Can you spot the difference? LV Clés Pouch Made in the USA vs France

[nightguard]

I’m glad I found this thread. I just picked up a mono cles today (ordered online and picked up in store) and the stitching is showing around the whole bottom and sides as well. I’ve never had a cles before but the SA tried to tell me this was normal, but now I’m wondering if I should return it. It’s MIU. I asked if they had MIF or MIS and no luck. The rest of the pouch is okay but the stitching is an eye sore. Also, the website says these are either MIF or MIS so I feel like it’s false advertising!

 

[nightguard]

One more thing, did they change the canvas on the mono cles? My new cles is very dull and rough compared to my canvas bags and mono mini pochette, which have that nice slight gloss to them.

 

[fabuleux]

View attachment 4085475 View attachment 4085478
I’m glad I found this thread. I just picked up a mono cles today (ordered online and picked up in store) and the stitching is showing around the whole bottom and sides as well. I’ve never had a cles before but the SA tried to tell me this was normal, but now I’m wondering if I should return it. It’s MIU. I asked if they had MIF or MIS and no luck. The rest of the pouch is okay but the stitching is an eye sore. Also, the website says these are either MIF or MIS so I feel like it’s false advertising!

This stitching is pretty typical for the Pochette clés.

 

[HKsai]

View attachment 4085475 View attachment 4085478
I’m glad I found this thread. I just picked up a mono cles today (ordered online and picked up in store) and the stitching is showing around the whole bottom and sides as well. I’ve never had a cles before but the SA tried to tell me this was normal, but now I’m wondering if I should return it. It’s MIU. I asked if they had MIF or MIS and no luck. The rest of the pouch is okay but the stitching is an eye sore. Also, the website says these are either MIF or MIS so I feel like it’s false advertising!

My MIF mono and DE look exactly like this. I do have to say that my MIF does look better than the MIU ones in the store but it is not perfect. One of the side is clearly fatter than the other side. It bothers me but not enough to return it.

 

[Nat_CAN]

My NF pochette is MIF and my key pouch is MIU. They both look good, don’t say. Can you tell that they are made in a different country? I have to admit though that the canvas of the key pouch is more matt than that of NF but the same Matt as my Alma BB that MIF. In your picture, I guessed right right key pouch is MIF (that I can tell the difference).

 

[nightguard]

Thanks for the input. If it’s normal for the cles to have the stitching showing, then I won’t waste time trying to find a better one. The shape of mine is nice, but it’s still unfortunate that the stitching shows a bit. I also got a MIF mini pochette that is just perfect, but probably just different type of sewing.

 

[PurseAddict728]

Thanks for the input. If it’s normal for the cles to have the stitching showing, then I won’t waste time trying to find a better one. The shape of mine is nice, but it’s still unfortunate that the stitching shows a bit. I also got a MIF mini pochette that is just perfect, but probably just different type of sewing.

It's normal. My key pouch looks exactly like yours. It's two pieces of canvas sewn together from the inside. It's natural for the stitching to appear this way. The mini pochette has three pieces of canvas and each piece is separated and held together with matching canvas piping.

 

[nightguard]

It's normal. My key pouch looks exactly like yours. It's two pieces of canvas sewn together from the inside. It's natural for the stitching to appear this way. The mini pochette has three pieces of canvas and each piece is separated and held together with matching canvas piping.

Yes this makes sense. Thanks for your input!

 

[lvmyhappyhobby]

with all due respect, i beg to disagree with some folks that say there is no difference between MIF and MIU, based on my experience. I had a speedy B MIU and MIF and I can see the big difference especially in the canvas and vacheta. For the MIU speedy B, the red color in the strap is already peeling off after just a few months of gentle use. Canvas of MIU is very, very thin.

Same comparison with my pochette MIU and MIF.

I told myself i will try to get MIF next time because i learned my lesson.

I had no luck getting MIF key pouch so I decided to jump ship to Gucci that way I dont need to worry about where its made.

I believe I dont have to force myself to settle and just accept inferior quality.

 

[fabuleux]

with all due respect, i beg to disagree with some folks that say there is no difference between MIF and MIU, based on my experience. I had a speedy B MIU and MIF and I can see the big difference especially in the canvas and vacheta. For the MIU speedy B, the red color in the strap is already peeling off after just a few months of gentle use. Canvas of MIU is very, very thin.

Same comparison with my pochette MIU and MIF.

I told myself i will try to get MIF next time because i learned my lesson.

I had no luck getting MIF key pouch so I decided to jump ship to Gucci that way I dont need to worry about where its made.

I believe I dont have to force myself to settle and just accept inferior quality.

What would be the insentive for Louis Vuitton to manufacture items of lesser quality for the North American market?
Have you taken your Speedy to a boutique for reglazing? If it’s less than a year old, they might even exchange it.

 

[CupNoodle]

My monogram key pouch just arrived in the mail (ordered online). Honestly so disappointed. It looks so scraggly and almost counterfeit. Definitely visiting the store this weekend...fingers crossed they have a better one in stock!

 

[missanne]

My monogram key pouch just arrived in the mail (ordered online). Honestly so disappointed. It looks so scraggly and almost counterfeit. Definitely visiting the store this weekend...fingers crossed they have a better one in stock!

Good luck! I’m not trying to be sarcastic but yours looks far better than the one I received. I wish I had taken a pic. It literally looked like it had been run over by a truck. I was all wrinkled and warped. I was nervous that I had received a fake. They let me exchange it, then I noticed the new one was square on one end and round on the other. I went to exchange that one and ended up with one that is wider on one end. That was the best looking one out of the three they had so I took it. They tried to give me that whole “it’s handmade, none of them will be perfect”. But even the canvas feels thin and cheap and had no luster. Almost looks dry. Needless to say I’m done with LV. I hope that you find one that is satisfactory, but truthfully your pic looks far better than the ones I’ve seen at two different locations.

 

[CupNoodle]

Good luck! I’m not trying to be sarcastic but yours looks far better than the one I received. I wish I had taken a pic. It literally looked like it had been run over by a truck. I was all wrinkled and warped. I was nervous that I had received a fake. They let me exchange it, then I noticed the new one was square on one end and round on the other. I went to exchange that one and ended up with one that is wider on one end. That was the best looking one out of the three they had so I took it. They tried to give me that whole “it’s handmade, none of them will be perfect”. But even the canvas feels thin and cheap and had no luster. Almost looks dry. Needless to say I’m done with LV. I hope that you find one that is satisfactory, but truthfully your pic looks far better than the ones I’ve seen at two different locations.

I’m sorry you had to go through all that! Thank you for sharing though, I don’t feel so alone.

I know what you mean..the canvas feels so cheap and dry. It makes me wonder if even counterfeit key pouches out there feel and look better.

I took out my Saleya in DE and felt such a difference. That one was glossy and almost plush?? It felt so much more luxurious than this piece. Not sure if it’s a DE vs Monogram thing though since I’m quite new to LV.

I actually do feel kind of lucky that there’s nothing terribly wrong with the overall shape, just the corner stitching is kind of crooked. If they don’t have any better ones in store, I’ve already come to accept this as my new baby because if I return this and reorder online again, I might get something worse...but I just wish that we didn’t have to go through shopping experiences like this! I get that every piece is going to be a little different and not going to be PERFECT but I definitely think LV can do something about their quality control.

 

[loci]

I returned mine yesterday to the store as the quality is not there. The canvas surface is...wavy. It you run the finger across you can feel the up and downs, very obvious creases and bent marks. I suspect they use larger bag leftover materials to make these key pouches. Stitching are showing on all sides and the round corner is crooked. The canvas felt harder and duller than my other older pieces. Maybe it will soften and gain shine as it ages and being used?

I did not take pictures but I found pics on Fashionphile that demonstrate the point in this thread.

Left MIF; right MIU


Made in France (2013)

Made in US (2017)

Looks like totally different manufacturing process. Maybe the update is to get rid of the bubbling but the end result looks like they just want to cut cost.

 

[CupNoodle]

I returned mine yesterday to the store as the quality is not there. The canvas surface is...wavy. It you run the finger across you can feel the up and downs, very obvious creases and bent marks. I suspect they use larger bag leftover materials to make these key pouches. Stitching are showing on all sides and the round corner is crooked. The canvas felt harder and duller than my other older pieces. Maybe it will soften and gain shine as it ages and being used?

I did not take pictures but I found pics on Fashionphile that demonstrate the point in this thread.

Left MIF; right MIU
View attachment 4198244

Made in France (2013)

Made in US (2017)

Looks like totally different manufacturing process. Maybe the update is to get rid of the bubbling but the end result looks like they just want to cut cost.

That’s terrible! I guess mine is a little better since it’s only sort of dented / bent closer to the edge (not sure if you can see it in my pic in my earlier post - it’s on the left side).

I’m still sort of on the fence about the stitching...here’s another angle of what’s sort of bothering me. Is this normal?