Dior Book Tote is definitely one of my favorite handbags in 2018. When I first saw it in spring, I said to myself, 'Oh, it's just a high-end Tory Burch Ella Tote.' But come to think about it, if you want a casual chic work tote without clashing with others, what are your options? I didn't realize that I “need” it until Dior raised its MSRP for the third time in 2018 from $1,900 to $2,700…
With the Oblique Book Tote waitlisted until winter, I've been living off eBay and Vestiaire's feeds for two months and upon receiving a checker Book Tote from Australia, I thought I could finally put my Dioraddiction to an end, not until did I find out it was a knock-off! Before shipping it back across the sea, I decided to do a side by side comparison between a real Book Tote and the replica.
The construction of the replica is fundamentally different from the real Book Tote. In short, the fake tote slouches and collapses too easily. It is true that the initial SS 2018 models in checker and Mexican embroidery have a softer construction than their successors, but all Dior Book Totes can stand and sit on their own without any supporting fillings. The genuine Book Tote can hold its shape sitting on either its bottom or sides.
While the counterfeiters are keeping up with the trend in no time, they did not bother to spend a bit more time on fashion history. The Book Tote was first introduced in SS 2018 but the date code on the replica indicated that the bag was made in 2015, when Maria Grazia Chiuri was still with Valentino.
The replica's jacquard is not well made and inconsistencies are visible throughout from fabric, pattern, to density of the stitches. Pay particular attention to the curve of the 'S' where the arrows point to.
I used to think Dior Book Tote might not be a style counterfeiters would go after because the cost of developing the jacquard fabric to the extent of deception is considerably high. In other words, it is not easy to fake but easy to tell it's a fake. On the other hands, it has proven that quality is the strongest advocate of authenticity itself.