It is known by every fashion fan, especially in the classic Burberry Nova Checkered Print — Thomas Burberry’s coats, the maker of Burberry[1] have been manufactured ever since 1856.
Since this trench got this popularity, fakes come along with it.
We’re here to help you authenticate these.
How to Spot a FAKE Burberry Coat
You can spot a fake Burberry coat by checking the text on the neck tag to see if the text is very thick, as this is a very common issue with all fake coats.
1. Neck tag
This coat was released over 71 times throughout its history[2]. Hence there are lots of authentic versions of the neck tag.
As Burberry changes their name a couple of times[3], “Burberry, London England” is the most popular one among these coats.
Find a list of all the name changes at the end of these comparisons.
1.1. BURBERRY London, England
Flaws on the fake Burberry coat’s neck tag:
The first two letters on each line of text are too bolded on the fake coat.
The “BURBERRY” main logo on the fake vintage coat is to be too thick as well.
There are many more stitches building the “BURBERRY” text logo, having this bolder look.
The “London, England” inscription on the fake Burberry Nova coat looks too thin.
Most visible in the letter “d” in the “England” text.
1.2. Burberrys
There are fewer replicas with this neck tag rather than the number of replicas with the previously inspected neck tag.
If you see a neck tag that’s off the pattern of the real one highlighted above, then you are most likely looking at a counterfeit Burberry trench coat.
Burberrys vs Burberry — What is the difference?
Answer: There is no difference between “Burberrys” and “Burberry”.
The one that ends with an “s” is simply the old name of the brand, used up until 1999.
Starting in 2000, the brand was officially named “Burberry”.
1.3. Burberry ®
This is one of those rare cases, but we’re here to warn you about any sort of flaw that occurs on the replica Burberry coats.
If you see a Burberry coat with the “Burberry® OF LONDON” text (without the “s” at the end of “Burberry”), then you are definitely looking at a fake coat.
The brand used to do authentic neck tags that said “Burberry London” in the threshold of 1998-1999, so that makes two years of “Burberry London”.
1.4. Timeline of the brand’s names
Burberry is known for changing its name a few times, and if you’re looking for a concrete and easy-to-remember list with the brand’s names, then have a look below.
Until 1998: The brand was called “Burberrys”, and the tags used to say “Burberrys Made in England”, “Burberrys London Paris New York”, and “Burberrys of London” – this may be different considering where the coat was manufactured (inside Britain or outside)
Until < 1999: The brand was called just”Burberry”, and neck tags used to say “Burberry London”
The era of 2019-2020: The brand is still called Burberry, and they made coats with a neck tag saying “BURBERRY ESTABLISHED 1856”[4]
From 2020 to present: They are still named Burberry and the neck tags say “Burberry London, England” with the appointment inscriptions above (see this image)
That’s all you need to know about what your product’s neck tag should say based on when it was manufactured.
Expert's Advice - Reach out to our authenticators
2. Wash tags
The wash tags are yet another very good way to spot fake Burberry coats, and we recommend that you never skip checking the wash tags, as they can also tell you the authenticity of a coat in an easy manner.
2.1. First label
Not every Burberry coat will have this piece.
In the image with the fake vs real Burberry coats above, we have pointed out how there are three flaws in the fake tag:
The fake trench coat’s “BURBERRY” logo is too thin.
There is also too much space between its letters.
The coat’s model text “THE SANDRINGHAM” is too thin on the fake coat.
Size inscriptions are missing on the fake coat. Blatant mistake for a replica Burberry!
The fake coat’s missing the dash (“-“) and the text which says the size of the coat.
Always compare your Burberry coat side-by-side with our fake vs real images to get it right.
2.2. Second label
The fake coat’s inscriptions are way different from the real ones.
The main “BURBERRY” text is too thick and not as wide as the real text.
The fake coat’s “BURBERRY” text has its letters placed too close to each other.
Most noticeable if you look at the spacing between the “R” and the “B”.
The inscriptions which say that the item was manufactured in England are too thin on the fake coat.
On the other hand, the legit Burberry coat’s “BURBERRY” main text looks thinner, wider and more stretched than the fake coat’s text, and the real deal has its letters with more distance in-between, therefore having a higher kerning than the characters on the fake coat.
Lastly, on the bottom side of the wash tag, the real coat’s text should look a bit thicker than the text seen on the upper side of the wash tag, and the fake coat’s text actually looks thinner than it should be.
2.3. Authentic labels for reference
Now, let’s have a quick look at a few other authentic wash tags.
Authentic Burberry made in ItalyAuthentic Burberry made in England
On the left side of the image, you’ll see the legitimate Burberry wash tag of an item manufactured in Italy, and on the right side, there’s another one from England.
The made-in-Italy wash tags are rarer than the made-in-England ones, hence there are fewer replicas for the made-in-Italy items rather than the more numerous number of fakes pretending to be made in England.
Authentic, old “Burberrys” wash tag
This picture from above shows you an older version of an authentic Burberry wash tag. This is indeed a bigger and more detailed wash tag, and being frank, these are not often seen replicated.
2.4. Fake Burberry made in China label
We’ve added this reference picture of a fake Chinese Burberry label due to high demand. People always ask if a coat is fake just because it says “MADE IN CHINA”.
Where is Burberry made?
Authentic Burberry coats and other products are made all over the world:
United States of America;
England;
Scotland;
Spain;
Italy;
Poland;
Romania;
China;
India;
Is Burberry made in China real or fake?
Don’t panic if you see your Burberry item saying that it is made in China. There are many authentic Burberry tags that say “Made in China” on all labels.
Just because it says that the item was manufactured in China, it 100% doesn’t mean that you have a fake Burberry.
3. Model tag
3.1. The Kensington
The fake coat’s “THE KENSINGTON” inscription is too thin and too tall, while the real coat’s text is thicker and smaller, therefore looking boxier than the fake one.
The fake “Made in England” handwritten inscription is too thin and on the authentic coat, the text is visibly thicker.
3.2. The Sandringham
The “THE SANDRINGHAM” text seen on the fake Burberry coat is too thick.
The same inscriptions are way bolder than they should be, as the real coat’s text is thinner.
The fake “THE SANDRINGHAM” text has letters that are too close to each other, while the real ones are not spread.
The “Made in England” text on the fake Sandringham coat is too thick as well.
Most noticeable in the letter “M” in the “Made” text, as well as in the “d” in the word “England”.
3.3. The Westminster
The fake “THE WESTMINSTER” text is too thin in “THE WE”, and how too thick in “STMINSTER”.
The real Burberry Westminster’s whole “THE WESTMINSTER” text has the same font weight for all of its characters, unlike the fake coat’s text.
The fake coat’s “Made in England” inscription is also too thin.
The authentic Burberry coat’s “Made in England” text is thicker and more defined.
Besides, the stitching job all around the fake badge is not as dense as the real stitching.
4. Interior Nova print
The fake coat’s lining is wrong and misplaced.
The fake Burberry coat’s red lines are placed too far away from the neck tag.
The pattern from the genuine Burberry coat above should be the same throughout each authentic Burberry Nova coat, as the red lines need to be close to the neck tag.
The picture with the fake vs real Burberry Nova coats above shows you a full-view angle of the pattern on the inside.
As you can see, the fake coat’s black and white lines are a bit thicker and larger than the real ones, which are thinner and narrower.
A quick mention:
The steps we’ve written so far are the BEST ways to authenticate this item
The next few steps are still reliable methods…
… but they apply to non-top-versions of replicas available for this item
If in doubt, we recommend double-checking the steps we’ve explained above this line.
5. Size tag
Depending on the release of your item, there may be just one or two tabs.
These indicate where your Burberry was made and the size in different formats: UK, US, and Italian sizes.
The fake “MADE IN ENGLAND” text has its letters too thick.
That aside, if you look at the letters “D” and “E” in the “MADE” text, you can see how they are too big on the fake item, and how all of the letters on the real labels are at the same size and font-weight.
The “US UK IT” tab (United States, United Kingdom, Italy) on the fake Burberry coat also has its text too thick, and that’s the most visible on the “IT” text. On the other hand, the real coat’s text is thinner on this small tab as well.
6. Matching labels
This is one of the most critical flaws that a fake Burberry coat can have, and that’s because the interior labels do not match the model’s name properly.
So as to easily understand this, let’s have a look at the neck tag and at the wash tag of the same Burberry coat that presents this flaw:
The neck tag is on the left, and the wash tag is on the right side of the image.
Looking at the neck tag, you can see how it says “THE CHELSEA”
Then, on the wash tag, the coat says “THE KENSINGTON”.
You may think now: Which inscription should I believe?
Well, the answer is none, because that’s a fake coat.
The coat from above is supposed to be a Chelsea replica, but the replica manufacturer messed up the inscription on the wash tag, and yes, this does happen sometimes on fake Burberry products.
An authentic Burberry coat will have the same model inscriptions on the neck + wash tags.
These differ from one release to another, but the word that is always written on these is the “BURBERRY” text logo, and that’s what’s always flawed on the fake coats.
The fake “BURBERRY” letters are too deep into the plastic.
This makes the letters thicker than the real ones.
The fake letters are also too tall, while the genuine letters are boxier.
That’s just the way in which the logo of the brand looks on a real coat: with smaller, boxier letters.
Do all Burberry coats have Burberry on the buttons?
Yes, all Burberry coats have “Burberry” on the buttons. The brand’s logo should use the San Serif font in capital letters on every button.
You’ll often see fake Burberry coats missing the “Burberry” logo engraved into the buttons.
8. Buckle material
The fake Burberry coat’s buckle is made out of plastic
The real buckle one is made out of metal.
Keep in mind that the genuine Burberry coats are always made with fine materials, therefore needing to have this buckle made out of metal instead of plastic.
9. Belt stitching
The fake is too small and too boxy, therefore looking too thick.
On the other hand, the real Burberry coat’s stitching on this patch looks bigger and a tad bit wider, as it is generally just thinner than the fake coat’s stitching.
10. Buckle shininess
The fake coat’s hardware detail is shinier and reflects more light than it should.
That is because the real Burberry coat’s same hardware detail is less shiny, hence why it reflects less light.
11. Waterproof test
Let’s look at the coat’s behaviour when water is poured on top of it.
The Burberry trench coat is supposed to cover you from rain, but that doesn’t mean that it has to be waterproof.
To better understand this, have a look at a quote from Burberry’s official website:
Our Heritage Trench Coats are not waterproof, the Heritage Trench Coat is designed to protect the wearer against rain and made from water-repellent cotton gabardine, a fabric invented by Thomas Burberry in 1879. The innovative cloth is woven from fine, compacted cotton in a structure that prevents water from permeating the fabric.
The fake coat’s “BURBERRY” text is too big and thin.
The text is also faded → Most visible on the right side of the letter “U”.
A real Burberry hanger would necessarily have its “BURBERRY” text looking smaller, thinner and perfectly visible, since it isn’t faded.
Shortlist: Tell fake Burberry coats (~30 sec.)
Have a look at the text on the neck tag of your Burberry coat, as most of the fake products have their text in the wrong thickness
Inspect the wash tag’s inscriptions and makes sure they are detailed as well as the real ones
Look at the little tab below the neck tag that says the model of your coat. Usually, the fake Burberry vintage coats have their text at the wrong font weight here as well
Examine the lining on the interior side of your coat, on the Nova printing. In most cases, the fake Burberry coats have their red lines placed too far away from the neck tag, as well as the black and white ones are too thick
See the little tab/s next to the neck tag. Most of the time, the fake Burberry coats have their inscriptions there flawed as well in terms of thickness
Make sure that your coat’s tab with the model matches the text with the model written on the wash tag
Authenticate the “BURBERRY” text engraved into the buttons of your coat. Mostly, the fake Burberry coats have their text engraved too deep into the buttons
Look at the buckle of your coat. Usually, the replica Burberry Nova trench coats will have their buckle made out of plastic instead of metal
Examine the stitching on the belt of your coat, as the fake items tend to have their stitching at the wrong thickness and length
Inspect the D-shaped metal hardware that helps you tie the coat, and make sure that it isn’t shining too much
Test your coat by pouring water on top of it. The authentic Burberry trench coat is supposed to protect you from the rain, though it isn’t supposed to be waterproof
Remember to also look at the “BURBERRY” text written on the hanger, if possible. The fake Burberry hangers usually have their text too big, too thin and faded out
There are situations, where you may be unable to go through each detailed step, explained above when you need to authenticate your trench coat.
That is why we have compiled this quick 60 seconds solution to authenticating your coat.
Expert Burberry trench coat authentication service
If you need help with the authentication of your Burberry coat, we’ve got you covered.
All you have to do is send us good-quality pictures of your Burberry coat and we will get back to you with the results within 24 to 48 hours.
The results will also come with a report on why we believe your coat is fake or authentic.
References
Moore, Christopher M., and Grete Birtwistle. “The Burberry business model: creating an international luxury fashion brand.” International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 32.8 (2004): 412-422. Access here: doi.org/10.1108/09590550410546232
Lee, MinSun, and Sun Young Choi. “How does Burberry Infuse ‘Freshness’ into Classic Trench Coats?.” International Journal of Costume and Fashion 22.1 (2022): 63-79. Access here: ijcf.ksc.or.kr/xml/33546/33546.pdf
Weston, Sian. Branding burberry: Britishness, heritage, labour and consumption. Diss. Goldsmiths, University of London, 2016. Access at: research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/19358
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About the Author
David is the co-founder and co-CEO of Legit Check By Ch. David's experience: 5+ years of creating educational content in the fashion industry. 6+ years of authenticating luxury items. Currently, David is the Head Editor of the LCBC Library, where 1,000,000+ words have been published, in free guides, for over 1,000 items.
