Hi everyone!
If you’ve made it here, it’s probably because you’re wondering if they Jellycat toy you’ve purchased, or are looking to purchase, is genuine or fake.
There are many ways to tell that which I will go on to explain below.
Name
The first, and probably most obvious way to tell this is with the brand name on the tag.
Below is a picture of my small Bashful Peony Bunny.
As you can see, the hang tag has the Jellycat “cat” logo with “jELLYCAT London” written underneath with that exact spelling.
However, there are some slight variations to the tag, for example, the Amuseables range has the word “AMUSEABLES” written in an arch above the cat logo, and its signature jelly hat has changed to a pineapple.
There is also a company that produces fake Jellycats that is well known in the Jellycat community called Ko Bonnie. They practically rip off the Jellycat font, but the word “jELLYCAT” is replaced with “Ko Bonnie”. On the other side of the tag, every single toy, no matter what design, says “I am Small Truffles Sheep”
Colour
If the colour of the Jellycat toy looks “off” from what you expect, then it could potentially be a fake.
However, occasionally there has been a colour change when there has been a redesign. One example of this is the Bashful Plum Bunny. The original Plum Bunny was a USA exclusive, but was much lighter in colour than the later 2020 version of the Plum Bunny.
Overall appearance
This isn’t totally straightforward as Jellycat toys, especially Bashful Bunnies, have had their design changed over time.
As you can see in the picture above, the small Beige Bashful Bunny on the left is smaller than the later small Petal Bashful Bunny on the right. The petal bunny’s arms, body and feet are chunkier and there is no longer any stitching for the toes. Both are 100% genuine.
A fake Jellycat will usually have a face that is totally out of proportion. In the case of Bashful Bunnies, they may have a larger than average or eyes that don’t look quite right. Their ears may look a bit weird or they may have limbs that are longer or shorter than you’d expect.
A fake Jellycat may look totally different from the stock image. However, there are some examples where genuine Jellycat toys look slightly different from the official stock photo. Below, you can see the stock image of a Munchkin Cat against my genuine Munchkin Cat.
As you can see, although both are cute, the face on the Munchkin cat and the body shape are very different in reality.
Similar brands
I suppose these aren’t technically fakes, rather brands that are similar in appearance to Jellycat toys.
There are many brands that have based their toys on existing Jellycats. Below, are a couple of examples.
Apricot Lamb Toys
They are a relatively new US-based brand that almost entirely seem to consist of Jellycat look-a-like toys. For example, there is an Apricot Lamb Toys fox that looks very similar to a Fuddlewuddle Fox. Although, personally the fur doesn’t have the nice “ruffled” look that a Fuddlewuddle has.
Manhattan Toy Company
At first glance, you might think that they might be a look-a-like company, however, the Manhattan Toy Company and Jellycat actually share more in common than you might think. The Manhattan Toy Company are indeed a legitimate company and Jellycat are actually an offshoot from them, hence the similarities.
Below, you could be forgiven for thinking this Manhattan Toys Monkey is a copy of a Bashful Monkey.
I still prefer the Bashful Monkey though, because of his cheerful, smiley face.
What do you think?
I hope this article is of use to you and that it helps to figure out if you have a genuine Jellycat or a dupe. Leave a comment below with your thoughts!
