DIOR HOMME - Coats/Jackets: The Paris Tag

The "Paris" tag is sewn into the collar of coats and jackets and suits. It is a silver loop with "Paris" embroidered on both sides. There is a thin black mesh loop that covers the silver loop.

Example (click to enlarge):

The tag should be about 1.5 inches long (4cm). In the example of the fake tag above we have several things wrong (other than the creepy thumbnail). This fake tag is a stubby little thing. The letters are also further apart and larger in scale than the authentic tag. The other thing that is off is that they are 'upside-down.' When the jacket is on a hanger and the tag is pointing down the "P" should be the closest to the collar seam. If you pull the tag up (so it is pointing towards the top of the hanger) and read the backside the "S" should be the closest to the collar seam. The fake tags often have this reversed, so it is a sure signal. However, I have heard from several people who have bought Dior jackets (that they swear are authentic from authorized retailers), that occasionally an authentic jacket will have a reversed Paris label. If this is true it seems to be a rare occurrence. Keep this in mind and use your best judgment.

Example (click to enlarge):

This is where that little piece of knowledge comes in handy. The fake on the left is a pretty good copy. If you click the image and enlarge it you can see the letters are a little shaky, but all-in-all it's fairly convincing. However, the tag is reversed. The tag is pointing down and the "P" is not the closest to the collar seam. Granted there may be exceptions to this rule for authentic jackets, but it is a good red flag because so many fakes do have it reversed. Upon closer inspection of the fake above you can see that the letters are too close together, the tag is too wide, and the writing is not centered on the tag.

Example (click to enlarge):

This example above is of another fairly accurate fake, but again, the fake letters are reversed and they are a little bolder and also closer together than the authentic one. The authentic Paris tag has a little more spacing between the letters than this fake example, but not as much spacing as the fake example below.

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This is a decent fake. The letters are going the right way, though it's not a very clear picture. Even so, you can see that the letters are spaced too far apart. It should appear as "PARIS" not "P A R I S"

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The fake above is kinda pathetic... I almost feel sorry for the little guy. However it does have one thing correct, the letters are going in the right direction. The tag is pointing up towards the collar and the "S" is the closest letter to the collar seam (if it were pointing down it should be reversed). This knock-off is also missing it's stylish mesh loop.

DIOR HOMME - Coats/Jackets: Silver Logo Tags

Coats, Jackets, and Suits have this larger silver logo tag sewn inside the chest just below the inner pocket (if there is a pocket). The earlier Dior Homme collections (like Luster) had embossed Dior logo tags. Later they changed them to stitched embroidery.

Example (click to enlarge):

Above are two authentic examples of these tags. The one on the left is embroidered and the one on the right is the older embossed version.

The suit coat tags are approximately 2.5 inches wide by 1 inch tall. The tags that are sewn into outerwear (ie. overcoats, jackets, etc.) are approximately 3 inches long by 1.5 inches tall. The embroidered "D" is 5/16 of an inch tall. The embossed "D" is 1/4 on an inch tall.

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Above are two more authentic examples. The one on the left is from a wool overcoat. The one on the right is from a suit coat.

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Now we get to the fakes. The key to distinguishing these fake tags is in the proportions. The lettering of the fake tags is often larger than the authentic tags. The fake "D" is also usually more elongated. The authentic tags are stitched with a stitch in each corner, which is often omitted on the fakes.

Example (click to enlarge):

However, as you can see above there are some pretty good fake tags out there. The differences here are subtle but still present. You can still see the elongated "D" and the material of the tag is different. The authentic tags are printed on a very smooth silver material with very little texture. Although it is not part of the tag, the other giveaway in the fake shot is the stitching in the upper right and left of the photo. It is very cheaply done and not even.

If you are looking at an online auction for a Dior Homme item and there are no pictures of the tags or labels, request them. They are one of the surest ways to identify the authenticity. If the pictures are provided in the auction compare them to the real labels. Remember to keep an eye on those "D"s.

DIOR HOMME - Coats/Jackets: Fabric Content Tags

When shopping for Dior Homme online, the quality of the fabric, stitching, and construction are all very good indicators of authenticity. However, things can often look much better in the photos than in real life. A good back-up is to know a little about the tags and labels sewn inside the garment.

Example (click to enlarge):

Example (click to enlarge):

The fabric content tags can offer a good amount of information regarding the piece's authenticity. The fake tags above are good examples. The authentic tags are made of a very smooth silver material with almost no texture. Many of the fake tags have a rougher surface (as seen above). The bad fakes also have frayed edges like the one above.

Another key is to note the fabric content. Sometimes the fake tags are mislabeled and give incorrect fabrics for the particular item. If you are looking at a wool over coat that is labeled as 100% polyester, you know something is wrong.

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Watch out for typos too. Occasionally a typo may occur on an authentic tag, but it won't be more than a slight misspelling. In the example of the fake above you'll notice that it says both "Fabrique en Turquie" (made in turkey) and "Made in Italy" below that. A substantial typo.

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Here are two examples (one fake, one real) of a similar style tag. The authentic fabric content tags do vary based on the collection and the item. There are many different variations so the key here lies in the texture, edges, and typos. This tag also contains the reference number which gives information about the year and season. If you have some idea what season the item should be from, check it against the reference number to make sure they correspond.

Example (click to enlarge):

This is another variation of an authentic fabric content tag. This one is from a suit coat from an earlier collection (Luster, a/w03).

For more information on reference numbers click the "reference number" tab in the Dior Homme drop-down menu to the right.