Supreme: How to Beat the Cheats

When you’ve spent months saving up for something from the new Supreme collection only to find it has sold out within an hour, the last thing you want to do is to spend twice the price for a fake. That is especially true if you’re buying from sites like eBay or Supreme vendors. But it is very easy to get stung.

Training the eye to spot fake clothing is difficult as it often requires finding minor variations in stitching and tags but it is not impossible. So, here is your beginner’s guide to foil fakery, with a few rules to make sure the Supreme you’re buying isn’t a rip-off.

The favourite items of the con artists are T-shirts and hoodies. So, if you’re buying short-sleeved Supreme T-shirts there are small details to look for which can differentiate between a real and a fake. The stitching on the collar is a tell-tale way of telling if the T-shirt is fake: if the collar has two sets of stitching above and below the seam then it is a knock-off, as the stitching on a genuine short-sleeved T-shirt will always be hidden.

But legitimate Supreme long-sleeved T-shirts will always have doubled stitching on the collar so don’t get confused between the two! Another sign of a fake T-shirt is the watermark on the white inside label, so you’ll need to look for the colour of the mark and the font. On short-sleeved T-shirts and long-sleeved tees, there will be wording on the back of the label which will usually say “Supreme”.

The wording can sometimes differ between collections but what you’re looking for is almost transparent text that is not italicised. If you’re a Supreme connoisseur and you’re looking at Supreme collaborations such as that with Comme des Garçons, or the Andy Warhol and Muhammad Ali T-shirts, you need to look for the correct tags on the inside label. These will be on the bottom of the label at the back and will reference the collaborations. Many fake Supreme goods fail to do this.

If you’re looking to buy a genuine Supreme box hoodie to battle the British cold with style, there are subtle differences to look out for. The first thing to check for is the internal red “Supreme” logo and the smaller “made in China” label next to it.

The smaller label should stop just above the “e” of the Supreme label, while many fake Supreme hoodies have very uneven labels. Another sign of a fake is the Supreme label itself. Turn the hoodie inside out and look at the main Supreme label in the middle of the garment.

A fake hoodie will be bright red and the stitching will be messy (see photos) while a genuine hoodie will be much lighter inside and the stitching will be neat. Another indication that you’ve bought a fake is on the inside label. Fake hoodies will say “90% cotton, 10% polyester” and a legitimate Supreme will say “100% cotton”.

The safest place to buy Supreme is obviously the official website but that usually sells out very quickly and looking for these minor details online is difficult. There are some other websites that sell genuine Supreme goods, such as crashstreet.com and Supreme4sale.com.

If you’re willing to try and spot the real from the fake then there are plenty of reputable eBay and Depop traders who sell genuine Supreme goods but those platforms are also used by the fakers so looking out for those small details is essential.

Make sure you’re giving your money to the right people, ensuring that you’re officially Supreme.

 

by Ella Neish

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