Louis Vuitton has been out for over a century. As the brand continues to become more popular, the tendencies for more copies arise. We all know that LV overcharges for their products. Why must we pay full price for something that only costs a ¼ of the price to produce? This question brought upon the rise of the production of replicas and fakes. For those of you who are looking for the real deal, here are the ONLY ways to spot a fake Louis Vuitton.#10 I saw it online.

Authentic Louis Vuitton merchandise is only sold only at louisvuitton.com and their actual brick and mortar stores. Chances are high that the Louis Vuitton bag you see online (not from louisvuitton.com) is fake.#9 The bag was wrapped.

Many of the fake or replica Louis Vuitton products are wrapped in bubble wrap or a clear plastic. Louis Vuitton likes to sell to their customers, the actual floor sample. This makes the customer feel that he or she purchased something one-of-a-kind. Truthfully, I wish Louis Vuitton would sell them individually wrapped. I enjoy the feeling of receiving something brand new rather than something that has been sitting on a shelf.#8 The dust cover looks cheap.

The actual Louis Vuitton dust covers are quite simple. They only consist of a suede type fabric that is folded and sewn. The authentic dust cover is very plain with one LV logo. The replica dust covers are usually constructed of cheap materials. Also, many of the dust covers have more writing other than the simple LV logo or name.#7 It's a great bargain.

You know the old saying: "you get what you pay for"? Well this applies to Louis Vuitton because LV does not discount or have any sort of sale on their products. They also don't wholesale their products because they only distribute through their retail channels. If the price is too good to be true, chances are it's a fake.#6 There's a hanging tag.

Many products use hangtags to display product details. Louis Vuitton feels that this disturbs the overall exterior image of the product. This is why they put these product card details hidden inside the product. Louis Vuitton products do not include cards: one being the card that explains what materials the product consists of and the other being the authenticity card. At times a booklet for care instructions is also included with the product.#5 There's a proof of authenticity card.

Like I mentioned earlier, Louis Vuitton doesn't provide two cards. The fakes have an authenticity card. Even though it may seem like a legitimate card, genuine LV bags do not include such cards.#4 The hardware has imperfections.

Authentic Louis Vuitton bags use brass and gold in their hardware. The hardware is hand chosen to ensure that they shine and do not tarnish over long periods of time. Many of the fakes out there use cheap gold painted plastics. Many times you will see bubbles or hairlines on the hardware. This is caused by poor preparation prior to painting or over spraying the cheap plastics. Also, another thing to note on the hardware is the engraved or pressed logo. The LV logo pressed on the authentic LV merchandise is very legible and sharp. The fakes on the other hand, tend to be blurry and less precise.#3 The quality is not the greatest.

Louis Vuitton is known for their attention to detail. The threading should look neat. The sewing should be straight and accurate. Overall, the piece should look close to perfect. Many fake LV products are lacking quality. This is because the replica manufacturers lack the expertise in handbag making. If you have any doubt about the quality, I say go with your gut feeling---it's fake.#2 The monogram print doesn't look right.

On both sides of the product, the Louis Vuitton monogram should be upright. The monogram material should line up and not be tilted. The monograms should also be clearly printed with gold letters with brown lines through the LV sign, not cutout, smudged, solid colored, or have a greenish tint to it. Many makers of replica LV products are not attentive to this detail.#1 The inner lining combination is off.

Depending on the collection, LV uses a variety of textiles for their inner lining. Lining used: canvas lining in red or honey, cross-grain leather, fine micro monogram textile, tone on tone polyester, or microfiber suede. The fake LV products are usually lined with a cheap tan or brown suede material. Some better fakes are lined with the same textiles; however, they will match the incorrect textile pattern with another collection (i.e. microfiber suede inner lining for their classic Damier monogram canvas bags).

Also, every authentic LV product has a date code sewn into the lining: 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 The fakes sometime mix these codes up (i.e. stitching A1 into the lining when the pressed leather states: "Made in Spain"). ___________________________________________________________________________ With all that said and done, you should now be able to spot an authentic Louis Vuitton bag from a fake one. Good luck and happy shopping!