LV and the quality

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#256
charleston-mom said:
I am probably not the best person to ask about epi because I've never cared for it personally. Aside from not caring for it, the old epi bags I've seen look wrinkled with darkened edges, so I wouldn't pick one. I will mention that while I do love the classic mono petite Noe, I sold mine for two reasons. First, the drawstring drove me nuts and I was always adjusting it and the way the bag "pleats.". Second is that when I wore it, the base is very big and kind of cumbersome. I'm short as well as tiny, and it hit right at my hip. Although I'm really kind of skinny, I still don't like making my hips look bigger, KWIM? I felt like it was a classic, pretty bag that looked better on the table sitting, than carried on my body. Look in the clubhouse for ths bag at the modeling pictures and I think you'll see what I mean. Definitely try this on in the boutique before you buy. Wouldn't hurt to take a friend who will be honest. I will say I never had a compliment from a man, on my bag, wearing this one.
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I know what you mean.. I will definitely try this on in store.
Thanks for all your time and opinions... :smile1:
 
#257
frele said:
Thank you for such an amazing post, Charleston-mom. Sharing your experience is invaluable to the rest of us!

Do you have an opinion on the Bloomsbury regarding quality, especially since it is one of the newer designs? Also, I have wondered if the red interior lining would transfer or bleed onto lighter items. I have a few smaller damier azur pieces I would be carrying inside the Bloomsbury, and don't want them ruined.

Thank you!
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recently, i started using my bloomsbury PM. the red lining color transfer to my white MC wallet. however, i manage to remove the mark on my white MC wallet! :smile1:

my friend has a LV bag and the hardware from gold changed to silver. she brought the bag to the store and asked the SA about this issue. the SA told her maybe due to chemical contacts such as lotion, perfume etc. :thinkin:
 
#258
I have 12 years old mono speedy25. The canvas and vachetta leather is much thicker than newer ones (IMO). It is so well made and patina turned gorgeous. I can never let go this beauty!!
 
#259
I'm not too sure about the downhill quality of LV but the edges of my Koala Damier had started to peel after 1 year plus of daily usage. Brought it to the local store and the sales assistant recommend me to send in for refurbishment. I'm okay with it but the waiting time? 3 to 4 months!!!! :pout:
 
#260
natalieljc said:
I'm not too sure about the downhill quality of LV but the edges of my Koala Damier had started to peel after 1 year plus of daily usage. Brought it to the local store and the sales assistant recommend me to send in for refurbishment. I'm okay with it but the waiting time? 3 to 4 months!!!! :pout:
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I've got the same problem with my Koala in azur. But it was kind of within expectation as wallets do get more worn and torn than bags. I'm waiting for the peeling to develop and will send it for refurbishment when the peeling is too bad. Wanna wait to see how long it takes to get to that stage
 
#263
Great thread, thank you for raising these issues! What I have noticed in my recent retail experience is a failure to take responsibility. I brought back my two week old mono Alexandra wallet after realizing that the print was not symmetric (customer service told me the print should be centered around the snap, but it wasn't) and the SA (actually the assistant manager) told me that even though she could see that the print didn't line up, she wasn't authorized to determine whether this was a defect, and she would have to send the wallet back to quality control. :tdown:

It doesn't seem that the store employees are empowered to be able to deal with problems. The trend elsewhere (think Nordstrom most notably) is to give SA's some authority to resolve problems. This does not appear to be the case at LV. They seem very centralized both in terms of problem resolution as well as repair (wouldn't it be great if the store could handle minor repairs rather than having to send everything off to a centralized repair facility?)
 
#264
This thread is very interesting. I have several LV bags, all from the last 4 years. So far, I have not had any problems with them (crossing fingers). However my wallets are a different story. I have a mono French wallet from 1997 that is coming apart at the seams. I also have a Damier International wallet that is a couple years old that is also tearing apart at the seams. I'm extremely disappointed and will no longer be buying any more wallets from LV.
 
#265
BRAVO charleston-mom !! Couldn't have said it better myself...:woohoo:

While I love all of my pieces, I've found that the ones that I've been selling off (to make my collection smaller and more "manageable") are the newer ones. The vintage and LE pieces are sticking around...In recent years, I've noticed a definite shift (lower) in the craftsmanship. That's one of the reasons why I haven't been buying as many pieces these last few years.

Happy Shopping!! :yahoo:
 
#266
I think the the quality has gone down too. I have a speedy that is about 5 years old and it still looks good especially the leather and hardware. My friend has a a speedy maybe a year old and it doesn't seem to be holding up as well as mine. I notice alot of the handles on the newer LV bags look alot more flimsy and not as thick as they use to be.
 
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#269
charleston-mom said:
To be honest - the neverful is not one of their more quality bags. I have heard about this over and over again with that particular bag. Fraying edges, breaking straps.

In answer to your question though, yes. Since the takeover when the hands of the company left the family, yes I do feel quality has gone down.

When I started buying LV about 25 years ago, the quality was just unbelievable. It's still good, but not the same. I try to steer away from some of the brand new bags because some of the hardware is really really shoddy. It's definitely not coated brass like it used to be years ago.

It's too bad. But I still love LV and will continue to buy it - I'm just very careful what I buy. I stick with some of the classics, with really nice leather, and steer clear of hardware plates that will discolor and a lot of little "bells and whistles" that I know won't stay nice. For instance, I like the Tivoli PM. But the ones I've seen over a year old, all of the hardware has turned. Yuck. I won't buy it for that reason, which makes me sad, but I know it would drive me nuts. They are definitely trying to cut costs and things have changed. My porte tresor wallet is over 10 years old and still looks brand new. The mono zippy I bought my daughter two years ago already had to have its zipper replaced because it turned silver. So did my Tulum PM - new zipper. You would think with a bag that is well over $1,000 that the zipper wouldn't turn - and that wouldn't have happened 10 years ago. My Babylone bag had gorgeous cowhide lining. The newer ones (before they were discontinued) had cheap lining and the vachetta wasn't nearly as nice either.

I will never sell my older pieces because they are absolutely gorgeous. I often peruse Ebay to look for vintage LV - some of it is just gorgeous.

While I love my mono agenda with the rose interior, I've already replaced the clasp because it turned silverish. My other mono agenda - which is 10 years old (the traditional one), still looks brand new. My older agenda also has better brass hardware on the interior rings than the newer one. So does my really old keyholder. The new keyholders - the brass turns within a few months. Same on my old mono cles. The part that holds the keys is still a pretty gold color. The one I bought my daughter six months ago - already discolored and silverish.

My damier pap is the older style with much nicer, chunkier hardware. The newer ones have a prettier red lining, but the hardware is cheaper.

I think that while LV is trying to appeal to a whole cross section of customers and appeal to people that might not have been able to purchase their product before, they do seem to think that that particular clientele may not notice where they are cutting costs (i.e., the Neverfull I think is a case in point). It's a shame because it's a very practical style. However, the costs to actually make it, versus what they are charging, make it one that I wouldn't purchase. The batignolles horizontal is about the same price point, and has much more sturdy straps, better hardware, and stays beautiful for a long time. The important thing is to really look at what you are purchasing. Don't get caught up in hype and try to really look at the hardware, etc., to figure out whether this is a bag that will last 5-10 years or more. For the price, I like to feel like I'm going to have something a really long time.

Another way to research is to watch ebay ads for old versions of what you are looking at. See how it looks after it's been used a long time. Damier Almas - after 5 years, are still gorgeous. Same thing with most Damier bags, as long as they don't have plates that will tarnish, scratch and turn.

Just do your research. I still love Louis Vuitton.
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Thank you charleston-mom for such an informative post =) I'm about to make my first purchase & I am torn between the ARTSY MM and the GALLIERA PM... do you have any opinions? Your input is very much appreciated!

Thank you!
 
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#270
I always buy the tried and true classics for this very same reason. My collection is mostly made up of Speedys (30, 35, 40) and Keepalls (50, 55, and 60). The only thing missing is a nice good old Bisten 55 in mono.
 
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