Balenciaga is a luxury brand that’s widely known for its attention to detail. Because of this, it’s pretty easy to spot a fake one. So, how do you spot a fake Balenciaga hat?
Fake Balenciaga hats often have a smaller and more raised metal loop at the back than genuine ones have. In addition, the inner button of fake Balenciaga hats often has a “B” that’s black as opposed to the silver “B” that genuine ones have. Poor embroidery is another tell-tale sign.
Although that’s the gist, let’s dig a little deeper. Here are 7 ways you tell the difference between a real Balenciaga hat vs a fake one.
Disclaimer: We are in no way affiliated or sponsored by Balenciaga. This content is for educational purposes only.
Image from their website
1. Packaging
Balenciaga caps come in a cardboard box. Genuine ones, however, have distinctive features that you need to look out for.
It’s arguably the quickest way to spot a replica, although not the easiest.
“BALENCIAGA” will be written on top of the cardboard box in its typical capital lettering.
Genuine ones will have the lettering well-defined and slightly raised. In addition, the letters will be equally spaced and of the same height.
Replicas will usually do a messier job of the lettering, with poor, uneven spacing and letters of different heights. It may be subtle, but it’s a tell-tale sign.
The genuine cardboard Balenciaga box also has very obvious ridges on its surface, while replicas will often have a smooth surface.
2. Metal Loop
Balenciaga caps have the strap at the back passing through a metal loop on the right (when the hat is viewed from the back).
The metal loop is similar to a D ring and will be present on most replicas as well.
The difference between real Balenciaga hats and fake ones is that the metal loop on a real one is larger and also flatter.
A fake Balenciaga hat will often have a metal loop that’s rounder and more raised.
While this can be tough to spot when you don’t have a real one and fake one side by side, noticing that the metal loop is not very flat at all should be easy enough.
3. Embroidery
The embroidery is often an easy way to spot a replica and Balenciaga hats are no exception.
Both real and fake Balenciaga hats have “BALENCIAGA” sewn in capital lettering on the front.
As I mentioned earlier, it’s a luxury brand that’s known for its attention to detail. It would be very unusual to find a retail Balenciaga hat with poor quality embroidery.
So, examine the stitching.
Fake ones will often have loose threads leading to blurred and ill-defined borders. You may have tiny bits of extra embroidery and threads attached to the edges of some of the letters.
These tiny attachments may not seem like a big deal, but you just wouldn’t find them in genuine ones.
The more you examine real Balenciaga hats, the easier it’ll become to tell the difference. The stitching will be near-perfect and the edges will be very well defined.
4. Letter Spacing And Height
We’ve talked about the quality of the embroidery. Now let’s dig a little deeper into the lettering itself.
The lettering of “BALENCIAGA” will also be near-perfect in terms of spacing and height when it comes to genuine items.
Look closely at the spacing in between the 10 letters.
Genuine Balenciaga should have the letters very evenly spaced, while fake ones may have a couple of letters bunched closer together than the others or even worse.
The height is also important to assess.
Fake Balenciaga hats may have one or two letters taller than the rest of them, even if it’s just by a few millimeters.
You just wouldn’t get that on a real one and that’s why it’s an important and useful way of spotting a fake.
For whatever reason, the letter on a Balenciaga hat is very difficult to replicate. For those people looking for the real deal, this is a gift.
In many ways, it can be considered the easiest way to spot a fake.
5. Inner Button
Look at the inside of the cap.
You’ll see the inner tape intersecting at the very centre. This is where you’ll find the inner button as you would with most caps.
The inner button of Balenciaga hats has a “B” on it.
But the real Balenciaga hat will have a silver inner button with a silver “B” in the middle.
Fake Balenciaga hats will usually have a “B” on the silver inner button too. If it doesn’t, well that’s a pretty easy way to know that it’s a replica.
But replicas usually have the letter “B” in a completely different and usually dark color such as black.
It stands out immediately and is a pretty quick and easy thing to check.
Much like the quality of the embroidery and the lettering, the inner button should be one of the first things you check when you’re trying to spot a fake one.
6. Cotton Quality
Balenciaga baseball caps are made from a resistant organic cotton.
Examine the color and the quality.
The two colors you can buy the hat in are white with black lettering or black with white lettering.
With a fake Balenciaga hat, you may be able to tell straight away that the color is simply less clean and vivid. It may look worn out or even slightly stained.
The quality of the material can be tough to assess when you haven’t felt one that’s definitely real before.
But if you notice that the hat feels less like high quality cotton and more like a polyester blend or even a suede-like material, it’s probably a fake.
7. Price
While this may seem pretty obvious, it’s important not to ignore it.
A real Balenciaga hat will usually retail for somewhere between $300 and $500 (USD). In other words, it’s not cheap.
That doesn’t mean that a listing that presents at that price will definitely be real. In fact, there will be plenty of fake ones trying to con you into paying that much for it.
But a “new” Balenciaga hat that’s listed at a significantly lower price should definitely draw some suspicion.
A supposedly new Balenciaga hat listed for $75 is very unlikely to be authentic.
While the tips and tricks you’ve gotten from this post will help you tell the difference between a real one and a fake, it can still be tough to tell sometimes.
The price may be the only tell-tale sign here. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Hopefully, all of these tips should help you figure out whether the Balenciaga hat you’re thinking of buying is genuine or not. Knowing and understanding all of them should make it more likely that you successfully identify a fake.
Ready Sleek founder. Obsessed with casual style and the minimalist approach to building a highly functional wardrobe. Also a fan of classic, vintage hairstyles.
