After being taken many a time by sellers pushing FAKE Rock & Republic jeans myself, I've decided to share what I've learned of the brand and write a guide so others will not fall prey to counterfeits as well!  Please note, this is not a sure-fire fool-proof guide, but an aid in identifying AUTHENTIC vs. FAKE and is by no means all inclusive.

Rock & Republic jeans retail anywhere from $160 up to as high as $400.  With prices that high, there are certain QUALITY standards the company maintains prior to distributing their apparel. 

The BASICS:

Craftmanship:   These jeans should be high quality.  Unless these jeans are stamped IRREGULAR or have been heavily worn they will not contain flaws.  Missing buttons, flawed stitching and misplaced rivets are highly unlikely on AUTHENTIC pair.

CRYSTALS: A few of the most faked styles of Rock & Republic are those with swarovski crystal detailing (Stevie Chromas & Crystal Roths). 

Stevie Chromas with crystals and Jagger Chromas with crystals are virtually IMPOSSIBLE to find.  They were made in very limited quantities.  I've only seen one real pair to date. Identifying factors:

1.  INSEAM: Unless hemmed, they should be at LEAST 34 inches in length.
2.  WASH/DISTRESSING: This should look the close to the same on all auth. pairs.
3.  CRYSTALS: They will be PERFECTLY placed within the flames.
•  If they look to be messy/placed unequally, chances are they're fake.
•  The crystals should fill the entire open area of the flames.
•  Real crystals are VERY sparkly and reflective. 
•  Fake crystals appear plastic-looking.
•  REAL crystals are glued solidly in position & almost never fall off.

         REAL:                                                            FAKE:

Crystal Roths (the ones with the R's on the pockets) are also a highly faked style.  Follow the same steps to verify authenticity with couple more indicators:

1.  INSEAM: Unless hemmed, they should be at LEAST 34 inches.
2.  WASH/DISTRESSING: This should look the same on all auth. pairs.
3.  CRYSTALS: They will be PERFECTLY placed within the R's.
•  If they look to be messy/placed unequally, chances are they're fake.
•  The crystals should fill the entire open area of the R.
•  Real crystals are VERY sparkly and reflective. (They say "look at me!")
•  Fake crystals appear plastic-looking. 
•  REAL crystals are firmly glued in position & almost never fall off.
4.  THE 'R': The R on the back pockets has a shape that never changes. 
•  Real R&R's have sharp, straight edges with points; fakes are curved.
•  The top loop and the leg of the R should be exaggerated. 

              REAL:                                                              FAKE:

Labels: Newer Rock & Republics contain two inner labels.  One is a size tag, the other is a care tag.  Older styles may have only one tag with all the information.

1. The size label: this label is typically on the left side. However, on newer styles it is directly on top of the care label near the zipper.  It contains the logo, the size and commonly has a security strip (though not always).
•  The size tag should say "Digitally mastered in the USA"
•  The size should be boldly stitched on the tag, not printed.
• Note the fonts of the text, this should be the same on all RRs. 
•  It should have a shiny silver Security Strip across the bottom(some do, some don't)
• This strip will reveal serial numbers when magnified              

1.  The Care Label: On some of the newer R& Rs, this label is about 2 inches x 2 inches wide and it has a bumpy canvas like feel/look to it. Most fakes will have a smooth tag.  All the information is PRINTED on this label. It has the big bold Rock & Republic logo, followed again by "Digitally mastered in the USA".  Below this is the style and cut #s, followed by the fabric ingredients.   The back of this tag will have RN#s and CA#s

• The Style # is typically something like: crthgls
• To decipher this:  Crystal RoTH GLySerine
• The Cut # is the cut used for that batch of jeans.
• This tag will always have PRINTED info in both black or red.
• Again, note the fonts.  This is the same on all newer RR care tags.
• UPDATE:  RR has switched this tag yet again!!  There are now Style Codes, Style #s and Wash Codes!  (Utterly confused yet?!  Don't be!  The Style Code will tell you the cut/style and the wash, the rest shouldn't matter much!)

Older Tag:                                       Most Recent Tag:

1.  Older tags:  Two most common styles of tags.  There are more, however, they are on the much less coveted styles of R&R.

• Note the style and format of these tags, counterfeiters often don't!
• These labels should never be shiny - a shiny label = fake!
• Notice the fonts:
• The style font is always in caps in italics.
• The Size is always very BOLD and box-y.

Hardware: All R&R hardware is engraved with the name or a circular symbol, from the rivets to the buttons.

1. The Rivets:
•  Should always be flat.  Fakes often have raised rivets.
•  They should not shine a lot.  They have more of  a dull look to them
•  The backs should always be engraved with back-to-back Rs or a swirly symbol

 2.  The Buttons: Basically, the same deal as the rivets. SEE ABOVE

•   This will always be engraved with Rock & Republic raised.
•   Real R&R buttons are dull in appearance & have no shine to them.
•   The backs should always be engraved with the back-to-back Rs or a swirl symbol

 

Font: As noted above.  The font on the tags can be very helpful in authenticating real from counterfeit.  In order to distinguish this, it's best to rely on an authentic pair for comparison.         

Wash: If you've seen the wash in person, this can be helpful.  However, if you have only seen pictures of the jeans, wash is tricky to rely on.  Many R & R washes have whiskering.  This has helped me a lot in determining what's real and what's not.

1. Whiskering helps:
• Many of the washes have area specific whiskers.
1. The front zipper area: Pay attention to the amount and direction.
2. The inner legs/knee to thigh:  most fakes will not get this down.
3. The front knee break: this is especially notable on new washes
4. The back of the knee:  the 'honeycombs' (especially on mens)

Real: Codeine Henleys

Outside Tags:  There's usually three outer tags. 

1. One on the back waistband that says: "Rock & Republic"

2. And two tiny blue 1 cm wide tags that have the back-to-back R's

• One is on the right outseam.

• One is inches away from the button

Retailers:  Only retailers AUTHORIZED by Rock & Republic may legally sell the Rock & Republic brand.  Rock & Republic strives for an exclusivity appeal, so there are very few authorized retailers...and even fewer authorized ONLINE retailers.

More info:  I'm a major shopaholic, with an designer denim addiction.  I love to shop sales and list a lot of my finds in my store.  All my items are 100% Authentic.  If I wouldn't wear it, I certainly wouldn't sell it!  Please feel free to contact me through ebay if you have any questions!  And, Visit My Store: A Designer Addiction

For additional information on designer denim or just help identifying authentic jeans, google and visit DenimDNA.  This is a great community of fellow jean lovers that are more than happy to help you find the real deal for a steal!

Special thanks to Jenuine_Bruin with the formatting and style of this guide.