To tell if Burberry is real, start with the check and the label. On genuine pieces the camel, black, white and red check lines up across seams, pockets and the collar, and the red line is thin and evenly spaced. The label must fit its era: "Burberrys" with an s is genuine and pre-1999, not a fake. As of October 2026, a genuine vintage Burberrys trench sells for about $150-300 and a used cashmere check scarf for about $150-300.
Burberry is one of the most copied names in clothing, mostly through scarves and check accessories, while trench coats are copied less often because good gabardine and construction are expensive. Photos can show whether a piece is consistent with genuine Burberry on each point below. They cannot settle it alone, because the best copies get the label right. What follows is the order a reseller works through a piece, from the fastest checks to the slowest.
Quick answer
- The check: thin single red line, even proportions, pattern matched at side seams, pockets and center back.
- The label by era: "Burberrys" before 1999, serif "BURBERRY" from 1999, sans serif "BURBERRY LONDON ENGLAND" from 2018, the Equestrian Knight logo back from 2023.
- Trench coats: dense gabardine, horn or horn-look buttons, metal D-rings, gun flap and epaulettes, often "Made in England".
- Values, October 2026: vintage Burberrys trench about $150-300; modern Heritage trench roughly $500-1,200 used; cashmere check scarf about $150-300.
How to tell if Burberry is real, step by step
- Read the neck label and match it to an era. A label reading "Burberrys" or "Burberrys of London", often with the Equestrian Knight, dates the piece to before 1999, when the company dropped the s from its name. A serif "BURBERRY" with "LONDON" under it covers 1999 to 2018, often with a line name such as Burberry London, Burberry Brit or Burberry Prorsum. A bold sans serif "BURBERRY LONDON ENGLAND" is the 2018 Peter Saville logo, used until 2023. From February 2023 the Equestrian Knight returned. A label whose style does not fit the cut and fabric of the garment is the first red flag.
- Check the check. The classic pattern, called the Nova check by collectors and the Vintage Check by Burberry today, has a camel ground crossed by black and white stripes and a single thin red line. On a genuine piece the colors are muted and warm, the red line is narrow, and the squares are even. Copies often run too yellow or orange, use a thick or doubled red line, or print the check slightly askew.
- Look at the pattern at the seams. On linings, shirts and coats, genuine Burberry matches the check across the side seams, the center back and pocket flaps, and the stripes meet at right angles. A check that jumps a full stripe at a seam is common on copies and rare on mainline pieces. Proportions and colors vary between products and seasons, though, so compare with photos of the exact model rather than with memory.
- Read the care and content labels. Mainline pieces carry multi-page care labels with fiber content in several languages, a style or item number and a country of origin, most often England, Italy, Scotland for knits and cashmere, or later China and other countries for some lines. Printing should be crisp and even. A pristine care label in a heavily worn coat is a reason to slow down.
- On a trench, check the construction. Feel the gabardine: a tight, dense diagonal twill with a slight sheen, never thin or shiny polyester. Look for the gun flap on the right shoulder of men's coats, epaulettes, a throat latch at the collar, buckled cuff straps and a belt with metal D-rings. Buttons are horn or horn-look with clean edges. Many genuine trenches are made at Burberry's factory in Castleford, England, and say "Made in England".
- On a scarf, check fiber, size and finish. The classic cashmere check scarf is labeled 100 percent cashmere, Made in Scotland, and measures about 168 by 30 centimeters. The fringe is neat, twisted and even. Labels reading "cashmere feel" or fiber blends on a scarf sold as cashmere are a sign of a copy.
- Look at the zippers and hardware. Genuine pieces use heavy, smooth zippers from established makers and hardware that feels solid. Light, rough or plated hardware that is already flaking is common on copies.
- Check the price and the seller. A new season scarf or trench offered far under retail by a seller with many identical pieces is almost never genuine.
Burberry labels by era
| Label | Approximate years | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| "Burberrys" or "Burberrys of London", often with the Equestrian Knight | before 1999 | Genuine vintage; the s is correct for the period |
| Burberry Blue Label and Black Label | Japan, until 2015 | Genuine licensed lines made in Japan, priced below mainline |
| Serif "BURBERRY" over "LONDON" | 1999 to 2018 | Main line; Prorsum was runway, Brit was casual |
| Sans serif "BURBERRY LONDON ENGLAND" | 2018 to 2023 | Peter Saville logo, often with the TB monogram |
| Equestrian Knight with serif wordmark | 2023 onward | Daniel Lee era |
The Equestrian Knight Design was created in 1901 and registered as a trademark in 1909, according to Burberry's history on Wikipedia, which also dates the check to at least the 1920s as a trench lining. That gives a useful rule: an old coat with the check only inside, as a lining, is classic Burberry; a check printed all over the outside is a later fashion use and is copied far more often.
Burberry trench coat details
Thomas Burberry introduced gabardine in 1879, and the trench coat took its name from the trenches of the First World War, where British officers wore it. The features that came from that use are still on the coat and are a good checklist:
| Feature | Where | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Gabardine shell | Whole coat | Dense twill, heavy hand, water resistant |
| Gun flap | Shoulder, right side on men's coats | Neatly stitched, lies flat |
| Epaulettes | Shoulders | Buttoned, matched pair |
| D-rings | Belt | Solid metal, securely stitched loops |
| Throat latch | Under the collar | Buttons or buckles across the neck |
| Cuff straps | Sleeves | Leather-covered or fabric buckles |
| Check lining | Inside, often a zip-out wool liner | Matched at seams, thin red line |
| Buttons | Front and pockets | Horn or horn-look, engraved on newer coats |
Modern Heritage trenches come in named cuts. Today these are the Kensington, Chelsea and Waterloo, and older coats carry earlier names such as the Sandringham and Westminster. The cut name, the style number and the label era should all agree.
What genuine Burberry is worth used
Values are for genuine pieces in good used condition as of October 2026. Trench prices depend heavily on size, color and condition, and sales spread widely.
| Item | Typical used value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Vintage Burberrys trench, tan or navy | about $150-300 | Median around $220 in recent sold listings |
| Vintage Burberrys trench, small sizes or stained | about $50-150 | Fit drives demand |
| Modern Heritage trench, Kensington, Chelsea or Waterloo | roughly $500-1,200 | Retail is far higher; condition and size matter |
| Vintage Burberrys balmacaan or wool coat | roughly $100-250 | Less demand than trenches |
| Cashmere check scarf | about $150-300 | Moth holes and pilling cut the price |
| Wool or blend check scarf, vintage | roughly $40-120 | Common |
| Nova check shirt or polo | roughly $40-100 | Many copies |
| Blue Label pieces | roughly $40-150 | Genuine but priced below mainline |
| Counterfeit | about $0-10 | Cannot be resold as Burberry |
The trench figure comes from Underpriced AI's tally of 107 recent sold listings of vintage navy double-breasted Burberrys trenches with the check lining, which found a median sold price of about $220 against a median asking price of $325. Sold prices ranged from $44 to $4,000, which shows how much size, condition and model move the number.
Say you find a trench in a closet
Say you inherit a tan double-breasted trench. The neck label reads "Burberrys" with the knight, the care label says Made in England and lists cotton gabardine, there is a zip-out wool liner in the check, the gun flap and epaulettes are there, and the belt has metal D-rings. The check on the liner lines up at the center seam. Everything is consistent with a genuine Burberrys coat from before 1999. It is a men's 40 Regular, with light wear at the cuffs and no stains. That is a coat worth about $180-300 as of October 2026. If the belt is missing, expect the lower end. If the label read "BURBERRY LONDON ENGLAND" in sans serif, it would be a 2018 to 2023 coat and, in a current Heritage cut, worth more.
Common mistakes
- Calling "Burberrys" with an s a fake. It is the correct pre-1999 name, and vintage buyers look for it.
- Judging by the check alone. Copies print the check well; the label, fabric and construction tell more.
- Pricing a vintage trench at modern retail. A 1980s Burberrys trench sells for a few hundred dollars, not thousands.
- Throwing away the belt or liner. A trench without its belt loses a noticeable share of its value.
- Washing a gabardine trench at home. It can shrink and lose its finish; buyers check for it.
- Treating a Blue Label piece as a fake. It is a genuine licensed Japanese line, simply priced lower.
How WorthPic reads Burberry photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From a photo of the neck label it reads the logo style, the name with or without the s and the line name, which date the piece. From the care label it reads the fiber, the country and the style number. From photos of the garment it looks at the check proportions and seam matching, the buttons, D-rings and other trench features, and identifies the type and approximate era. It then gives an honest used value range with a most likely figure and says which extra photo would settle a question. What it cannot know is the feel of the gabardine or cashmere, or whether a very good copy is genuine. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.
What to photograph
- The whole piece, front and back, flat or on a hanger in daylight.
- The neck label, straight on and in focus.
- Every care and content label, including the small style number tag.
- The check at a side seam or the center back, to show alignment.
- Buttons, D-rings and zipper pulls up close.
- For scarves, the label, the fringe and the whole scarf laid flat.
When to get it looked at in person
A vintage Burberrys trench in common colors is a $150-300 coat and does not need an expert if the label, fabric and construction line up. A modern Heritage trench, a runway Prorsum piece, a leather or shearling coat or a bag priced in the high hundreds or more is worth a second opinion. A consignment shop that sells Burberry regularly or a paid authentication service can review it in hand or from detailed photos. For dating the labels of a vintage coat in general, our guide to dating vintage clothing by tags helps with the RN and care tags. Outerwear from other copied brands has its own tells, covered in our guides to Moncler and Canada Goose, and selling a Burberry bag follows the steps in how to sell a designer bag.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Burberry: founded 1856, gabardine 1879, Equestrian Knight 1901 and registered 1909, check used as a lining since the 1920s, 2018 Peter Saville logo, 2023 return of the knight.
- Sui Generis: Burberry authentication library: the 1999 change from Burberrys to Burberry, care label and trench construction checks.
- Underpriced AI: vintage Burberrys navy trench sold data: 107 recent sold listings, median about $220, asking median $325, range $44 to $4,000.
- Wikipedia: Trench coat: Burberry gabardine of 1879, First World War origin of the name, epaulettes and D-rings.