First off, the *obvious* stuff. If it’s, like, fifty bucks, yeah, duh, it’s fake. But the fakes are getting *scarily* good. I saw this one dupe, a Bumbag replica, online, and the giveaway was supposedly the strap engraving. Apparently, the real deal has a specific thickness to the lettering, and fakes botch it. Who knew? Like, seriously, who goes around measuring font thicknesses on designer bags? Not me, that’s for sure. But someone does, and bless their souls.
Then there’s the stitching. This is a big one. Real Louis Vuitton is supposedly mostly hand-stitched. Think slightly angled, not perfectly straight. If it looks like a robot did it, alarm bells should be ringing. Now, *I* can’t tell hand-stitching from machine-stitching half the time, but apparently, a trained eye can. So maybe bring a friend who knows this stuff? Just an idea.
And don’t even get me STARTED on the monogram. That’s like, the *whole point* of a Louis Vuitton bag, right? The placement of the logos, the way they line up… it’s a whole science. Fake ones often get the details wrong. I saw this guide online talking about how to spot the fakes, and it was like reading a textbook. Monogram this, stitch work that, hardware the other thing… Honestly, it was kinda overwhelming.
Oh, and the *shine*! This one’s funny. Apparently, some fake Vernis leather has this weird, almost *too* glossy look. Like it’s trying too hard to be fancy. Authentic Vernis has a certain…subtlety, I guess? It’s like the bag is whispering “I’m expensive” instead of screaming it. And I think that’s exactly what people are looking for.
Honestly, the whole thing is kinda ridiculous. You’re spending a fortune on a bag, and you have to become a freakin’ detective just to make sure you’re not getting ripped off. I mean, there are “1:1 replicas” out there, dust bags, care booklets, even *fake* authentication cards! Crazy, right?