How to authenticate your Dior bag.

Firstly, congratulations on deciding to buy vintage/pre-loved. Shopping sustainably is the future of fashion. We’ve formulated some guides to help you decide whether your potential purchase is authentic or a fake. This guide is not exhaustive but it should help you distinguish between the two. 

 We’ve split the guide into 4 categories…

     1. Appearance.

Although your bag might be decades old or looking a little well-loved it remains a luxury piece, the stitching and the feel of the bag should reflect that.

This is a really important aspect that is often overlooked however, this should be your first port of call when you find a vintage piece. You must inspect the bag and then compare it to other bags of the same style. Look on a reputable website that sells the style you desire. Ensure your vintage find is consistent with true images of the bag. Consider if your bag has the same design, same shape, same number of pockets, seams, print, pattern etc. If your bag is missing a distinctive feature then question its authenticity. You want to ensure that the bag you're interested in is actually produced by  Dior. 

 If you can't find any images of the bag you've found, it doesn't necessarily mean it's a fake or doesn't exist. Carry on with the rest of the steps to help you out. You can always pop us an email and we'll trail the archives, you might have your hands on a rare find. 

 

     2. Logos

Logos are an extremely important aspect of a designer bag. Any descrepancies in the logo on a bag are a tell-tale sign that it is fake/counterfeit. You should take time to study and familiarise yourself with the brands logo. 

In the case of Dior, there should be a heatstamp of the Christian Dior logo. The stamp should be either gold, silver or have no colour. Each individual letter should stand alone. The logo should be centered and all the letters should be aligned. Ensure that if the logo is gold or silver that there is no colour spilling outside of the embossing. 

When authenticating a bag with the Diorissimo (also named monogram, trotter) print there a few major things to look out for. Firstly, the logo should be repeated diagonally. If you follow the letter D diagonally there should be a row of 'D's'. Secondly, the lettering on each individual 'Dior' should be staggered. Again, if you look diagonally they will be lined up in each seperate logo. Thirdly, the logo should be bold and thick, it should be legible and clear. Lastly, the shadow of the letters should not 'overshadow' the lettering, it should not distort or blur the lettering. On many fake bags the shadowing is overdone or harsh, distorting the look of the lettering. 

 

     3. Datecode 

 Not all vintage Dior bags will have a date code. It is believed that date codes began circulating on every Dior bag during the mid to late 90s. If your bag was produced after 1996 then a date code should be present.

The date code is found on the backside of the heatstamped tag. The code should be clear,  in capitals and even spacing between the numbers/letters. The code should be perfectly in the middle. 

Dior date codes have two different formations...

For older bags, there should be 2 letters followed by 4 numbers.

More recent bags will follow this formation...2 numbers, 2 letters, 4 numbers.

On recent bags, nobody is sure what the first 2 letters mean so focus on the remaining, which will then make the code the same as the older bags. The 2 letters refers to the factory where the bag was made. The next 4 numbers refers to the month and year the bad was produced. So, the 1st and the 3rd number inform us on the month the bag was produced. The 2nd and 4th number informs us on the year. 

Example;
Older bags. BO 0939. The factory is BO. The month is 03. The year is 1999. 
Newer bags. 12-BO-0133
BO is the factory. 
0133 tells us the month and year. The month is 0 and 3 so March. The year is 13 so 2013. 

The front of the tag inside your bag will inform you where the bag is made. The location of the factory should match the locatio where your bag was made in. For example if your bag says made in Frace and your date code says your factory was in spain then this is a red flag. Look out for datecodes that suggest the bag was produced in a month that doesn't exist and/or a year that hasn't happened yet. E.g, 1245 - would be the 14th month and 2025. HUGE red flag.

 

      4. Details

Luxury bags have lots of fine details which is all down to great craftmanship. We've formed a list of things to look out for on your vintage or pre-loved bag. 

1. The stitching should be high quality and consistent. On some vintage bags there has been repairs or some lose threads but overall the stitching will be good. 
2. The leather tag on the inside should be rectangular in shape with rounded edges. 
3. If produced before 1990 the leather tag will have a single line of stitching at the top.
4. If your bag was produced after 1990 the leather tag have stitches on all 4 edges. 
5. Your bag has a "made in" stamp on the front of the tag or on the backside above the datecode. 
6. Your bag should have a high quality zipper. Usually stamped with Christian Dior or LAMBO.

This completes the guide on how to authenticate your Dior bag. It should give you a good understanding of what to look out for with your vintage find. If you have an queries or want us to help you authenticate your item drop us an email. Buying vintage and second-hand is the future of fashion and TRHOVE wants to help faciliate that.