One day while bored and rummaging on ebay.com, I came across a discontinued Louis Vuitton Groom Collection coin purse. The one I found is pictured above with the yellow stripe. This stood out from all of the other because in addition to the traditional monogram pattern, there is a printed image of a bellhop carrying bags, a 1920's inspiration that really turns the piece ageless. More information can be read about this piece on purseblog http://www.purseblog.com/louis-vuitton/louis-vuitton-monogram-groom-collection.html that was written back in 06 when the pieces had come out.
Purchasing a discontinued Louis Vuitton piece can be a true dilemma. The price for an item like this on an auction website ranges from $100 to $600, all offering their utmost assurance that the piece is well-displayed and truly authentic. I feel that having to do extensive research and always having a skeptical view is a major turn off. I would also have to take the piece to my local Louis Vuitton store and make them verify its authenticity. All of this for a small coin purse!
Louis Vuitton has always been majorly counterfeited. Although the company works so hard to ensure strict policy, it almost works as a buffer against their favor in increasing the consumer demand. I have always had a love hate relationship with Louis Vuitton because the company is so mainstream that accessories are often valued only for their label name. Additionally, I am always amazed by how many Louis Vuitton bags I see. There is such a mixture of authentic and counterfeit pieces out there that one cannot physically determine which is which. There is nothing more annoying than spending $1,000+ on an item and constantly being asked if it is real or fake.
With such a consumer obsession, which I can attest to, there is always a high demand for these pieces. What is it about Louis Vuitton that makes us so attached? Does the battle between counterfeit and authenticity make the label even more desirable?
Photo courtesy of purseblog.com
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