Consumers who prefer authentic designer items over knock-offs have to carefully examine the item, meticulously inspecting the materials like the fabric, the craftsmanship, the condition as well as the smaller details like zippers, handles, buckles, patches and other trimmings.

With the right knowledge gained from research, consumers can be able to identify if a handbag or a piece of bracelet is fake or not. Designers put their signature on their products which may prove to be quite difficult to reproduce. Discrepancies in design are also tell-tale signs of fake products.

Another way to be certain of the authenticity of the item is to buy at shops that have received the authorization of the designers and/or manufacturers to sell their products.

Still, why do we find such a large number of fake designer handbags, clothes, shoes, etc out there? The reason lies on what these designer items have to offer. It's the status symbol. With designer handbags, clothes and shoes, you are able to flaunt to the world that you can buy a $600 or $800 or $1000 handbag.

To the world of fashion and to the women culture, this is really a big thing. But the fact of the matter is most women out there who want to have that status cannot afford to buy designer items.

This is the time when they resort to imitations. When they can no longer keep their desires at bay, they end up resorting to the closest thing that could bring them to the coveted status of being fashionable, being important, being somebody.

This vulnerability of women has been grabbed as a great opportunity by unscrupulous individuals or companies. Clothing manufacturers, for instance, have used fashion shows as basis for creating imitations of designs and selling them on the streets or on the internet at very low prices.

Designer bags and shoes share the same fate. What has been showcased in fashion shows would come out in the streets as knockoffs in less than a month. Partly to blame is the lack of teeth of current laws on design theft. Designers are not protected by the law not the same way as their counterparts in the creative industry like the writers, artists and musicians.