In honor of my husband rocking my birthday gift this year with a pre-loved Louis Vuitton wallet, I thought I would share some knowledge I've come across over time for authenticating LV wallets. Keep scrolling for some authentication tips!
Leather Quality
Designer goods are made of high quality materials, and many LV wallets are made of leather. If the wallet is made of leather, the material should feel sturdy and not slippery. It should not smell like plastic. When you bend the wallet (gently!) it shouldn't wrinkle up but keep its shape.
Stamped Date Code
Since the 80s Louis Vuitton has included a stamped date code on their products that indicates the factory location as well as the date it was created. Mine was inside a slot up near the stitching. LV products can be produced in a number of countries, including France, USA, Spain, and Italy. It is not a unique serial number and its possible it has rubbed off over time so just because your item doesn't have one doesn't mean its fake. However, its good to check if you can find it as well as see that the factory matches with the country of production. (IE your product says made in France but the code has an Italian factory) I found a really comprehensive list of factory codes you can check out - HERE
Stitching
Like pretty much all designer items, stitching should be straight and consistent. There should be no raw edges. One way to check stitching is to look for stitching ends. If the stitching back tracks over itself that is usually a sign of low quality stitching.
Embossed Stamp
When inspecting the "Louis Vuitton made in ..." stamp, check whether the stamping is consistent. A common give away of a counterfeit is that the stamp was not weighted evenly so some ink areas may be more thick than others. Authentic LV items will have an evenly weighted stamp.
Also, on the "made in" stamp, make sure the O's are round like a circle, not like a "0". As well, the trademark R in the circle should not be touching the circle it is in anywhere. Monogram
If you have the traditional monogram pattern, it will be made up of the LV symbol along with a few other shapes. Spend some time to compare the same shapes against each other to make sure they are perfectly the same. You will see in counterfeit items that the same shapes will come in different shapes or show inconsistencies.
MYTH - Cut Off Monogram
One thing I had always thought to be true about LV monogram items is that they will never cut over an LV or other shape of the pattern. Turns out that is not true! Many products purchased directly from LV have shown that products can in fact be cut through the pattern. So this doesn't necessarily mean an item is fake!
If you are also looking for a secondhand LV wallet, I have rounded up some pieces from Vestiaire Collective below. Rest assured, they are authenticating through the site so you can have a lot of confidence they are authentic!
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A LOT of time has passed since I last shared some updates on our home remodel. Since we were completely gutting and renovating the whole house, we were in the middle of a lot of projects across a couple rooms when covid hit. For some of our projects we had hired outside help, so that had to be put on pause. And with everything being so up in the air, we wanted to save as much money as possible just in case. Now that things are starting to get back to normal a bit in California we have been getting back to work. The room that is for the most part done (aside from being more decorated) is our living room, which really needed not much work compared to other rooms in the house. Keep scrolling to see the before and after!
BeforeAfter
This room was all us. We scraped wall paper, painted, put in new floors/baseboards, and upgraded the fixtures. I think the most noticeable change is the window behind the couch being closed up. The windows in this room were very old and inefficient. As well, the area behind the couch is where we moved out the wall to expand the bathroom (if you haven't seen our bathroom transformation you can check that out HERE) so instead of replacing it with a smaller window we decided to just close it up. The existing window we had replaced with a much more efficient upgrade.
The only new furniture we bought was the two piece coffee table, which we got from Ikea (HERE). The white couch is also Ikea, but not new. We got it barely used off Facebook Marketplace for $300! The tv console used to belong to my parents, and the green rolling cart is actually a family antique. My grandparents bought it in Korea in the 70s!
Most of the decor are knick knacks I picked up at thrift stores. I'm super proud of the rug, I also found it on Facebook Marketplace! I only paid $50 for it, and managed to squeeze this 9x12 ft rug into the back of a crossover suv all on my own! These rugs are regularly $300 so I couldn't pass it up. The one piece I did buy new for the room is the fake fiddle leaf fig tree. Many I found were pricey, but this one was only about $70!
These have been our coffee table books for years. The Mercedes Benz book was my husbands from Germany, and the Vogue is special to me because I bought it when I was in Paris back in 2011 (the trip where I met my now husband). I love the coasters I bought off Amazon, they have a marble design and are leather so they hold up really well. Plus they have over 1200 reviews and almost 5 stars!
As far as what we are working on now, our goal is to get this old toolshed off the living room transitioned into a bathroom (with shower!) by Thanksgiving. The door to this bathroom is next to the TV. If you look at the old pictures of the living room, the door into this bathroom had a bookshelf attached to it, so it didn't look like a door at all. There was actually a door to the backyard/outside that we closed up behind the toilet.
As far as the room I am most excited to share, the kitchen, we should be getting that room wrapped up very soon! We ordered our cabinets back in February, but one *single* cabinet was on backorder and was supposed to arrive by April. Due to covid, it got pushed back until August and there was actually a lot our contractor couldn't build because of this one cabinet. But now that we have the cabinet our guy is coming back in to finish the kitchen very soon! I'll be sharing that hopefully at the end of this month :D
One of the things I enjoy most in this world is finding great deals. The secondhand fashion industry is growing like crazy, and there are so many awesome designer deals out there if you spend the time and know where to look! I have alerts set on a number of selling sites, like Mercari, which is where I purchased these adorable Prada espadrille sandals. These alerts will send me a notification when someone lists an item I have been looking for in a specific price range. I was so excited to get an alert about these because they were a classic piece that would go with so many things, my size, and priced SO LOW!
These espadrille sandals were originally over $700 new. (!!) The seller on Mercari described these as "worn once" and looked practically brand new. I sent an offer that the buyer accepted, and ended up getting these sandals for...
$53.09!!
Most the of the used sandals in this style are going for $200-$250 on Poshmark and eBay, so I am still a little bit in shock that I got these so low. Those alerts can be your best friend!
NWT Zara midi dress new with tags, thrifted $6 / Prada espadrille sandals secondhand, Mercari $53 / Longchamp tote bag new, gift / Burberry nova check scarf secondhand, eBay $30
I found a number of similar secondhand Prada sandals from Vestiaire all under $100 that you can click and shop below!
I bought this Burberry nova check scarf a couple years ago from eBay for only $30. The print is so classic and the scarf is so versatile. I wear it around my neck, on my bag, and in my hair!
Honestly, when I first starting seeing the distressed shoe trend around, I was like no way, I am not going to invest this fleeting trend. But then it started to stick around, and I honestly started to love the look more and more. HOWEVER - I am not spending $500 on an intentionally worn out pair of shoes...
I set an alert on Mercari (a site similar to eBay where people sell their stuff!) to let me know when Golden Goose sneakers in my size are listed, and when I got an alert and saw they were only $100 - I bought them right away! Most of these selling sites protect you against counterfeit items - ie if the seller says they are real and you receive them and find they are not, you can return them and get your money back no prob - but you have to know what to look for. If you are searching for your own pair, keep scrolling to find out some tips to authenticate your Golden Goose sneakers! Stitching
As with authenticating most designer items, stitching is an important detail to look at. Specifically on Golden Goose sneakers, an area where counterfeits often miss stitching detail is the rectangle below the laces. The lines should be straight and make a perfect symmetrical rectangle.
Another area of stitching to inspect is the seam on the back of the shoe. Make sure the stitching is straight and the stitches are a consistent size.
Triple Dots
The triple dots on the side of the shoe is an important detail to look for on Golden Goose Superstar sneakers. The dots should be the same size, consistently spaced, and at an angle.
Star
Often, counterfeit GG Superstars will have stitching that does meet the ends of the stars, therefore allowing wrinkling and rolling of the edges of the stars.
Scuffing
Scuffing is a signature of Golden Goose sneakers. However, the scuffing should look "real". There should not be a system to the distress. Make sure the scuffing is inconsistent through out the whole shoe.
Lettering
There are a couple areas on GG SS sneakers that have words and letters, including the side (GGDB SSTAR), the back (Golden Goose), the tongue (GGDB Made in Italy) and the soles (Superstar Golden Goose Deluxe Brand Venezia). Make sure the font and spacing are consistent throughout, and that the shoes include all these details.
Before I found my GG sneakers secondhand, I also had a dupe pair. (Dupes are similar styles that don't try to pass for the originals, ie logos and brand name -- these are counterfeits!) For being so cheap, they were not cheaply made! I still have and wear them, and they have held up so well! Below are a dupe pair that are only $21 + have free shipping!
Below are a couple options if you are looking for a pair of secondhand GG sneakers. Not all are superstars, but all are under $130! Just click directly on the pic to shop.
That feeling when you find designer pieces for a STEAL!
I'm constantly searching resale and secondhand sites for designer wardrobe staples. You never know when someone is just trying to unload their unwanted pieces, or maybe don't know an item's resale value! Those pieces go fast, so you want to be on top of doing your research. I was searching Poshmark listings with the filters "shoes" and brand "Chanel", and then sorted "price low to high" (what mad person sorts "high to low"??) when I came across these pretties at the top of the feed. Leather + logo detailing on the top and I was in love. I purchased these a little while back so I am not sure what they were originally listed at. I offered $40, which I believe was $10-15 less than their asking price ( I wanted them - no time for lowballing!) and they accepted! After taxes and shipping, I purchased these Chanel loafers for just under $51.
Currently, Chanel is selling leather loafers for anywhere between $825-$1250 on their website. After doing a little research I found the same pair that had sold on Tradesy for $540, and another used pair currently listed for sale for $640! GUYS! Chanel holds it's value so well.
Zara Staw Hat [new, $20] Wayf Polka Dot Wrap Top [secondhand, $6] J. Crew Legging Pants [secondhand, $3] Chanel Black Leather Logo Loafers [secondhand, $50]
Outfit Total: $79
The goatskin leather is so buttery soft, and these shoes just add a really nice, sophisticated touch to any outfit. Of course, these aren't brand new shoes and show some wear. There is some peeling of the leather at the toes, and the soles have seen some sidewalks. Once the home remodeling starts to die down I will spend some time to do a little DIY rehab, including some leather conditioning and new soles. I will definitely share some after photos on here once I do!
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