cropped denims) with turn ups

Monte Carlo = also 3/4 length crops with no turn ups

WASHES

Here's a list of washes that V.B jeans come in. I have also added a note if a particular wash runs big or small (according to my own personal experience or from friends).

Addict = medium blue. My non-crystal pair shown above is this wash. I found these to run slightly big. This wash is 98% cotton and 2% elastin and I found that after a few hours of wearing them, they were not as tight as they were at first and I had to buy a smaller size. 

Dark Vapor = A kind of medium blue, yet lighter than the Addict. They also have mild distressing on them. The genuine crystal pair shown above is this wash!

60 = medium to dark blue.

70 = medium blue, darker than 80's.

80 = light blue wash, thought not quite stone washed. Have been told these run big, DOUBLE CHECK MEASUREMENTS!

90 = this is a very deep, dark blue. This is probably the darkest out of the blue washes.

100 = Raven black wash.

White = white wash.

Radion = dark blue wash, though not as dark as the 90's. Have been told these run small, they are very rigid and have no stretch to them. Better to size up so DOUBLE CHECK MEASUREMENTS!

Radial = Medium to dark I would say, this is the wash that the crystal lilac crowns come in, very pretty!

The washes should have gradual fading on places like the front of the thighs, whiskering on the tops of the legs and on the bum. It will never look streaky and cheap! So watch out for dodgy fading, streaking, strange spots on the material etc etc!

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I hoped I've educated you a bit more about these jeans! :-) I unfortunately have been scammed by fakes so I know it's tough looking for a genuine pair on the internet.  But I have learnt a lot by doing my research first!  Please feel free to email me with any questions or comments! I really don't mind, all you eBayers are always too kind to me! :-) Thank you for taking the time to read this and please vote for my guide!

* UPDATE * I've had quite a lot of emails recently from buyers who are concerned that they have bought fakes because my description does not match their recent purchase at all. This is usually because they have bought a pair of Rock & Republic crown jeans and not a pair of Victoria Beckham for Rock & Republic crown jeans. Allow me to explain the difference. When Victoria stopped working with Rock & Republic in September 2006, Rock & Republic could not go on using Victoria's crown design (probably due to copyright/legal issues). So they brought out their own (slightly modified) crown design, minus the Victoria Beckham name. Victoria also has her own line now, dVb jeans, but these do not feature crowns and are not to be confused with the original R&R pairs.

Secondly, please, please note that the original Victoria Beckham crown jeans are now very, very rare! The jeans ceased to be made in 2007 (and were first made in 2004) so please be wary when you see so many on eBay at low prices! So how do you weed out the genuine pairs from the fakes? Read on!