First off, and this is HUGE, forget everything you thought you knew about those “official guides” that claim to decode date codes. Honestly, they’re kinda useless. Sure, a missing date code is a HUGE red flag, like waving a neon sign saying “I’m a dupe!”, but even if it *has* one, doesn’t mean it’s legit. Counterfeiters are getting crafty, y’know? They’re slapping ’em on everything.
Now, about that stitching… This is where you gotta get your magnifying glass out. Real Louis Vuitton stitching is meticulous. Like, *seriously* meticulous. We’re talking even, consistent, and usually a very specific shade of gold. If the stitching looks wonky, uneven, or like it was done by a drunk badger, that’s a problem. I saw this one “LV” (cough, cough) where the stitching was practically digging trenches into the leather. Yikes! Plus, the depth matters! I read somewhere that if the stitching looks too deep, then its probably a fake.
Then there’s the monogram itself. This is where my blood pressure starts to rise. Check for the placement! Real Louis Vuitton is all about symmetry and precise placement. If the LV’s are cut off in weird places, or the spacing is off, alarm bells should be ringing. And those “dents” people talk about on the LV monogram… if they’re HUGE and super obvious, it’s probably a fake. Real LV dents are supposed to be subtle. Its really all in the details!
And don’t even get me started on the “LOUIS VUITTON” inscription. It HAS to be crisp and clear. And the font… oh, the font! It’s gotta be just right. If it looks too thick, too thin, or just plain *off*, that’s a major red flag. I saw one once where the “N” looked like it was about to fall over. Seriously!
But here’s the kicker – and this is just my opinion, okay? – sometimes it’s just a *feeling*. Like, you look at it, you touch it, and something just feels…wrong. The leather might feel too stiff, the hardware might feel cheap, the whole thing might just scream “knockoff” at you. Trust your gut!
Oh, and one last thing: price. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. You ain’t gonna find a genuine Louis Vuitton for the price of a sandwich (unless that sandwich is made of gold, maybe).
