FakeNot.com > Print Version > How to Spot Fake Louis Vuitton Handbags

Louis Vuitton has been manufacturing fine quality travel bags and handbags for over 150 years. There was a time in the United States when you could only purchase their merchandise at a couple of high end department stores. Now the brand is much easier to find, but it's also much easier to be ripped off with a counterfeit. The key to spotting a fake handbag is to study the merchandise and know what to look for.

Step 1:
Make sure the handbag you want to buy was actually something made by Louis Vuitton. Before you purchase it, go to the manufacturer's website and verify they made that particular style in the color you are looking at. Often, the style closely resembles one of Vuitton's bags, but the fake is offered in colors that Louis Vuitton never used.

Step 2: LEATHER

Examine the leather (the purse itself, not the strap).

Fake: The leather is rather hard, tough, and rough.

Real: The leather is smooth.

Step 3: ZIPPER

Look at the zipper.

Fake: The zipper is rough and is not so easy to open. The zipper might be broken; the zipper easily brakes.

Real: The zipper is extremely smooth; it's easy to open the purse. One swish of your hand and the purse is open.

Step 3: LV monogram
Check the monogram to verify authenticity. The LV monogram is generally symmetrical from side to side. So look at the bag overall to see if the monogram is symmetrically placed in relation to the handles and sides. A Louis Vuitton product will never have the LV logo cut off, if the logo apears half on and half off the purse, wallet or whatever, its fake. Look for the LV monogram on the zipper. The fake ones sometimes have "YZ" or something other than LV.

Step 4: STITCHING
Look closely at the stitching as it should be very even and straight. In addition, Louis Vuitton places the same number of stitches in the same locations on similar bags. So if you know a particular style of handbag has 5 regular stitches across the top of the leather tab, you can spot a fake if it has only 4 stitches.

Step 5:
Compare the features of your handbag to the ones described on the manufacturer's site to see if your bag matches the description. For example, see if it should be lined and if so, in what color. Verify how many zippers it should have and where they're located.

Step 6:
Verify the dust bag included matches the one offered by Louis Vuitton for that particular handbag. There are fake dust bags out there and they generally are so obviously different from the one Louis Vuitton uses that it's an easy verification.

Step 7:

You need to check where its made. Louis Vuitton purses are made in Italy. Some fake ones say they are made in Paris. Don't make that mistake.

Step 8: LINING

It may look real on the outside, but its the inside that counts! The inside will not have a poly lining, it will have a suede lining...good ol' cow hide.

Step 6:

Examine the purse overall. Is it broken at places? Is the strap broken? Is something rusty? If something's broken, most likely it's a fake.