Is this a real Belstaff Roadmaster?

[broiler]

Hey folks, long time lurker here.

Would appreciate your thoughts on this Belstaff Roadmaster I picked up from eBay. After trolling the 'Bay for 4 months looking for size M in "Antique Beige," I finally pulled the trigger on a size S. This appears to be a Malenotti era jacket from 2010/2011. I previously owned (but lost several years ago) a dark brown version of this same 2011 winter-version, purchased from the Belstaff store in New York.

Have to say the quality appears to be there. This jacket has the same heft, smell, fit and feel of the original I remember. However, counterfeit Belstaffs are rampant on eBay and I've seen quasi-believable fakes that now have the Belstaff brand printed on the back of poppers, fake tags with bar codes, etc.

While I take some comfort in this being an uncommon color and size (all the fakes I've seen are either black or dark brown), there are some details that concern me:

1) This is a NWT unworn jacket that has not been sold since 2011. Is it realistic that this either sat in someone's closet for 4 years or was somehow purchased as new old stock?

2) There is no "Made in Italy" tag anywhere on the jacket. I definitely remember my genuine jacket had this inside. I realize counterfeits have a fake "Made in Italy" tag but shouldn't a genuine jacket have it?

3) The belt loops have one attachment point (last pic). My previous jacket had normal belt loops attached at 2 points. I know the summer Roadmaster has loops like this but was there ever a Malenotti winter version like this?

4) Does not have contrast stitching. "Antique Beige" Tourist Trophy and Brooklands jackets from 2011 definitely have lighter stitching. I've never seen a 2011 Roadmaster in this color in person so don't know if this is normal or not.

5) The zipper is not branded YKK. I can't remember if my previous one was or not, but is this cause for concern?


I know there are some Belstaff savants on Filmjackets.com and I've seen some great discussion there, but the admins are asleep at the wheel and aren't approving new members at the moment.


Sorry for the essay but would love to hear your opinions. I definitely overpaid if this is a fake. Please keep it real.

 

[l0fielectronic]

I know they attached the belts like that on the Panther and a couple of other styles, so it is a method they do use on some styles.

From my experience if you'd had an original then you can spot a fake straight away just from the materials and feel.

 

[Seb Lucas]

I know little of Belstaff but that looks too well packaged and presented to be a fake. As to new old stock I've seen examples that are 60 plus years old, so 4 years is nothing. I can imagine getting that Belstaff and then never wearing it because the colour didn;t sit right with the rest of my stuff. Matter of fact I have items with tags I bought new in the 1980's and have never worn. It happens.

 

[Sloan1874]

Looks genuine to me. Apart from the materials, fakes tend to skimp on stuff like internal labels - the bits that you wouldn't know were there generally - but also the quality of the stitching on the badges is very good, something I've found on counterfeit stuff tends to be very poor.

 

[pawineguy]

Looks much too good to be a fake. To echo what Seb said, 4 years for NOS is not old at all.

 

[avsmusic1]

Would you expect a "made in Italy" tag if it's already marked "English made?"

 

[wanz]

Hi broiler,

Great to see another Texan here. I believe I own the summer version of the same jacket purchased from J. Crew a few years ago. Here are my thoughts...

TLDR: It's probably real, but if it's a fake, the work is as good as the real one.

1) This is a NWT unworn jacket that has not been sold since 2011. Is it realistic that this either sat in someone's closet for 4 years or was somehow purchased as new old stock?

I have worn mine once since I bought it, so it seems reasonable that someone could have worn theirs one less time than me.

2) There is no "Made in Italy" tag anywhere on the jacket. I definitely remember my genuine jacket had this inside. I realize counterfeits have a fake "Made in Italy" tag but shouldn't a genuine jacket have it?

Mine has a "Made in Italy" tag along with the other tags. It's the same size as your inspected by tag (which mine doesn't have). I know from my time on filmjackets, that their tagging was inconsistent. Even though Belstaff is a "English" brand, at that time the jackets were made in Italy. Since the brand was sold yet again, they are made all over creation.

3) The belt loops have one attachment point (last pic). My previous jacket had normal belt loops attached at 2 points. I know the summer Roadmaster has loops like this but was there ever a Malenotti winter version like this?

My summer version has two attachment points. However, my winter Trialmaster has a single attachment point.

4) Does not have contrast stitching. "Antique Beige" Tourist Trophy and Brooklands jackets from 2011 definitely have lighter stitching. I've never seen a 2011 Roadmaster in this color in person so don't know if this is normal or not.

My version does not have contrast stitching.

5) The zipper is not branded YKK. I can't remember if my previous one was or not, but is this cause for concern?

Neither of mine is branded as YKK, but they do have an "R" in a circle on it. I noticed that your snaps had "Belstaff" stamped on them (which mine does as well). It seems like if they were going to go to that trouble for a fake, they would also fake the zipper. The other details on your jacket seems to be correct as well (e.g. the "Belstaff" label under the pocket flap).

To me it seems legit. I would say enjoy it... as soon as it cools off a bit.

 

[pawineguy]

Would you expect a "made in Italy" tag if it's already marked "English made?"

+1, Made in Italy jackets have a different main label as it obviously cannot say English made.

 

[ProteinNerd]

Nah looks like a fake....I'll take it off your hands for $50

 

[broiler]

Thanks for the great feedback guys - like you say Wanz and l0fielectronic, the proof is in the product. It looks, feels, fits and has the same wax smell as my 8 oz cotton original, despite the slight variations noted. Like a proper dweeb, I've been turning up the AC and wearing it inside the house (Houston is 100 degrees outside), and it's starting to take on a patina in the creases like my old one.

If this is a fake (which I'm 99.9% convinced its not), it's made with the same heavy fabric and craftsmanship that sold me on the Malenotti era Belstaff stuff, despite not being my style at first.

 

[Rabbit]

It's genuine, don't worry. Aside from the other details mentioned, it has the Belstaff print in the correct font on the reverse side of the press-studs. That's supposed to be the acid test acording to Belstaff. All the labels and tags are correct, too.

This isn't quite the right forum for obtaining information about fashion brands, though. Belstaff is not a reproduction label the way the vintage community sees it. We would file it under heritage label.