Designer Bag Directory : The Louis Vuitton Delighful

In June 2010, Louis Vuitton launched a delightful new Monogram bag, the Monogram Delightful, as part of Louis Vuitton’s Pre-Fall Collection. This practical shoulder bag with an extra-supple hobo shape would definitely make a great casual-chic purse perfect for everyday use. 

Like its sister, the Neverfull, Delightful has a similar unstructured body. Available only in Monogram Canvas, includes a D-ring and fine golden brass details.  Natural cowhide piping and edging highlights the rounded shape of the bag. The leather handle of the bag is made from natural cowhide. And also like the Neverfull, Delightful features a striped lining inspired by the interior of vintage Louis Vuitton trunks. As for the handle, Louis Vuitton has constructed – from the purest tradition of savior-faire – a thick piece of gorgeous natural cowhide leather which is delicately embossed with the Louis Vuitton signature and is curved at both ends, without any wrinkles and secured into place by a feminine golden brass stud.


The Delightful offers generous space, even the PM can accommodate an A4. Inside, there’s a large zipped pocket to secure your belongings. Also, two zipped pockets can be found on the exterior of the GM, a unique feature which is only available in the said size.


Monogram Delightful comes in three sizes: PM (6.3″ x 11″ x 16.5″), MM (5.9″ x 13.4″ x 20.5″), and GM (8.3″ x 12.6″ x 22.8″). There is a huge price gap between the GM and MM, but the GM have 2 extra exterior pockets and much larger.






This bag can hold a number of your every day essential items and is a great alternative to the Neverfull bag. Perfect for everyday city use, it is indeed a delightful bag!

Designer Bag Directory : The Louis Vuitton Capucines

Presenting the Louis Vuitton Capucines Bag.The Louis Vuitton Capucines was first introduced in the Fall/Winter 2013 collection.The bag takes its name from the Rue des Capucines in Paris where Louis Vuitton opened his first store in 1854. Louis Vuitton needed to regain back its lost exclusivity, since many people are now lugging around the typical canvas monograms. Hence, the bag's price-point may firmly put the LV brand into Hermes territory which reflects the strong symbol of the exclusivity.

The bag has actually two-faces and can be worn in two ways; the front flap can be hidden inside and it will show the LV initials in the middle bring a little sparkle. The flap can also be clasped on the front, which displays the LV monogram flower button,reminiscent of Louis Vuitton’s signature monogram icon. It has a semi-rigid top handle attached by jewel like rings. Its sides angle out like a slight trapezoid giving it a modern touch. The Capucines combines its sleek aesthetic with functionality as it features two inside compartments,1 flat and 1 zippered, and an inside flap for added security. The Capuciness bag is easily carried by hand, in the crook of the elbow or even over the shoulder. 

The Capucines is available in a variety of smooth and exotic leathers and even special materials like tweeds and furs. The bag is made out of full-grain Taurillon calf leather, the same leather used by Hermes for its exclusivity. Hence, the subject leather with its signature texture is very durable, strong, and of very high quality.The bags' hardware varies between silver and gold, depending on the leather color.

The bag comes in 3 sizes BB, MM, and GM. The BB size features a long strap for cross body wear.While, both MM and GM are only 1.5 inch difference from each other. Currently, the MM is offered in ten colors, while GM only comes in Cherry Red and Black. Each season, the Capucines is introduced in even more rich, vivid colors, including one that's strikingly similar to Hermes' signature orange.

The Capucines embodies classic elegance. A bag that deserved to be admired and one bag that every woman should definitely own.. 

Designer Bag Directory : The Louis Vuitton Keepall

Louis Vuitton started his career by making travel trunks and bags. In 1913, Vuitton opened the world's biggest luggage store in Paris, as well as boutiques around the world. The bags, recognized as status symbols thanks to their immediately recognizable Monogram print, got progressively smaller and more flexible, and in 1930, Louis Vuitton produced the Keepall, a smaller travel bag with two handles.


Designed by Georges Vuitton, Louis’ son, The Keepall made its debut in the early 1930s. The long overnight bag, embellished with LV logos (standing for the company's Louis Vuitton) was made for the elite to serve their travel needs. The brand immediately evoked prominence and wealth, and the Keepall became so popular that Georges introduced a smaller bag resembling it (but for everyday use) a couple of years later. It would be named "The Speedy."



The Keepall’s design and features have influenced today’s modern weekend bags, or otherwise known as “The Weekender”. Features of the Keepall include a leather ID tag, and the bag is available in 3 sizes – 45, 55, 60 (measure in cm).




The choice is endless, you can choose different sizes, but also decide whether you want to carry the bag over your shoulder, the bandouliere style, or you just carry it in hand. Its style makes it the perfect unisex bag- a travel bag both men and women, who love luxury can enjoy.The Keepall is often used today as a hardy carry on and ideal unisex travel companion luggage. A sure sign of a classic style, the Keepall is still very popular and still has a strong appeal on the modern fashion scene!

Designer Bag Directory : The Louis Vuitton Noé Bag

The Noé design debuted in 1932. In strict chronological terms, the Noé is the second oldest Louis Vuitton bag. Its birth date of 1932 places itself at the start of an exceptional decade that saw the creation of other Louis Vuitton icons: the Speedy, the Alma and the Keepall. 

The story of its creation is of legend. The Louis Vuitton Noe was first introduced in 1932 when a champagne house contacted (Gaston Vuitton) Louis Vuitton to make a bag that would hold 5 bottles of champagne. Gaston-Louis Vuitton then designed a timelessly simple bucket shape, which could hold four bottles upright and a fifth upside down, secured with a supple leather drawstring. The bag still serves this function: 4 bottles with the bottom down and the 5th inverted and nestled between the others. However, its bottle carrying capacity notwithstanding, the bag is primarily used as a practical city bag for everyday use. He called the bag Noé – in reference to a biblical character who planted grapevines on the mountains of Ararat after he left the Ark. According to Louis Vuitton the name Noé is French for Noah, who was not only famous for loading animals on the Arc, but for his ability to consume wine.

Noé comes in three sizes: the Noé  itself (10" x 13"), Mini Noé (7" x 5"), and the Petite Noé  (9" x 11").

The original Noé was crafted from natural leather, pale gold like the champagne it was destined to carry, and light as its exuberant ribbons of bubbles. Throughout the years, the Noé has remained as one of the French luxury house’s most iconic bag styles alongside the Speedy, the Alma and the Keepall, and has seen many variations in the Monogram canvas, the Damier Azur and the Epi leather.

Today, this bucket bag is very much loved and is popular for everyday bag, worn by women all over the globe. The legend lives on, a truly time-tested classic bag. Noé forever!



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Designer Bag Directory : Guide to Louis Vuitton Authentication

Louis Vuitton is the most counterfeited designer out there. They have produced many different lines of bags throughout the years; canvas monogram, epi, vernis, damier azur just to name a few of their outside finishes. With all of this, authentication can be overwhelming. When authenticating Louis Vuitton bags, there are many details to study: leather, stitch trim, inside lining, hardware details, monogram pattern/alignment, d-rings, etc, etc. Unless you're really familiar with LV, it is just too much! So, let's look at the most important authentication features that apply to ALL Louis Vuitton bags.

1.Louis Vuitton Hot Stamping

The main Louis Vuitton stamp is very important for authentication, and oftentimes it can easily allow you to determine that a bag is fake.

Fake Louis Vuitton bags emboss the trademark symbol while authentic ones use hot stamping. Authentic trademark symbols are evenly stamped while fake ones are uneven and use a different font. 



Features to pay attention to: 
1. The tail on the L is very short. 
2. The O's are very round and look bigger than the L. 
3. The T's are almost touching each other or are so close that it looks like it. 
4. Lettering should be thin to somewhat thin, clear and very crisp.
5. Study the general font used and how it is aligned.



Notice how the first three fake Louis Vuitton stamps all have obvious errors. For instance, oval O's instead of round O's, the size of the O's, the space between the T's, and width of the imprint.

The last (4th) fake Louis Vuitton stamp is from a better counterfeit. Notice how this stamping does not appear to have any mistakes. Further authentication steps would be required to weed out this fake.


Also, observe how the counterfeit tag is roughly stitched on while the authentic tag has straight stitching with a slight angle. In any stamped branding, the “t”s will not touch. “O”‘s should be round and not like the number 0. Additionally, check the imprint on the inside of the bag. The “O” in a real Louis Vuitton will be an exact circle. The O on a fake Louis Vuitton may be closer to an oval.

2. Symmetry Monograms Patterns

The construction of any real Louis Vuitton bag will be impeccable: the monogram pattern will always be aligned symmetrically, the stitching will be flawless, not sloppy, and there will be no peeling or unnatural cracking to the material anywhere.

Authentic bags have even patterns that are well matched and proportionate. A bag with a pattern that does not match up with itself is likely to be a fake.

LOUIS VUITTON NEVER cuts off their "LV" logo (only-some vintage items have cut off "LV's", so make sure to check the age of the bag) Speedy bags logos are cut, but look for symmetry, the are cut at the same place so bot sides of a seem will match. 






Look for upside-down LV's on the back. Not all authentic bags have upside-down LV's, but many do, especially if the design was made with one continuous, seamless piece of leather that wraps all around the bag. This is especially true of the Speedy styles, Keepalls, and Papillons.

Another indicator of a counterfeit bag is the number of stitches per inch (SPI) on the seam. SPI (stitches per inch) refers to the number of stitches in a single inch of seam. A high SPI count indicates greater overall seam strength, (and therefore a higher quality handbag). Authentic Louis Vuitton bags will have a higher SPI count than the counterfeits.

3. Construction : Material Make Up

The material used to construct any real LV bag will never feel cheap, but rather a combination of rich and sturdy, luxurious yet durable. Nothing will be glued on or feel like it can break easily, and nothing will feel artificial. A good example of this is the vachetta leather trim which Louis Vuitton uses on its bags—an untreated calfskin leather which develops a rich patina as it oxidizes with time/use. Many fake LV bags use a synthetic leather trim which does not darken the same way over time.



Make sure that the item you are looking at is correct, as interior. In brown Monogram canvas it is brown textile lining (in most cases, some have different lining-Manhattan, Viva Cite, Trouville, Bucket, cosmetic pouches, luggage, vanity cases), black multicolor is grey alcantara lining, white multicolor is red alcantara lining, damier canvas is red alcantara lining (in older models it was a light brown alcantara lining, so check age of bag), Vernis is textile lining that usually is the same color as the exterior of the bag, Epi leather is usually alcantara lining that matches the exterior color of the bag (some bags have bare interior-speedy-keepall). 



Lastly, if you buy a fake bag then you will be getting a piece of junk that will fall apart soon. Real Louis Vuitton Bags last a life-time and retain their value. 

4. Hardware



In general, most fake Louis Vuitton bags will have very poor quality hardware. In fact, some are colored plastic!

Observing how clean and precise the imprinting is on hardware will also be a giveaway for many fakes. Notice how clean and crisp the lettering and imprinting on the authentic hardware is compared to the replicas.



Authentic clasp is on the left, while the fake clasp is on the right.




Check if the zippers are not stamped with the Vuitton logo or insignia. Real Louis Vuitton zipper pulls are engraved lightly on the brass with rounder logo font (see above pic).






If the bag that you are looking at, has a required padlock, make sure that the brass is shiny and not a brushed finish. All LOUIS VUITTON locks that I have seen are a brushed finished brass and really cheap looking. There should be an "LV" embossed on the front of the lock, and read, "LOUIS VUITTON PARIS MADE IN FRANCE" on the back, and have the lock number embossed on the bottom beside the keyhole. 

5. Datecode



The date code contained within every authentic Louis Vuitton bag will consist of 2 letters and four numbers which indicate where and when the piece was produced (e.g., “SD0017”); this code will often appear on a small leather tab somewhere inside the bag, but can also be embossed into the material of the lining. Fake LV bags have date codes, too, but these are often asymmetrical or printed with a slightly different font than that used by Louis Vuitton.

All Louis Vuitton bags before the early 1980s did not come with a date code. But most Louis Vuitton bags still in circulation will have a date code.

Date codes can provide the date and place of manufacture of the bag. Because many datecodes provide the country origin of this bag, this can be another checkpoint for authentication. Again, this is another thing that counterfeiters mess up on.

For instance, the fake date code is MI 1920. MI means that the bag came from France. If the stamping on the Louis Vuitton bag states: made in U.S.A or Spain, you know that this bag is a counterfeit. The country signified on the date code must be the same country specified on the "Made in" stamping.

Countries and their Date codes:
Made in France- A0, A1, A2, AA, AAS, AH, AN, AR, AS, BA, BJ, BU, DR, DU, CO, CT, ET, FL, LW, MB, MI, NO, RA, RI, SD, SF, SL, SN, SP, SR, TJ, TH, TR, TS, VI, VX
Made in Italy- BC, BO, CE, FO, MA, RC, RE, SA, TD
Made in Spain- CA, GI, LO, LB, LM, LW
Made in U.S.A.- FC, FH, FL, LA, OS, SD
Made in Switzerland- DI, FA
Made in Germany- LP

Date codes are located on a piece of leather on the inside of the bag or on the side near a seam inside the bag. They can sometimes be difficult to find. Unless the date code has been rubbed down or the bag is very vintage, it should always be there. 



Fake bags oftentimes do not have date codes.Keep in mind that the fact that an item has a date code does not guarantee that it's authentic since many counterfeit items have date codes. A valid and properly stamped date code is just one many parameters that are checked to guarantee the authenticity of a Louis Vuitton handbag.

Lastly, if you’ve read and understood the guide above, I bet you now know how to spot a real Louis Vuitton from a fake and then you can master this skill to justify your investment in LV Bags!

Designer Bag Directory : The Louis Vuitton Alma Bag

Every woman all over the world would love to own a Louis Vuitton handbag. Each season, LV produces bags that are a fine combination of form and function. Each piece is capable of raising the style quotient on the most ordinary ensemble and is also designed to last for many years. Nevertheless, in the midst of all their new releases, LV continues to make classics that have been big favourites with fashionable women for many decades. One such bag is the Louis Vuitton Alma. The Alma is a bag that has been around since the 1930′s. It was created by Gaston-Louis Vuitton. It is believed that it was originally made Coco Chanel as a custom order. Alma was originally dubbed as the “Squire”. It was also called the “Champs Elysees” after the great Parisian thoroughfare before it was finally named the “Alma” after " Place de L'Alma" the tree lined square in Paris, that marks where the Avenue Montaigne meets the Seine River. The name "Alma" was a success and used since. It is second to Louis Vuitton Speedy by popularity. 



Louis Vuitton Alma was inspired by the art deco movement. The bag features bold and architectural lines and still in demand today. The bag was made with functionality in mind and spacious. It’s spacious enough to contain books, papers, and cosmetics. It is also quite secure and stable, with double zippers, a padlock, and four protective studs on the underside. Alma is the perfect work to evening bag. Alma is a must have for many reasons.

Its sleek design makes for a wonderful everyday bag, and has been seen on the arms of Blake Lively, Naomi Watts, and Rihanna. The Louis Vuitton Alma is crafted in a variety of sizes (GM, BB, MM, PM), materials, colors, and in its iconic Monogram and Damier patterns. Alma can be found in Epi leather, canvas, and Vernis.

ALMA SIZES SELECTION: 
BB : 10 X 7.5 X 4.7 inches 
PM : 12.6 X 9.4 X 6 inches
MM : 14.2X10.2X6.7 inches
GM : 15 X 11 X 7 inches

Designer Bag Directory: The Louis Vuitton Neverfull Bag

For years, the Louis Vuitton Damier Neverfull has been the first bag to so many girls out there. It has become one of the most iconic pieces of the LV brand and for good reason too. With it’s large interior, versatile and large handles, and that monogrammed leather canvas we all love, the Neverfull has earned its place on the top shelf and the most favored amongst LV classics.


Louis Vuitton started his legacy by first selling stackable trunks in 1854. Rather quickly, people started counterfeitting and immitati the design of the trunks. In 1896, his son, George, designed the now renowned LV monogram logo in a custom font with the added emblem designs, inspired by japanese flowers, to ironically prevent the counterfeiting. The logo was updated in 1959 and has remained the same since. Vuitton expanded his business and started making leather goods and accessories  eventually making his way into fashion and, as of now, designs haute couture gowns and is still one of the most sought after and prestigious brands today.

In 2013 Louis Vuitton celebrated the Neverfull with a new version of this iconic bag. The redesigned interior features a fresh textile lining and heritage details inspired by House archives. Best of all, zipped clutch can be carried separately as a chic pochette or serve as an extra pocket. Lining in a selection of bright shades lend a pop of vivid colour to the timeless Monogram canvas.

Like the Speedy, the Neverfull is a classic Louis Vuitton design that sees annual price increases and consistent demand in the resale market. The Neverfull comes in varied materials and limited edition patterns that are even more likely to sell for close to retail, making it a solid investment bag candidate.
The Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag is one of the most recognisable and copied shapes in the accessories world.

Louis Vuitton Neverfull is suitable for every occasion. Effortlessly practical, it is an ideal tote or the laces can be tightened to create a more compact, chic city bag.

The Neverfull is made of the monogrammed toile canvas leather and cowhide leather for the handles, with about 45 hours invested into creating each bag. Its name boasts its ability, made to carry 200 pounds but with the ease and chic look of a luxurious tote. Louis Vuitton Neverfull comes with a detachable pouch where you can store your cards and keys, or be used on its own as a small clutch. Neverfull is made to last, with its leather handles that will naturally patina overtime and the brass hardware stamped with popular name.

The timeless look and practicality of the bag has kept the demands high since its introduction in 2007. Each LV bag is handstitched and handcrafted by some if the best craftsmen in the world. For most of the 19th century, the bags were made exclusively in France, but since demand for these handbags started to surpass the production, they had to outsource to the US, Italy, Spain, and Germany. 

The Neverfull exemplifies everything the luxury brand stands for, quality, excellence, versatility, and overall just a great handbag; versatile, roomy and classic, great bag for shopping or work. A total must have!

NEVERFULL SIZES SELECTION:
GM 15.7 x 13.0 x 7.9 inches
MM 12.6 x 11.4 x 7.5 inches
PM 11.4 x 8.7 x 5.1 inches