eBay

phoeb-meski · ‎12-24-2020

(originally posted to selling q&a and someone said to post here instead)

I was hoping anyone familiar with Prada clothing might be able to weigh in on whether or not this pair of pants is authentic. I'm worried because the care tag seems to be sewn in crookedly, but otherwise to me (based on what I could glean so far from the internet) the labels all seem to be in order? I'm really uncertain, for example is it common for Prada to put barcodes on their labels?

Also at first based on pattern I thought these were women's pants and was super confused about sizing not matching up, especially since I measured and got roughly 28" for the waist and 35" for the hips but I think everything lines up nicely for men's sizing. However then I tried to find the pants in a Prada 2016 collection and the closest I could find was some of the same fabric used in a woman's outfit on one of the runways.

So any help is very much appreciated! Thanks for taking the time to look my post over as well.

phoeb-meski · ‎01-01-2021

I realized I should've included a photo of the reverse of the stitched tag, here it is now. Any thoughts are really appreciated.

jsales0 · ‎01-01-2021

It seems no one here has an answer for you. Over the years this board has unfortunately IMO become an authentication board which is IMO relatively worthless since only “opinions” can be given.

You can professionally authenticate your pants for $7.50. They’re probably OK-Prada does outsource to Romania although fakes are made in Eastern Europe too. The fact that you found the same fabric in Prada’s collection is a positive sign IMO as that print is pretty esoteric and since it wasn’t a big ad campaign print it makes no sense to me that it would attract counterfeiters.

All I can tell you is that I would buy them as authentic for myself but I strongly suggest that you go to a pro if you’re selling them.

I own no outsourced Prada to compare the tags for you.

jsales0 · ‎01-01-2021

Also I agree that a 28” waist would not be a women’s Prada 46. A 46 would be larger but the proportions of that pant look short for men’s. Is there a button? In men’s the button should be on the right side and the hole on the left side. Women’s is the reverse-button on the left and hole on the right.

jsales0 · ‎01-03-2021

No clue what happened to the OP but blew up the picture and see that the pant has a draped ruffle. IMO no way is that men’s although I think a 28” waist on a 46 is a bit small. Although Italy does run small iMO that’s not as true of Prada. Whatever...

phoeb-meski · ‎01-07-2021

Hi sorry despite checking the box for getting emails when someone replies I do not seen to be getting them.. I really appreciate your feedback!

There is indeed a button shown in the second photo, it's on the right however it's an interior button accompanying one of those hidden hook and bar closures so I'm not sure, does the left vs right button norm you mentioned apply in this case?

As for the draped ruffle, that is incidentally an (I assume intentional) optical illusion resulting from the way the lines in the printed pattern are drawn. This is understandably difficult to see clearly from my uploaded photo. I thought maybe Prada was doing some sort of playing around with gender expressions or something.

I had assumed authentication fees would be much higher, hence thought it would be best to see if anyone could weigh in with what I totally understand is their opinion only. I'm pretty new to all of this (luxury fashion buying & selling in general) and so am basically stumbling around the internet with a flashlight whose batteries are dying, so to speak. I looked up your mentioned $7.50 price point and found something called authenticate4u. Is this what you're referring to?

As for your other comments w/r/t esoteric print, I was considering a similar line of thought but again with little to no experience to go on.

So thank you so much. I think I could mark your first reply as accepted solution, is that appropriate/advisable or should I let my query stew for a bit longer?

mtgraves7984 · ‎01-07-2021

I had assumed authentication fees would be much higher, hence thought it would be best to see if anyone could weigh in with what I totally understand is their opinion only. I'm pretty new to all of this (luxury fashion buying & selling in general) and so am basically stumbling around the internet with a flashlight whose batteries are dying, so to speak. I looked up your mentioned $7.50 price point and found something called authenticate4u. Is this what you're referring to?

@phoeb-meski

I can confirm this part... authenticate4u is a premiere authenticator. I've used a4u before... quick, painless and a bargain at $7.50. Go for it if you're selling. Good luck!

jsales0 · ‎01-08-2021

Go to authenticate4u. Contact them through their PayPal page and pay them through PayPal. That’s the best way to reach them. Only use the PayPal address for payment.

Ask them if they are men’s or women’s. They just look women’s to me but Prada does some crazy stuff.

Please post back after you hear from them!

phoeb-meski · ‎02-07-2021

Hi sorry for huge delay again. I just finally tried submitting to a4u and will definitely let you know what they say!

Anonymous · ‎02-07-2021

Is it just me or is the stitching lousy?

jsales0 · ‎02-07-2021

It’s supposedly Romania so doesn’t shock me. When I look at the interior stitching on my made in Vietnam ballets I could throw up.

phoeb-meski · ‎05-20-2021

So incidentally I contacted & paid a4u through their paypal and never heard back from them (but it's a small amount of money so I didn't try to make a fuss, and no worries about that I suppose).

Then just this week it occurred to me to poke around on Vestiaire Collective, which proved incredibly helpful! I found 2 listings of the same pants, though no sizing info, but I found a listing for another pair of women's Prada pants listed as Italian size 46 with the same additional Mexico and China sizing as on the tag on my pants (and the same tag layout etc etc).

So then I looked up the measurements for women's pants size 46 Italian and found that the waist is roughly 27", so I think it stands to reason these are in fact Italian size 46 women's trousers!

But please if you don't mind, let me know your thoughts on all of this. I totally understand as it's been months you might not feel like it, but happy for your input if you'd like to comment.

phoeb-meski · ‎06-16-2021

I wanted to follow up to my last comment that just a couple days after posting it a4u emailed me directly that they had become aware of missing my payment through an ebay post and let me know very politely and apologetically that the way I tried to submit everything to them wasn't the typical way to do so and was easily missed due to the format I'd done it in, and offered to either refund me or look at the photos if I could submit them in a suitable way.

So in case anyone comes across this I just wanted to clarify that it was my mistake(s) in trying to submit to them and I feel like they really went above and beyond in offering to rectify the situation!

I am only correcting this now as I only finally saw their email now. But like I said they sent it remarkably promptly following my previous comment here on this post.