Oilily : How to tell the fake from the real thing!

Ebay for a while now has been invaded by Fake Oilily sellers.  These sellers may not even be aware that they are handling in fake goods - but it does not make it any less right or fair.  Oilily childrens clothes are very expensive, and paying £25, £50 or £75 for a fake item is unfair, wrong and illegal!

Things to be aware of and on the look out for:

1. Make sure you are aware of the sizing system that Oilily use.  Oilily is always sized in European sizes, sometimes with the age indication next to the size, for example 116 5-6yrs.  Sizing goes up in 6's, so 92, 98, 104, 110, 116, 122 and 128 so on.  Some sizes are harder to find like 110 and 122 as these are European only sizes.  If you see an item listed with a sizing of 114 4-5yrs this should ring alarm bells, 114 is not a size used by Oilily and so proceed with extreme caution!  Obviously the seller could have made a mistake when listing so it is best to e-mail and clarify.
2. Be aware of what you are buying.  Generally volume sellers and buyers of Oilily know the specific names of garments such as Din Din, Twingy, Twain etc.  If you are looking at an auction for a Spoex dress, then search Ebay for other Spoex dresses so that you can make a comparison.  Doing this it should be easy to see any differences between the dresses.  And don't be fooled, if it is different from 3 others listed then it is a fake!  Do be aware that Oilily re-use garment names - for example there were 'Dice' trousers in Autumn/Winter 05 and also Spring/Summer 06.
3. If a seller is selling a second hand Oilily item you suspect to be fake, ask where it was purchased.  And again make a comparison with other Oilily items on ebay.  Just because the tag is missing doesn't mean the poor quality of the garment will have improved!! 
4. ALWAYS check an ebayers feedback, just because it is 100% positive does not mean they are 100% trustworthy - also check the comments for most recent transactions and the number of mutually withdrawn feedbacks as they can all provide clues to their true ebay reputation.
5. While most of these fake items do come from the Asian market place, please be aware that there are sellers in Europe and the USA buying items from these sellers and re-selling them as genuine items.  Do not be fooled that just because someone is in the UK, Germany, Australia or USA for example that that automatically means that the items are going to be genuine.  There is a lot of money to be made out of selling fake designer wear, and unfortunately that means there will always be people ready and prepared to make money out of it - no matter where they are!
6. Please be aware that most Oilily clothes do have Asian writing on the care labels.  If the label says 'Made in Italy' and has Asian writing on the care label this will be a real garment.  It is not the writing you are looking for but the place of manufacture.  Be sure to get this straight before accusing an innocent seller in dealing with fakes.
7. SOME Oilily is actually manufactured in China (Just to make it difficult for us!!)  These items include some coats and bags but even so, it should be easy to tell from the labels and quality if you have a genuine.....and if in doubt then do your research!
8. If in doubt do research......a seller is not allowed to mislead in their discription OR list fake items on ebay. 

Arm youself against fakes:

• Go into your local boutique, check out what the tags etc look like.
• If you can obtain copies of every seasons catelogue, this will be an invaluable resource.
• Always, always trust your instincts.
• Don't let sellers dealing in fake goods get away with it..........Leave negative feedbacks, let the world know!  (Make sure you keep your comments accurate and that you have made 110% sure that the item is a copy before tarnishing a sellers reputation with what could turn out to be false allegations.)      

The tags:

In Spring / Summer 2006 Oilily changed their tags - and as from then the tags now green and very different to the old style...this may have been in response to the increase in replicas being produced.  The green tags are attached by a green ribbon with a seal on it.  If a new item arrives with the green tag and has an ordinary plastic attachment beware as this is not the way Oilily attach these tags! (even though it was the way they attached the old style tags)

The FAKE versus the REAL thing!!

These pictures have very kindly been donated to me for this guide by ebayer Helen1.  They are superb in showing the differences between fakes and genuine Oilily......use these as a reference!!

These pictures show the clear differences between genuine top quality Oilily items and cheap fakes!  The two dress pictured are actually supposed to be the same size!  Picture number 4 shows the differences of the hems between fake and genuine items - Oilily's quality is second to none and as such rough hemming like the bottom item in this picture would not happen!  The perfect hem of the top item is how Oilily really looks!  It is clear to see they are not.  Also it is easy to see the appalling print on the copies.......Million thanks again to Helen for these pictures!

There is also a lot of information available on the website nofakeoilily dot com - educate yourself and do not fall victim to the fake trade!

I am always happy to help.............e-mail me with any questions, queries, concerns or comments!