How to Spot a Fake Vintage Louis Vuitton Petit Noe [circa 1988]

14 Jun

The below is written to help you buy a real second-hand Louis Vuitton Petit Noe and how to spot a fake.

The below does not go into the world of microchips and superfakes.

Just a quickie before we get started Louis Vuitton have a similar bag to the Noe; the Bucket bag. Counterfeiters sometimes mix up the two features and combine them into one hybrid Frankenstein handbag - beware!

A vintage 1980s Louis Vuitton Petit Noe does not have vachetta (leather) trim around the bottom of the bag. I’m not 100% when Louis Vuitton introduced it – (it was definitely introduced by 1996) but, if you were to buy the bag new now it has vachetta trim around the bottom.

Note: My bag is dated March 1988 (She is two years older than me and has aged much better!)

If you are already 100% certain your bag is authentic and want to double check it is the right bag for you, read my review here.

Let’s Go!

THE BAG IS: 27 x 27 x 21 cm / 9.8 x 10.6 x 7.9 inches
(Length x height x width )

1. DATE CODES AND BAG CODES

The date code for this bag is located behind the D Ring which attaches the shoulder strap to the bag. The first letter and number are placed above the eyelet and the remaining three numbers are below the eyelet, they are slightly hidden by the leather loop attached to the D Ring. There is no leather tab inside like on other Louis Vuitton bags.

Note: The letter A. The middle line making the A doesn’t join fully – it’s more of a dash (tiny detail)

The code is stamped.

Make sure the factory code matches the ‘made in location’. For example, A2 is a code for a factory in France. This bag says ‘made in france’ on it - so the two marry up.

My bag was made in france. (Louis Vuitton, Petit Noe, stamp)

1. THE LOGO STAMP

Okay, so this appears in two places.

-The 1st Louis Vuitton stamp is located on the bottom of the vachetta leather strip running up the centre of the side of the bag.

Due to the location this is sometimes quite faint on a second hand handbag. (from being toted around town for years etc) Remember my bag is 37 years old.

Look out for: Louis Vuitton lettering being too thin. (Counterfeiters also do this with Celine I’ve noticed)

The ® sits above the LOUIS VUITTON. Perfectly centred – if you drew a line down from the middle of the R it would fall perfectly between the ‘V’ and ‘U’.

The ‘L’ in LOUIS VUITTON has a short tail (bottom line of the L)

The O is perfectly round and actually appears larger to the eye than the other letters.

The top of the ‘TT’s almost touch each other. (But they don’t!! tiniest gap)

THE MADE IN FRANCE

The ‘made in france’ has a lower case ‘m’. The place of manufacture also has a lower case ‘f’ This is an amazing indicator for real late 80’s bags, this tiny detail gets overlooked a lot.

Louis Vuitton changed the place of manufacture to have a capitalised letter by the mid 90s*

The 2nd Louis Vuitton stamp appears in the middle of the shoulder strap! This is the place you use to pick up your bag the most. Mine is incredibly faded as you can see and the leather has not been cared for and cracked over the years.

2. STITCHING

There are 6-7 Stitches per inch (2.5cm)

The stitching runs 3mm parallel from the edge of the leather trim.

The thread is yellow in colour (not white/or pink). Apparently the stitching is white thread made from linen and is then dyed the mustard yellow colour and reinforced with beeswax! Who knew?

The thread is at a slight angle - the left is lower and the right is higher.

There is no stitching on the drawstring leather closing

Louis Vuitton Petit Noe, Drawstring leather

The interior stitching is brown. There are no pockets

Look at the stitching around the buckles on the shoulder strap. There is a single thick stitch each side which binds the three straps of leather together.

Louis Vuitton, Petit Noe, Shoulder Strap

3. HARDWARE

The brass hardware is gold coloured. It does tarnish over time – so don’t worry if that’s happened to the hardware you are looking at.

1) Eyelets

There are 14 eyelet holes in total around the circumference of the bag. They are spaced roughly 4.3cm apart.

There are 6 eyelet holes on the front and back of the bag. Perfectly uniformed and symmetrical. Then one eyelet hole on each side of the bag.

The hardware is not shiny. It is a dull brass finish.

They have LOUIS VUITTON engraved in them all.

The ‘L’ has a short bottom.

The ‘O’ AND ‘U’ look very square.

2) D Ring

The D Ring is 3cm.

3) Shoulder Strap

This feature a double buckle.

It is three strips of leather thick! So very durable.

Louis Vuitton, Petit Noe Shoulder Buckle

4) Studs

They have LOUIS VUITTON printed on them all.

The ‘L’ has a short bottom.

The ‘O’ AND ‘U’ look very square.

The hardware is not shiny. It is a dull brass finish.

4. CANVAS

-The texture of the monogram canvas is what sets a real Louis Vuitton apart from a counterfeit. It has this pebble like appearance and it not smooth to touch.

-The monogram is slightly transparent – the dark brown canvas background shows through.

-The Louis Vuitton Noe canvas is symmetrical either side.

The Noé’s canvas pattern is always consistent, though you might notice tiny variations depending on how the leather was cut or aligned by the artisans, that’s completely normal.

First, you’ll see 10 solid-colour fleurs in a row (note: sometimes these may be partially obscured by eyelets).

Then comes a row with alternating fleurs (diamond / quatrefoil style) and the LV symbol.
After that, another block of 10 fleurs.
Then another alternating row: 10 fleurs alternating styles (e.g. 5 in a circle style, 5 in the diamond / quatrefoil style).
In the LV logo, the “V” should be very slightly lower than the “L” (i.e. a subtle offset, not perfectly level).

5. THE SEXY RED GLAZE (EDGING)

This gorgeous red glaze (better than any doughnut glaze…yes even Krispy Kreme…or Hailey Bieber’s skin – though both are FLAWLESS.) that edges all the leather trim usually wears off over time… and is definitely not bright red, it is more maroon! It is not Louboutin red. If your bag is meant to be 30 years old but has a bright red edge (unless it’s been restored – definitely STEP AWAY!!). a LOT of fakes have a shiny orange/brighter red.