When Marc Jacobs joined Louis Vuitton as their artistic director in 1998, some were let down by his introductory ready to wear line. He was inspired by the first Louis Vuitton trunks- in Trianon grey canvas. His debut collection was in homage- very simple and all greys and whites. Marc commented, "People were disappointed because they expected a collection that was a little more jazzy, more glamorous. They wanted a flashy monogram style. But I believed that we should design the collection as it has been, to show that we were loyal to the company's humble beginnings, even if some people would not understand the reference to the brand's origins. Since then my team and I have worked on the Monogram for every fashion show, to get out of the past by expressing the expectations of today's clients. We reinvented the Monogram on patent leather in 1998. The motifs disappeared, becoming nearly invisible, but the handbags were just the opposite, very visable, with a shiny, brilliant surface in bright colors." Marc Jacobs, The Genius of a Style Do I need to go on? Marc is so articulate in the way that he explains his motives... and his objective was totally met with the introduction of Monogram Vernis in 1998. Louis Vuitton monogram vernis is technically a patent leather- a monogram embossed, coated leather- but it has a fabulous almost sparkely effect at its base. Vernis means "varnish" in French, and vernis almost has the look of a frosted nail polish. Throughout the years, Louis Vuitton has unveiled an entire spectrum of colors. Here is a complete list of the vernis colors available.

1998: Baby Blue, Beige, Orange

Baby Blue Vernis

Beige Vernis

Orange Epi

Baby Blue Vernis: Discontinued 2001. A soft, powder blue. Since it is not available anymore, you will have to find it on the secondary market. Be careful as Louis Vuitton baby blue vernis leather yellowed very quickly. At the corners and around the zipper, you'll find that the leather actually can appear quite green. I've seen bags that are entirely this blueish-green. Beige Vernis: Discontinued 2005. This is a great, all around color. It's just a staple. I'd call it a light sand color. Really versatile. Again, you do have to be somewhat careful with lighter vernis colors because of color transfer and migration. (Wearing dark wash jeans with a vernis shoulder bag is a nightmare waiting to happen! I've seen dark migration from denim that doesn't come out!) Orange Vernis: Discontinued 1998. This is such an amazing, and vibrant color! I love orange leather bags (think Hermes!), and the shimmering vernis doesn't disappoint! This is a bright orange- but not florescent. 1999: Rouge Red, Rose Pink, Silver, Purple, Lime Yellow

Rouge Red Vernis	Rose Pink Vernis	Silver Vernis
Purple Vernis		Lime Yellow Vernis

Rouge Red: Discontinued 2006. A nice warm red, with orange undertones rather than blues. It's a great, bright color that looks good with a ton of contrasting colors. Paired with red patent ballet slippers- it's a great, current look! Rose Pink: Discontinued 2000. Many people refer to this soft pink color as baby pink. It's a good, soft powder pink. Again, a light color that's discontinued... so be careful if you are buying this pre-owned. There are real issues with not only color transfer, but migration. It does yellow with age. Silver: Discontinued 2001. I'll never know why they discontinued this one! Silver is such a great, and again, versatile color. Be forewarned, silver vernis can go quite green with age. It sounds odd, but we've sold bags that were so green that they really couldn't even be called silver anymore. Also, can have issues with transfer etc. Purple: Discontinued 2000. What a great color! It is a really bright, true, shimmering purple vernis. The darkness of the color makes it a little more hardy in respect to color transfer issues. Lime Yellow: Discontinued 2000. I know... why on earth is this called lime yellow? I mean, it really is a true, soft yellow color. Maybe a hint on the lime side. Once again, a very light color, so may have color transfer/migration issues. 2000: Mango Yellow, Bronze

Mango Yellow Vernis

Bronze Vernis

Mango Yellow: Discontinued 2000: This is a nice,bright yellow. It has much more of a butternut squash yellow than the lime yellow of '99. It was only around for a year- so is hard to get hold of. It too would have migration/ transfer issues. Bronze: Discontinued 2006. Bronze is a really great, almost metallic looking vernis. In 2000, were also two Limited Edition Lexington Fleurs vernis bags- a special block pattern in the vernis produced in just two styles… the pochette fleur (pictured below) and the barrel fleur- which is quite large- looks like a keepall from the front, but has a round end like a papillon or bedford.

2002: Fluo Pink, Fluo Orange & Fluo Green Robert Wilson Limited Edition

Marc brought in artist and stage director, Robert Wilson for his amazing twist on some traditional vernis bags. You'll find Robert Wilson designs in only the Houston, Lexington, and both the PM and MM Reade styles. His vernis is distinct in the bright florescent colors- neon pink, neon green and neon orange, with a large, geometric contrasting vernis "Wilsonesc" LV logo splayed on the side. Wilson did window displays for Louis Vuitton in the same Flou style as the bags for the Christmas 2002 season.

 

In 2002, Louis Vuitton also produced the Limited Edition vernis Fleurs Lexington bags. These were done in Black (the only true black Vernis monogram bag made to date) with white vernis flowers, Orange with bronze, pink and white flowers, Pink with purple, pink and white flowers and Beige with bronze, black and beige flowers. Beige Fleur Vernis Pink Vernis Fleur Orange Vernis Fleur Black Fleur Vernis >2003: Fuschia, Lavender

Fuschia Vernis

Lavender Vernis

Fuschia: Discontinued 2003. This bright stunning pink really did take the world by storm. It was only around for one year, and became an instant color for collectors. It is a really bright pink, with blue undertones. Lavendar: Discontinued 2005. A soft, pretty color- light purple, lilac. It often photographs quite blue. It is definitely lavendar "in real life" although, it does have bluish undertones. 2004: Marshmallow, Peppermint.

Marshmallow Venis

Peppermint Vernis

Marshmallow: Discontinued 2005. Marshmallow is a light, creamy pink color. It is just as light as the old pink, but it has a bit more of a creamy tone. Baby pink looks like a true, cotton candy pink- with white undertones, Marshmallow looks like it has creamy undertones. Peppermint: Discontinued 2005: This is a really light, pale green color. It looks kind of frosty to me. 2005: Perle, Framboise, Indigo, Noisette

Perle Vernis	Framboise Vernis
Indigo Vernis	Noisette Vernis

Perle: This is a really light "pearly" color. It's really close to white, but has the great sparkle and dimension that gives it a frosty pearlized effect. Framboise: Discontinued 2006. Again, another popular pink. Framboise doesn't have the blue undertones that Fuschia did. It's a bit more mellow- for a bright pink. Noisette: A nice, soft gold/tan. Differs from Beige in that it does seem to have a bit more of a sparkly, metallic look and is a bit deeper in color. (Not that Beige doesn't sparkle- they all do... this just seems a bit more prominent in Noisette). Indigo: Discontinued 2006. A smokey dark blue vernis. I'd say it’s got a very little purple/ and dark grey undertones. A really pretty accent color. 2006: Amarante, Pomme D'Amour

Amarante Vernis

Pomme D'Amour Vernis

Amarante: This is a really difficult color to describe. Here you can see the difference between Amarante out in the sun, and indoors:

Amarante Vernis

Amarante Vernis

Amarante vernis looks almost black a lot of the time... like in this picture (although we took it with great lighting): But in fact, it is a dark, raisin color when it hits the sunlight. The left amarante swatch above is Amarante in the sun, the right is indoors. Pomme D'Amour: This is a nice deep red color. A bit more rich than the old Rouge red. I'd say it has bluish undertones- a more cold, winter red than old red. Buying authentic Louis Vuitton Vernis online: There are several things to look for in your search for authentic Louis Vuitton vernis online, or anywhere other than straight from the Boutique or eLuxury... If you haven't read my "Avoiding Fakes: Guide to Buying Authentic Louis Vuitton Online", then do that first. Most of the tips for buying particular lines (damier, epi, vernis for example) are the same tips you'd find in the overall guide. (IE: Know what the lining should be for that particular bag- our Photophile should be helpful for this! Know if that bag should have feet or not. Check out the seller. Check out the feedback, etc.) All of the rules about fonts, and date codes, stitching and leathers- apply not only to monogram, but all of the other skins as well. Particular to vernis, there are a few things to look out for: 1.     Make sure the bag that the color you are looking at was ever made. The only option for the traditional monogram in black vernis is the black fleur Lexington. (There are other black styles, that look a lot like vernis, like the slate Glace bags and Op Art pieces that aren't really Vernis. There were some damier vernis and mini monogram vernis that aren't the traditional Vernis monogram.) 2.     Make sure that the color matches the date code of the bag. If you have a Bronze vernis bag with a date code of 1998, that just isn't possible, as Bronze didn't come out for a couple more years after that. 3.     Make sure that the date code matches the style of the bag. For example there are newer bags introduced in the last few years that weren't made when Baby Pink or Blue were around. You'll never find a Silver Brentwood for example.