MANILA, Philippines?Totoo ba yan?

It?s often said as a joke, but then it?s not. The implications of such ribbing when a friend sees another carrying a new ?designer? purse are often serious, given women?s?and not a few men?s?nearly absurd and insatiable desire for so-called It bags.

Many would starve, borrow and pawn to buy into the handbag phenomenon. Still others shamelessly or unwittingly fall prey to phony items in their pursuit of The Bag.

Fakes are increasingly harder to tell apart from the real McCoys. Pirates have become so skilled in making copies that telltale signs escape even the keenest eye at first glance.

On Internet chat rooms, some consumers vouch for the authenticity of items sold in so-called reputable shops, such as the high-end reseller chain in Hong Kong. Others remain leery.

?I bet they sell authentic handbags with an interspersing of fake bags,? one wrote in a forum called The Fashion Spot. Items sold in these outposts reportedly come from socialites who choose to unload barely used or even brand-new handbags to make room for new purchases. Items aren?t exactly cheap, but the biggest come-on perhaps is that, often, consumers can find items here that they wouldn?t find even in the brands? boutiques?unless perhaps they put their names on the years-long wait lists.

Luxury brands are skittish when the issue of counterfeiting is raised. China is the mother lode of pirated goods, not least among them handbags. But China is also one, if not the most important market of luxury brands, poised to surpass Japan as the biggest global luxury consumer by 2015.

Conglomerates understandably don?t want to offend the same hand that ironically fills their cash bags.

Attesting to authenticity

Interviewed via e-mail, a top famous fashion house executive said they could guarantee the authenticity of an item that?s bought from authorized outlets?the brand?s own boutiques. So as not to tip off counterfeit operators, he couldn?t give in detail how a house ascertains the genuineness of an item brought to them for authentication.

Which isn?t to say the brands are doing nothing about the problem. They claim to have professionals posted in key cities overseeing anti-piracy efforts. In Paris luxury houses still impose the bag-per-customer limit to control reselling overseas.

Early this year, American retailers imposed a similar rule, anticipating the possible hoarding of tourists who want to take advantage of the dollar?s downturn. But it?s still hard to tell to what extent the measures are helping in the global fight against piracy.

The same fashion exec said consumers must be reminded that buying into the fake trade adversely affects not just companies and governments but consumers themselves. Buying fake goods finances criminal networks that include child laborers and sweatshops.

Tell that again to that girl blinded by a logo.