Mary

We will be in Manhattan the day after Christmas. Can anyone tell me if the street vendors are selling "Kate Spade" knock offs? I am supposed to bring one home for a young friend. We are staying in midtown and need to stay around there for shopping. What streets have a good selection of vendors? Do only tourists buy from them? Are their prices all the same? Please advise.

ryan

I don't think the Nigerean street vendors celebrate Christmas, you should be o.k.

Elizabeth

Yes the vendors have Kate Spade knockoffs, and they're cute. They are more or less everywhere and hard to miss, though maybe someone can tell you some specific midtown spots. I think they occuply spots like in front of Bloomingdale's, they're not too hidden.

No I am sure it isn't just tourists who buy them, young people and fashion-y people buy them all the time.

I actually thought the vendors were Sengalese, but that may date me, maybe they used to be Senegalese & are now form somewhere else.

NYMom

Oh boy you asked the right person I have been downtown to Canal Street, the past two weekends picking up Kate Spade,Prada and Gucci bags for friends and family living outside of the NY area...there are stalls all along the street, start at Grand and just walk along, shopping, you will not really need to spend more than $20-23 for a KS bag, Gucci may be more with the real hardware on it-also Coach bags are more,and really nice.My daughter got a couple of the KS bags in the solid color with gingham check lining, she gets compliments wherever she goes, she is a paralegal in Florida..and loves her knock offs, this way she has a bag with each outfit and doesnt go broke!Also, on Lexington Ave,near Bloomingdales they will have tables out, also in Soho on Prince St ...Have fun~

John G

Not in front of Bloomingdale's, across the street on 59th heading towards Madison Ave. There is always a guy there with a little stand selling Prada, Kate Spade, and Gucci fakes. You can also find the Gambian vendors at 49th and 6th Ave right outside the Fox news station. If you stand there looking like a tourist, they usually will come up to you and show you their fake merchandise. Beware, though, this stuff looks really fake, only a rube would be fooled into thinking it was real. Have fun.

ryan

Elizabeth,
Thanks, it all gets very confusing. Now I remember, the pocketbook salesmen are Senagalese, the "Rolex" vendors are Nigerean.

soCurious

this is so amazing-how do you know which country these vendors are from???

Elizabeth

I don't know where they're from for sure anymore, but when I used to know it was from asking them!!

Elizabeth

Actually, curious--maybe this is what you want to know--anything like this, some particular kind of merchandise sold on the street, is almost always an activity of a single cultural group--immigrants from a place will get into a particular line of street vending and their relatives etc. go into it as they arrive here.

Curious

Thank you ,Elizabeth...I guessed you might have asked,but was curious since Sengalese then Nigerian were mentioned...next question where do they get the bags! same place the Chinatown vendors do? Kate Spade et all must be fuming over this..

lisa

It is true that they are hard to miss. You will find them on 59th, across Lexington (towards Madison) as the poster above suggested. You can also find them on 5th Ave side streets -- 52nd and 53rd come to mind. You can frequently find them on the Upper East Side, too -- there is always a guy in front of Dallas BBQ at 73rd & 3rd.

xx

As for Kate Spade fuming over knock off her bags are made in sweatshops in China. The chinese are not renowned leather workers...so go for the knock off at a much better price and probably similiar quality.

Ted

Not all fakes are created equal. Comparison shop for quality before purchasing. A friend of mine bought one on Canal last month and it's already falling apart (the "Kate Spade" moniker fell off first).

curious

NYmom is right. Canal is the best place for the Kate Spade knock-offs. My girlfriend and I lined up her real Kate Spade next to a knock-off (it was the one with the gingham lining), and we could not tell the difference. Since there are as many real Kate Spades around here as there are knock offs, if you ask me, only a rube would waste the money on the real thing, especially if you want one in every color! Just make sure the label is fabric and really stitched on, not glued. There are actually high quality fakes. We always get compliments on them from people who like to think they can tell a real from a fake, but actually haven't a clue. Happy hunting - the real curious

LoveFakeSpade

We picked up a Gucci tote at one of the Canal St vendors, it had gucci hardware, labels,lining,could not find one thing "non-gucci" about it-the fabric bag that it came in--had the name written upside down there are fakes and then there are fakes!

Linda`

I must disagree with "curious." The fake Kates are DEFINATELY distinguishable from the real thing, if you know what you're looking at. The font used on the fake "Kate Spade" is not correct and too large. Some of the fakes are close, but they're still fake. If you want the real thing, unfortunately you must pay for it.

P.S. If you couldn't tell the difference, then your friend's handbag was probably fake as well.

Shopper

This was done already Linda, the "know it is fakes from the like to buy fakes"...the point is, most people do not inspect other womens bags SO closely that they are so sure of the authenticity of the bag...some people do not care to spend that much money on a purse,whether they have the money or not....I for one have lots of both, and none of my friends and acquaintances (1)look that closely (2) are that interested ..it is all in your own head.

kate

You can get some nice knock offs at ebay. Better selection than the ones I've seen on the streets of NY.

curious

Just wondering Linda, do you pick up your friends purses and go over them with a magnifying glass so you can smugly announce "Yep, I knew it, it's a fake, the font is all wrong!". Who new there was so much self satisfaction in discerning a fake Kate Spade from the real thing? I better study up because it's really important to know the difference.

Linda`

I take no pleasure -- I own a couple of fakes as well as several real Kates -- all purchased in NYC.

Just stating the facts: The label is a dead giveaway.