Guide to distinguish Replica & Authentic Louis Vuitton Handbags

Guide to distinguish Replica & Authentic Louis Vuitton Handbags

Did you know that just over 1% of the items on the market today with the LV trademark are authentic? Seems so terrible! It is a fact that a large number of people have difficulty in telling the difference between replica and authentic Louis Vuitton handbags. Actually though it is not an easy thing to do that, we still can try our best preventing from being fooled by replica ones. Hope you can learn something from the tips listed below.

The Taste of the Leather

In fact, all Louis Vuitton products have a unique taste of leather. if you are a frequenter of the authentic Louis Vuitton store, you will be familiar with the special smell. Just have a good smell of the leather, you can tell whether it is authentic or not. Of course, it needs a long time to attainthe skill. Thus if you have time, that would be better if you visit its authentic store personally.

Water Absorption

Just make a drop on the leather. If it is an authentic one, the water will be fully absorbed by the genuine leather, even there would be some water spots left after being wiped. If not, that should be the poor fake one.

Canvas Apperance

Louis Vuitton uses oxidizing natural cowhide leather that turns a dark golden honey color over time. Plastic is not used! Besides, the LV logo will be upside down on one side of the bag and right side up on the other to follow this pattern. The LV pattern should match up correctly even at the seam breaks.

Stitching

The stitching on the authentic Louis Vuitton bag is golden. While replica Louis Vuitton handbags have brown stitching. The real LV will have no missing stitches, no gaps in the stitching and no loose threads. Remember, Louis Vuitton bags are so expensive because every detail is flawless. It should be made to perfection.

Metallic Brightness

Authentic Louis Vuitton bag uses brass and gold metal hardware, not gold painted plastic.

Quality of the Lining

Depending on the collection, Louis Vuitton uses a variety of textiles to line their bags: canvas lining in red or fine micro monogram textile, cross-grain leather, tone on tone polyester, or microfiber suede. Con-artists pay little to no attention on the interior. Most commonly they would line the interior with plastic or cheap tan or brown suede.

Date Stamp

Actually, date stamp does not guaranteed authenticity. Whether your handbag has the stamp or not, does not prove that it is genuine. Louis Vuitton started to use date codes to mark their items in the early 1980's. Counterfeiters are even copying these, so I would not recommend basing authenticity singularly on this. You may need to search for the date stamp, they are occasionally hidden and may be difficult to find in some models.
Some date codes used
FRANCE: AO, A1, A2, AN, AR, AS, BA, BJ, CT, DU, FL, LW, MB, MI, NO, RA, RI, SD (also USA), SL, SN, SP, SR, TH, VI
USA: FH, OS, SD (also France)
SPAIN: CA, LO, LB, LM

Hope these tips can help you distinguishing replica handbags. If you have other tips to add to the list, just share with us.