Dooney
& Bourke bags sold for between $200-$380 in the 1980s and 1990s which invited
knock offs and fakes to flood the market. But it only takes a few seconds to spot
the difference in materials, workmanship and feel of the great Dooney & Bourke
handbags, briefcases, totes, wallets and other items in the All Weather Collection.
To
help, authentic Dooney & Bourke items have some identifying features. Note
that in the early 1980's before the AWL (All Weather Leather) bags went into production,
the Equestrian bags, for example, were made of wonderful bridle leather but it
was NOT waterproof. Also those early bags, because they were not AWL bags, did
not have the Duck Leather seal or the Brass Duck fob as these signify the waterproof
aspects - like water shedding from a duck's feathers. So bear that in mind as
you shop for authentic bags. There are some absolutes but some anomalies along
the way also. To the best of my knowledge and by researching in my vintage Dooney
& Bourke catalog collection, here's the scoop.
Early
AWL bags (early 1980s) usually will have: |
| |
-
The first sewn-in tags (1983-1984) were fairly large green rectangles sewn flat
into the bag and said:
DOONEY
& BOURKE stylized DB MADE in USA
| |
| |
- Since
the mid to late 1980s red, white and blue tags were sewn inside the bag in conjunction
with trim or a seam. They say:
DOONEY
& BOURKE, INC Made in U.S.A. - They have
a registration number on the back.See further notes about this tag below.
| |
Handbags
in the AWL collection (1983-1990s) usually will have: |
| |
| |
- Solid
brass Duck fob hanging from a leather thong. The fob has:
Dooney
& Bourke a duck All Weather Leather (with a registered trademark symbol)
Authentic
duck fobs show a sharp, detailed eye, some space between the duck's bill and his
body and has a textured background.
- In
the late 1990s, some collections had Solid Nickel or Nickel Plated Duck fobs.
| |
- Label
of red, white and blue fabric sewn inside the purse that says
DOONEY
& BOURKE, INC Made in U.S.A. on
one side . . .
| |
- .
. . and an individual registration number on the other side. Usually the serial
numbers are something like this: A1 777853; They indicate the style of bag, where
the bag was made and the year it was made.
| |
- Wallets
and such that do not have sewn in tags will have a stamp embossed into the leather
or a leather tag sewn inside that says
Dooney
& Bourke Made in USA" on the
inside or the back.
| 

|
- Leather
seal found on items in the Glove Leather Collection:
Dooney
& Bourke Norwalk Conn. Made in USA Fine American
Leathergoods
|  |
Dooney
& Bourke Bag Trim Designation
There are 3 main trim colors on original AWL Dooney & Bourke
handbags. © 2013 Horsekeeping
LLC ©
Copyright Information |
|  R54
 R54
|
|  B54 |
- Matching
trim (for most bags, matching trim is only available in black, navy and red) is
designated by P in front of the bag's number.
|  P54 |
- Exceptions
to the above "Matching trim" note include the Plaza Bag, the Zipalongs,
and Kilties which came in all nineteen colors with British tan trim (designated
by R) AND all nineteen colors with matching trim (designated by P).
|  R45 |
- In
addition to the classic collection colors and trims, there are 18 Teton color
combinations that consist of 3 colors each: the base color or colors, the pinking
(jagged edge), and the trim.
|  H512 |
About
Registration Tags
Very
early bags have no sewn in cloth regitration tags.
The first sewn-in tags (1983-1984)
were fairly large green rectangles sewn flat into the bag that said:
Dooney
& Bourke
DB
Made in USA
After
1985, the tags were red, white and blue and were sewn as tabs inside the bag in
conjunction with a seam. They say:
Dooney
& Bourke, Inc.
Made
in USA
and they have a registration number on the back.
Some
more recent bags (1990s) have been manufactured in the US but assembled elsewhere,
such as Costa Rica. Those bags have red, white and blue sewn-in tags
that
say Dooney & Bourke Inc. but the tag does not say Made in USA. Instead there is
often a (leather or cloth) tag underneath the red, white and blue tag that says
where the bag was assembled such as the example above which shows a blue cloth
tag that says "Assembled in Costa Rica.
In these
assembled-overseas bags, there is a registration number on the back of the red,
white and blue tag and the letter it stars with indicates the country where the
bag was assembled.
C
indicates Costa Rica
H, J, K and L indicate China
I indicates Italy
M
indicates Mexico.
This
registration tag system was used when Dooney & Bourke was producing a limited
amount of collections. As the company got larger, it no longer assigned individual
registration numbers to each bag.
Tags removed
or snipped? Often we will see tags that are snipped or partially or completely
torn out of the bags. If a tag is snipped but is mostly still there, it probably
indicates that the bag was sold at an outlet store - it is likely authentic but
might have been an overstock or slightly imperfect bag. If a tag is completely
ripped out, leaving only a few red and white threads, I am always suspicious.
Such bags might be authentic but it would be difficult to authenticate them without
a registration number.
Since there are so many knock-off
designer bags out there, it pays to do a little homework before you buy. We only
sell authentic Dooney & Bourke leather handbags. We feel Dooney & Bourke bags
from the 1980s and 1990s are the best bags you can find. They are extremely high
quality, made in USA, registered bags.
Drop Length.
Go here to
find out what drop length means and how we measure it.
"We
hope you enjoy looking through the bags we've found and
that you see one that
suits you to a T."
©
2010 Horsekeeping LLC ©
Copyright Information