Fashion and Outerwear Authentication Specialist
Streetwear authentication specialist. Focuses on print quality, tagging, and seasonal production codes.
Published September 2026 · Contact
Why the Burberry Trench Is So Heavily Copied
Thomas Burberry patented gabardine in 1879 and the trench coat built on it is the single garment the house is known for. A new Burberry Heritage trench (the Kensington, Chelsea, Waterloo cuts) retails around $2,000–$2,600, and the resale market for both current and vintage examples is enormous. That demand, plus a silhouette everyone recognises, makes the trench one of the most counterfeited coats in fashion — and one where the details that matter are specific and checkable.
Authentication starts with the cloth and moves through the hardware, the check lining, the stitching, and the labels. Fakes can copy the shape; they consistently miss on the gabardine hand, the button engraving, and the woven label. This guide runs the checks in order of how much each one settles on its own.
What to check, ranked by reliability
| Checkpoint | Reliability | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| 3. The Check Lining | ★★★★★ | A printed check with a blank reverse is a fake tell that needs no comparison — Burberry weaves its check. |
| 1. The Gabardine Cloth | ★★★★★ | A light floppy body with a faint sheen where water soaks rather than beads is not Burberry weather cloth. |
| 2. The Buttons | ★★★★★ | Flat plastic buttons with shallow or wrong-font engraving contradict a fixed Burberry spec. |
| 4. The Labels | ★★★★★ | A printed or crude-weave main label, a wrong logo for the era, or an invalid RN number is decisive. |
| 5. Construction and Details | ★★★★★ | Missing storm/gun flaps or belt D-rings for the cut, and raw seam allowances, support a verdict. |
| 6. Fit, Proportion, and Weight | ★★★★★ | A lifeless drape flags the wrong cloth; measurements rule out a mislabelled cut. |
| 7. Vintage-Specific Notes | ★★★★★ | A "Burberrys" vs "Burberry" label inconsistent with the claimed era is a fast fail. |
Use our free Burberry Style Code Checker to decode the style code on your Burberry care label.
Check My Style Code →1. The Gabardine Cloth
The trench body is Burberry's tightly woven gabardine — historically cotton, now a cotton blend on many current coats. It has a distinctive hand.
Genuine gabardine is dense and smooth with a fine diagonal twill visible up close. It is weather-resistant, so water beads on the surface rather than soaking in. The cloth has a dry, substantial feel — it holds structure, drapes with weight, and the surface is matte with no sheen. The colour (honey, black, navy, the classic stone) is deep and perfectly even.
Fakes use a looser or coarser weave, often a poly-heavy cloth that has a faint sheen or a slippery hand, feels lighter and floppier than genuine gabardine, and may show an uneven or slightly blotchy dye. Water tends to soak rather than bead.
| Element | Authentic | Counterfeit |
|---|---|---|
| Weave | Dense fine diagonal twill, visible up close | Looser or coarser, sometimes plain weave |
| Hand | Dry, substantial, holds structure | Lighter, floppier, or slippery |
| Surface | Matte, no sheen | Faint sheen from a poly-heavy blend |
| Water | Beads on the surface | Soaks in |
Red flag
A trench body that feels light and floppy with a faint sheen, and where water soaks rather than beads. Burberry gabardine is weather cloth; a fabric that fails the water test is not it.
2. The Buttons
Burberry trench buttons are a fixed specification and a reliable tell.
The front and cuff-strap buttons are moulded in a horn-look resin, domed, with "BURBERRY" and often "LONDON" or the founding year engraved around the rim or across the face in the house serif. The engraving is crisp and evenly filled. Buttons are attached with a shank and sewn with a cross or parallel stitch in matching thread, tightly, with a thread shank wrap on the heavier buttons.
The buckle hardware on the belt and cuff/shoulder straps is a solid metal in an antiqued finish, stamped "BURBERRY" cleanly, with smooth pins and even plating. On many Heritage trenches the buckles are unbranded solid metal — check the coat's era.
Fakes show buttons with shallow or blobby engraving, a wrong typeface, a plastic (not horn-look) finish, loose attachment, or the wrong number of buttons for the cut. Buckles on fakes are often lightweight, roughly cast, with a soft or missing stamp.
| Element | Authentic | Counterfeit |
|---|---|---|
| Button material | Horn-look resin, domed | Flat plastic, wrong sheen |
| Engraving | Crisp BURBERRY / LONDON in the house serif | Shallow, blobby, or wrong font |
| Attachment | Shank, tight cross/parallel stitch, thread wrap on heavy buttons | Loose, wrong stitch, no shank |
| Buckles | Solid metal, antiqued, clean BURBERRY stamp (or unbranded per era) | Lightweight, roughly cast, soft stamp |
3. The Check Lining
The trench is lined in the Burberry check — the tan/black/white/red "Vintage Check" or the "House Check" depending on era.
On a genuine coat the check is woven, not printed — turn the lining and the pattern is visible (fainter) on the reverse, and you can feel the weave structure. The proportions are exact: the width of each stripe, the spacing, the thin red line, all to Burberry's fixed geometry. The check is aligned at the centre back seam and matched across the shoulder seams and where the lining meets the facing. The colours are muted and correct — the tan is a specific warm beige, not orange or grey.
Fakes frequently use a printed check (no pattern on the reverse, no weave to feel), get the stripe proportions slightly wrong, fail to match the check across seams, or render the colours too bright or too dull.
| Element | Authentic | Counterfeit |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | Woven, pattern faintly on the reverse, weave you can feel | Printed, blank reverse, flat surface |
| Proportions | Exact stripe widths and spacing, correct thin red line | Stripe widths slightly off, red line wrong weight |
| Seam matching | Check aligned at centre back, matched across shoulders | Pattern jumps or mismatches at seams |
| Colour | Muted, warm tan, correct black/white/red | Too orange, too grey, or too bright |
Red flag
A printed check lining — no pattern on the reverse, no weave to feel. Burberry weaves its check; a printed lining is a fake tell that needs no comparison.
4. The Labels
A genuine Burberry trench carries a woven main label at the neck and a set of care/content labels in a side seam.
The main label is woven (not printed) with the Burberry name in the current house logo for that era — the Equestrian Knight Device on older and Heritage pieces, the wordmark on others. The weave is dense and the lettering is sharp with clean edges. It is sewn in flat on all four sides (or across the top and bottom) with even stitching and no puckering.
The care labels in the seam give fibre content, care symbols, the country of manufacture, and an "RN" number (a US registered-identification number). On Burberry these are typically made in a small set of countries — check that the stated origin is one Burberry actually uses for outerwear and that the RN number, when looked up, returns Burberry. The style/size label often carries a style code and a size in the format the era used.
Fakes show a printed or crudely woven main label, a wrong or dated logo for the claimed year, a fuzzy Knight Device, care labels with spelling errors or impossible care symbols, a missing or invalid RN number, or an origin Burberry does not use.
| Element | Authentic | Counterfeit |
|---|---|---|
| Main label | Densely woven, sharp lettering / Knight Device, sewn flat | Printed or crude weave, fuzzy device |
| Logo era | Matches the coat's production period | A logo Burberry did not use that year |
| Care labels | Correct fibre/care/origin, valid RN number | Spelling errors, impossible symbols, invalid RN |
| Origin | A country Burberry uses for outerwear | An origin outside Burberry's manufacturing |
5. Construction and Details
Burberry outerwear is made to a high standard and the details are consistent.
Check: the storm flap (the extra layer across the right chest) is fully stitched down at the edges and sits flat; the gun flap, epaulettes, throat latch, belt loops, and D-rings on the belt are all present for the cut and cleanly attached; seams are flat-felled or bound, straight, with consistent stitch length; the collar rolls cleanly and the under-collar is a melton or self-fabric with a tidy edge; the hem is even and the vent (single, centre back) is clean.
Fakes miss details for the cut (no D-rings, no throat latch, wrong epaulette shape), show raw or overlocked seam allowances where a genuine coat is bound, have wandering topstitching, an uneven hem, or a collar that will not sit.
| Element | Authentic | Counterfeit |
|---|---|---|
| Storm/gun flaps | Present for the cut, fully stitched, sit flat | Missing, tacked, or lift at the edges |
| Belt hardware | D-rings and buckle present, cleanly attached | D-rings missing, buckle roughly set |
| Seams | Flat-felled or bound, straight, even stitch length | Raw or overlocked, wandering topstitch |
| Collar | Rolls cleanly, tidy under-collar edge | Will not sit, raw or bulky edge |
Worth knowing
Construction quality is corroboration. A well-made fake can get the seams close; read this alongside the cloth, buttons, and label.
6. Fit, Proportion, and Weight
A genuine Heritage trench has a specific cut — the Kensington is slim and long, the Chelsea slightly slimmer and shorter, the Waterloo relaxed. The shoulders are structured but not stiff, the sleeve head is clean, and the coat hangs with the weight of real gabardine.
A fake in the wrong cloth hangs light and lifeless, the shoulders may be either unstructured (collapsing) or over-padded, and the overall length or sweep is often slightly off the documented measurements for the cut and size.
| Element | Authentic | Counterfeit |
|---|---|---|
| Drape | Hangs with the weight of gabardine, holds line | Light, lifeless, no structure |
| Shoulders | Structured but soft, clean sleeve head | Collapsing or over-padded |
| Measurements | Match Burberry's spec for the cut and size | Length or sweep noticeably off |
7. Vintage-Specific Notes
Vintage Burberry (labelled "Burberrys" with the S, used until the late 1990s) is common on the resale market and has its own markers: the older woven labels, cloth that is usually 100% cotton gabardine with an even denser hand, buttons in real horn on some pieces, and a check that may be the earlier "Haymarket" proportions. The "Burberrys of London" and later "Burberry London" labels help date a coat — a label style that does not match the claimed era is a red flag.
| Element | Authentic vintage | Counterfeit / wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Label name | "Burberrys" (pre-late-1990s) then "Burberry" | A modern logo on a coat sold as 1980s, or vice versa |
| Cloth | Dense 100% cotton gabardine on most vintage | Poly blend on a coat claimed to be vintage |
| Check | Earlier Haymarket proportions on older pieces | Modern Vintage Check on a genuinely old coat |
Quick Authentication Checklist
- Feel the gabardine — dense fine twill, dry substantial hand, matte; water beads
- Loupe a button — domed horn-look resin, crisp BURBERRY / LONDON engraving, shank-sewn tight
- Turn the check lining — woven (pattern on the reverse), correct stripe proportions, matched at the centre back
- Read the main label — densely woven, sharp Knight Device / wordmark, logo correct for the era
- Check care labels — correct origin, valid RN number, no spelling errors
- Confirm the storm flap, gun flap, epaulettes, throat latch, belt D-rings for the cut
- Check the drape and shoulder structure against the cut
- For vintage: label name ("Burberrys" vs "Burberry") consistent with the claimed era
Two or more failures means walk away. A printed check lining, or a cloth that fails the water test, is on its own sufficient.
When to Get a Professional Opinion
Cheap fakes are obvious from the cloth alone. The harder cases are good replicas that use a decent cotton-blend gabardine, get the buttons close, and use a woven (if slightly off) check. Separating those from genuine comes down to the exact stripe geometry of the check, the button engraving under a loupe, the label weave density, and the RN-number check — details that reward having handled real coats.
If you are buying online or the coat is vintage with no paperwork, get a second opinion before the money moves. LuxeDetect authenticates Burberry from $20 with a verdict and Certificate of Authenticity within 24 hours. Send photos of a button close-up, the check lining front and reverse, the main label, and all care/RN labels.
FAQ
What is the fastest way to spot a fake Burberry trench?
The check lining and the cloth. A genuine Burberry check is woven — you can see the pattern faintly on the reverse and feel the weave — while many fakes use a flat printed check with a blank reverse. And genuine gabardine is a dense weather cloth on which water beads; a light, faintly shiny fabric that soaks up water is not Burberry gabardine.
What do the buttons on a real Burberry trench look like?
Domed, in a horn-look resin, with "BURBERRY" and usually "LONDON" or the founding year engraved crisply in the house serif and evenly filled. They are attached with a shank and sewn tightly with a cross or parallel stitch, and heavier buttons have a wrapped thread shank. Flat plastic buttons with shallow, blobby, or wrong-font engraving are a fake tell.
What is the difference between "Burberrys" and "Burberry" on the label?
"Burberrys" (with an S) was the house name used until the late 1990s, so a coat labelled "Burberrys" or "Burberrys of London" is genuine vintage. "Burberry London" and the current wordmark are later. A modern logo on a coat sold as 1980s vintage — or an old "Burberrys" label styling that does not match other era markers — is a red flag.
Does a real Burberry trench have an RN number?
Yes — the care labels carry an RN (registered identification number) that, when looked up in the US FTC database, should return Burberry. A missing RN, an invalid one, or one that returns a different company is a warning sign, though it should be read alongside the cloth, buttons, and label weave.
Where are Burberry trench coats made?
Burberry manufactures outerwear in a small set of countries, and the origin is stated on the care label. The classic Heritage trench has long been associated with English manufacture. An origin the house does not use for outerwear, or one that contradicts the coat's other markers, is a red flag.
Is the Burberry check on the lining printed or woven?
Woven. On a genuine coat the check pattern is faintly visible on the reverse of the lining and you can feel the weave structure. A completely blank reverse and a flat, printed-looking surface indicate a fake.
