DE pattern question

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FortySomething

Member
May 18, 2015
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#1
Do you expect your DE pattern bags / accessories to have the print align perfectly at the edges (hope that made sense!)? It seems like the DE should be an easy pattern to have in perfect alignment. I normally don't pay attention to the alignment but I have seen a few threads here complaining about poor alignment. So, of course, when I was at the LV store recently looking at the Iena MM in DE, I checked out the alignment. Sure enough the squares were slightly off kilter at the edges (maybe by a millimeter). I didn't buy the bag (not because of the mis-alignment, but because the bag did not make my heart sing :smile: I am still lusting after the Neverfull in mono!). Just wondering how important (or not) alignment is to others on this forum.
 
#2
FortySomething said:
Do you expect your DE pattern bags / accessories to have the print align perfectly at the edges (hope that made sense!)? It seems like the DE should be an easy pattern to have in perfect alignment. I normally don't pay attention to the alignment but I have seen a few threads here complaining about poor alignment. So, of course, when I was at the LV store recently looking at the Iena MM in DE, I checked out the alignment. Sure enough the squares were slightly off kilter at the edges (maybe by a millimeter). I didn't buy the bag (not because of the mis-alignment, but because the bag did not make my heart sing :smile: I am still lusting after the Neverfull in mono!). Just wondering how important (or not) alignment is to others on this forum.
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There are a lot of past threads on this topic. In the end, here are two things:
1) Louis Vuitton does not consider a slight misalignment to be a “defect.” I have bags old and new in the Damier pattern and none of them display 100% perfect alignment. But it’s really hard to tell just looking at the bag. You have to really inspect it closely (and I don’t have time for that).
2) In the end, everyone is different. Some won’t care at all while others are really bothered by misaligned canvas. So if you buy a bag in Damier, make sure that YOU are satisfied after looking over the item.

Good luck with your future purchase!
 
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#3
fabuleux said:
There are a lot of past threads on this topic. In the end, here are two things:
1) Louis Vuitton does not consider a slight misalignment to be a “defect.” I have bags old and new in the Damier pattern and none of them display 100% perfect alignment. But it’s really hard to tell just looking at the bag. You have to really inspect it closely (and I don’t have time for that).
2) In the end, everyone is different. Some won’t care at all while others are really bothered by misaligned canvas. So if you buy a bag in Damier, make sure that YOU are satisfied after looking over the item.

Good luck with your future purchase!
Click to expand...

^This!! Personally, I don’t care if it’s aligned perfectly or not. If I love it, I will buy it.
 
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#4
FortySomething said:
Do you expect your DE pattern bags / accessories to have the print align perfectly at the edges (hope that made sense!)? It seems like the DE should be an easy pattern to have in perfect alignment. I normally don't pay attention to the alignment but I have seen a few threads here complaining about poor alignment. So, of course, when I was at the LV store recently looking at the Iena MM in DE, I checked out the alignment. Sure enough the squares were slightly off kilter at the edges (maybe by a millimeter). I didn't buy the bag (not because of the mis-alignment, but because the bag did not make my heart sing :smile: I am still lusting after the Neverfull in mono!). Just wondering how important (or not) alignment is to others on this forum.
Click to expand...
To be honest I expect the lines of the pattern to line up at least somewhat closely (depending on the design of the bag). I don't expect the pattern to be continuous as that is just too difficult (as in, if one square is halved at the seam, the connecting piece continues the other half of the square). I don't think this is a unreasonable expectation. The pieces are probably all machine cut with the intention of them lining up on the lines. You see this in clothing as well. I have stripe shirts that are more expensive and the stripes lines up at the seams whereas cheapie shirts don't. And when I say "more expensive", I mean an Old Navy shirt vs a shirt bought from China for like $3. I mean I really do feel like certain things are a mark of quality and lining up the pieces correctly when sewing completely falls into that category.
 
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#7
FortySomething said:
It seems like the DE should be an easy pattern to have in perfect alignment
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I have sewn for 18 years professionally and I just wanted to make it clear that aligning two pattern at the seam is not easy. It takes a conscious effort by the craftsman to maintain that alignment. Here are the reasons why. First, the front of the canvas (which has the pattern) are pressed together to be sewn, meanwhile the back of the canvas (which has no pattern) is facing the craftsman. The craftsman is sewing the canvas trying to blindly match up the pattern. There are no pins to pin through the canvas to keep the canvas in place. That would take to long to pin and unpin the canvas to be sewn. Second, to make it more difficult, the pressure foot of the sewing machine is pushing the top canvas towards the craftsman. Third, the “feed dog” of the sewing machine is pushing the bottom canvas away from the craftsman. These two opposing parts are moving the top and bottom canvases in opposite directions. So the craftsman has to blindly match up the pattern while keeping the canvas from going in opposite direction makes it a challenge to match up patterns. It looks easy but it is not. It takes a lot of double checking to make sure the patterns are aligned. I always keep this in mind when I check the alignment. So a few millimeters off is really good.
 
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#9
idlehen said:
To be honest I expect the lines of the pattern to line up at least somewhat closely (depending on the design of the bag). I don't expect the pattern to be continuous as that is just too difficult (as in, if one square is halved at the seam, the connecting piece continues the other half of the square). I don't think this is a unreasonable expectation. The pieces are probably all machine cut with the intention of them lining up on the lines. You see this in clothing as well. I have stripe shirts that are more expensive and the stripes lines up at the seams whereas cheapie shirts don't. And when I say "more expensive", I mean an Old Navy shirt vs a shirt bought from China for like $3. I mean I really do feel like certain things are a mark of quality and lining up the pieces correctly when sewing completely falls into that category.
Click to expand...
This says it all for me.
 
#11
I consider myself to be pretty picky person. Certain things really bother me, especially with fashion but I never thought to check seams and linings and ends of zippers until I joined this forum lol. For me, the beauty, comfort and ease of carrying a bag is more important.I don't really think there is such a thing as a perfect bag or item. You can always find something wrong with it once you start looking. I say just enjoy your LV!
 
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#12
FortySomething said:
Do you expect your DE pattern bags / accessories to have the print align perfectly at the edges (hope that made sense!)? It seems like the DE should be an easy pattern to have in perfect alignment. I normally don't pay attention to the alignment but I have seen a few threads here complaining about poor alignment. So, of course, when I was at the LV store recently looking at the Iena MM in DE, I checked out the alignment. Sure enough the squares were slightly off kilter at the edges (maybe by a millimeter). I didn't buy the bag (not because of the mis-alignment, but because the bag did not make my heart sing :smile: I am still lusting after the Neverfull in mono!). Just wondering how important (or not) alignment is to others on this forum.
Click to expand...

I know you’re asking about DE, but it seems to me lately mono doesn’t line up either. Where I live now has more mono Speedies and Neverfulls than anywhere I have ever been in my life (I’ve literally lived in all four corners of the US and a few points in between, travelled extensively to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, etc).

Given the extreme proliferation of mono Speedies and Neverfulls around me, I like to try to guess if someone is carrying a real or fake (because how could everyone in a rural area be carrying real LV?).

But I’ve found it increasingly difficult as the pattern is no longer reliable (if it ever truly was). Just today, I was in line behind a very well dressed lady with a Neverfull and Josephine wallet, but the seam along the top of her Neverfull looked off in that the pattern didn’t quite line up properly compared to other authentic Neverfulls I’ve seen. The hardware looked good to my untrained eye, the vachetta looked properly lightly and evenly patina’ed, but the top seam on the back of her bag was off. Fake, or real with poor quality control? Who knows; I sure didn’t.
 
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