Your guide to authenticating Louis Vuitton bags by 9ine Life

A Louis Vuitton bag stands for timeless elegance and luxury. However, anyone indulging in this luxury wants to be sure they are purchasing an original product. Here is your guide on how you can personally verify whether your Louis Vuitton bag is an original.

 

There are several key elements you can check to verify the authenticity of your bag:

At 9ine Life, we sell a range of designer brands, with Louis Vuitton being one of our more popular ones. Since all our items are 100% genuine, we want to show you how to distinguish a fake Louis Vuitton bag from a real one. In this guide, we explain what to look for to tell if a Louis Vuitton bag is authentic.

You can find our second-hand Louis Vuitton bags here

1. The Monogram

The monogram and pattern continuity serve as clear and detailed identification features, almost like a fingerprint for a Louis Vuitton bag.
On an authentic Louis Vuitton Paris bag, the monogram should also extend symmetrically across the entire surface. The pattern must look straight, not slanted or irregular. If there are discrepancies here, it is a sign of a fake.
Tip: Compare images of a 100% authentic bag with the one you are currently checking, for example, from an authenticated shop.

Original LV Monogram

2. The Stitching

The look of the stitching is also an indicator that the bag is an original. They are hand-stitched, which is why the stitches are slightly angled compared to machine stitching. Uneven or perfectly straight stitches point to a counterfeit. Please note: There are certain models that are machine-stitched.
Louis Vuitton uses white linen thread treated with beeswax. This creates the typical mustard-yellow color of the thread. In imitations, the threads are often synthetic and usually have a lighter color or are even orange.

Examples of original stitching.

 

3. The Material

Check whether the bag was crafted from high-quality materials. Replicas usually use inferior materials. Leather is one of the high-quality materials used to craft Louis Vuitton bags. You can recognize this by the typical smell or the ability of the material to absorb water, as faux leather cannot.
A well-known material from the brand is Vernis leather. It should not be overly shiny in the sun and yellows over time. That is how you recognize an original vintage bag.

 

The brown leather on classic models also discolors over time, taking on a typical yellow/brown color. Keep this in mind when looking at used models.

 

4. The Hardware (Metal details)

The metal parts of Louis Vuitton bags are made from high-quality metals. Refined brass is usually used for this, which is coated with base metals. The engravings are crafted with attention to detail and are very distinct. On imitations, the metal parts look cheap and inaccurate. Over time, the material on original bags oxidizes, which is why it is completely normal to discover green discoloration on vintage bags. If the metal details are often not worn, this is a sign of a fake in vintage models.

Here you can see the intricate engravings of the hardware

 

This is what oxidized metal parts look like on older vintage bags.

 

5. The Stamped Code

The code, which can be found in every Louis Vuitton bag, is a date code that reveals the production date and location of the bag. The code is not unique like a serial number. However, it always has a specific format:
It consists of two letters followed by a four-digit number. The letters stand for the factory location where the bag was manufactured, and the numbers indicate the week and year of production. This allows you to check whether the condition of the bag matches the date specified in the code. If the code is missing or incorrect, the bag is a fake.

The two letters stand for the country in which the bag was made (Here: TH = France).

Before 1982: LL

LL (Country) YY (Year) M(Month)
                YY (Year) MM (Month)
LL (Country) YY (Year) MM (Month)
YY (Year) MM (Month) LL (Country)

1990-2006:

LL MY MY

2007-2021:

LL W(Week)Y WY

Since March 2021, Louis Vuitton no longer uses codes, but rather chips. If the bag you are checking was produced after this period and does not have a chip, it is a counterfeit.

 

6. The Stamps

On most LV bags, the brand name is stamped into a piece of leather. Authenticity can be recognized here by the typical lettering which looks like this:

 

7. Authenticity Certificates (Cards):

A very reliable sign of the authenticity of an LV bag is an authenticity certificate. These are provided in a small envelope in the form of a card.

In addition to the certificate, you will also receive care instructions for your bag's material. This also indicates the authenticity of the bag.

 

8. Other Accessories

When purchasing a new original Louis Vuitton bag, you also receive accessories.
These include:

A dust bag

 

A packaging box

Invoices and other documents.

So, the next time you buy a Louis Vuitton bag that you want to authenticate, pay attention to the points mentioned above. However, when you shop at 9ine Life, the authenticity of the product is guaranteed.

 

You can find our second-hand Louis Vuitton bags here