As Radley has become increasingly popular, a market in fake Radley has emerged. Inevitably many fakes find their way on to eBay for sale. This is the first in a series of short, simple guides to help you to be sure you're buying the real thing.

It's all about the dog...

  This is a typical Radley dog tag - RADLEY is written across the middle of the dog, in capital letters. He has a small stud eye and his features are clean cut and in proportion. He will normally be attached to a Radley bag in one of two ways. He will either be attached to a small loop near the handles:

or simply attached to the handles of the bag itself:        

Radley is always detachable and is never attached like the fake bags in the following pictures:   Here a flat and stiff Radley dog lead is permanently attached - stitched to the top of the bag, between the handles. It's fake. 

 Here a similarly flat lead is permanently stitched onto the bag just outside the handles. Radley himself has an oversized head and lacks the sharp features of a real Radley dog.

On genuine Radley handbags, you will rarely find a Radley applique dog attached to the bag. The following are all fake Radleys - some are perhaps more obvious than others!

              Radley appears larger than life on some of these bags - they're all fake.

On these bags, not only is Radley the same colour as the bag, he is also rather oddly shaped - neither is genuine Radley.

There is one genuine Radley bag which does feature an appliqued Radley. It has plaited leather handles and a small appliqued Radley which will always be a different colour to the main part of the bag, but the same colour as the Radley dog charm.  It's no longer available to buy in the shops and was produced in 2003 - if you're in any doubt, ask the seller if they're sure that the bag is genuine Radley. 

Radley was founded in 1984 by Australian-born Lowell Harder. Lowell developed a beautiful range of bags featuring the now famous West Highland terrier logo. As the Radley brand has increased in popularity - so fake bags appear on the market. By using the simple tips above, we hope you'll avoid purchasing a fake Radley bag. SelectBags will be producing further Radley guides all aimed at helping you buy Radley safely on eBay.