Louis Vuitton is probably the most counterfeited brand in the industry. The famous Monogram Canvas is associated with exclusivity, wealth and status, and is frequently seen adorning the hottest celebrities. Nowadays, it is becoming more and more difficult to identify the differences between authentic and fake Louis Vuitton; this guide is based upon extensive research, and will help you stay safe from cheap copies when buying Louis Vuitton. In this guide, we will use items from the ‘Damier Graphite’ line for men.
The Materials
Louis Vuitton can command a high price for their items because they only use the highest quality materials, married with exceptional attention to detail and careful craftmanship. By examining the materials used in the item, and other details such as stitching, it can be very simple to recognise whether you have a genuine or fake piece.
The Canvas
For most Louis Vuitton pieces, the exterior is made of canvas, with a pattern printed on. The most famous pattern is the classic ‘Monogram Canvas’, but for this example, we will be using the modern, sleek ‘Damier Graphite Canvas’. As the pictures show, there are subtle differences in the texture of the canvas’s surface, and the quality of the print. The Canvas should be quite soft to the touch, and should flex relatively easily. Fakes tend to be a little stiffer, as they tend to be made out of lower quality plastics, instead of the exceptional quality materials used in Louis Vuitton items.
The Stitching
An authentic Louis Vuitton item will always have high quality stitching. It will be perfectly straight, tight and will not be coming loose. It should be perfectly aligned with the edges that it is holding together. As the pictures show, the genuine piece has arrow-straight, tight stitching, whereas the stitching on the counterfeit piece does not even follow the curvature of the thumb notch properly.
The Seams
Any seam on a genuine Louis Vuitton item will be perfectly sealed, with no imperfections, and will feel smooth to the touch. It is very rare for Louis Vuitton to use glue to hold their pieces together; but if they do, it will never be visible from the exterior. As you can see in the pictures, the genuine Louis Vuitton has a perfectly sealed seam. On the fake item, however, glue has been expelled from between the layers of material during careless production processes.
The Box
All Louis Vuitton accessories such as wallets will always come in a brown box, with a beige slide out drawer. The brown box is embossed with the words ‘LOUIS VUITTON’ and the drawer has a small loop of brown leather, with which the drawer is pulled out to reveal the item. It should be printed with a serial number, which varies with box size. The drawer should sit flush with the main body of the box. As you can see in the pictures, the grain in the box is much more prominent in the counterfeit copy. The inside of the genuine box should be a similar colour to the drawer, but a little darker. On the fake, you can see that the inside is almost yellow in colour, and the edge of the brown covering is very scruffy. The leather loop on the genuine box is also much neater and does not have scruffy edges - it is slightly longer, and falls downwards instead of standing up. It is also worth noting that the embossed Louis Vuitton logo looks slightly different on the counterfeit item, and is more centered, whereas the genuine logo is aligned on the right hand side.
The Dust Bag
Every Louis Vuitton piece will be accompanied by an appropriately sized dust bag, to protect the delicate materials from the environment when not in use. Nowadays, counterfeiters are including dust bags with fake items, but they are simply not of high enough quality to appear authentic. As you can see in the pictures, the authentic dust bag is manufactured from beige cotton, and the seams are exceptionally neat and tight. However, the counterfeit dust bag has scruffy seams and does not feel on a par with the genuine item. The Louis Vuitton logo also looks very different on the two pieces - the genuine logo is printed on perfectly, whereas on the fake, the ink has bled a little, giving a highly unprofessional image. If you look inside your dust bag, you should find a small white tag, which says ‘100% Cotton, Made in India’. This is a little known detail, and is an excellent way of differentiating between a genuine and a counterfeit Louis Vuitton dust bag.
General Advice when purchasing Louis Vuitton
It is important to always buy from official Louis Vuitton boutiques; this is probably the only way to ensure authenticity these days. If you simply cannot afford to shop at Louis Vuitton, exercise great caution when buying from sites such as eBay. If possible, ask for the original receipt from the seller, and ensure that you can get a refund if you are not happy with the product. Remember to check with the FakesRevealed guide when your item arrives.
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