Salvatore Ferragamo is a high-end Italian designer of luxury goods. Ferragamo opened his first store in the United States in 1919 in Santa Barbara, California, where he quickly became a shoemaker for celebrities and movie stars. He soon opened a shop on Hollywood Boulevard, where he continued to design and sell shoes vigorously, often inspired by events or the world around him. Ferragamo continues to be a symbol of high quality and craftsmanship, and celebrities still wear his products. However, Ferragamo is an often-mimicked brand. With some smarts, you can distinguish between authentic Ferragamo products and the fakes.
Check the lining of your bag or tie. The lining should have "Salvatore Ferragamo" stitched into it. Fakes often have blank, solid colored lining.
Check the tags of your product. An authentic product should have one to several tags, one of which has the serial number underneath. Fakes never have a serial number.
Examine the font of the tags. The tags or labels should proclaim "Salvatore Ferragamo," and the font should match the font of this designer exactly: some of the letters should touch, others should not. Visit the official Salvatore Ferragamo website to double-check.
Check all the hard or metal-based items attached to the item, if any. They should all have "Ferragamo" engraved on them. Check closely for misspellings.
Look for a small white dust-bag, complete with a red drawstring mouth, if you are examining a handbag. Non-authentic bags rarely have this small trinket.
Tip
In general, the stitching and workmanship should be immaculate. Fakes often possess loose strings or threads, crooked stitches or other telltale signs.
If you see a tag that says "genuine leather" or "real leather," the product is a fake. That goes without saying when it comes to authentic Ferragamo products.
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Writer Bio
Lane Cummings is originally from New York City. She attended the High School of Performing Arts in dance before receiving her Bachelor of Arts in literature and her Master of Arts in Russian literature at the University of Chicago. She has lived in St. Petersburg, Russia, where she lectured and studied Russian. She began writing professionally in 2004 for the "St. Petersburg Times."