The Lady Dior bag was designed by Dior for Princess Diana.  It comes in various sizes and shapes and colors.  Current styles include the classic line and the "soft" line.  There is also the "cannage" line, which looks just like the Lady Dior but has flat quilting. 

It is an iconic, classic bag.  Check the Dior site to see Marion Cotillard star in a new series of mini-films directed by Olivier Dahan that pay tribute to this classic bag.

SHAPE AND SIZE (CLASSIC BAG)

The classic bag  is a squared, double-handled tote.  It comes in three sizes:

--a small evening bag which measures approximately 7 X 5 inches

--a medium sized (classic) bag which measures approximately 10 X 8 inches

--a large sized bag which measures approximately 12 X 10 inches

The medium and large sized bags have a zip closure.  The evening style bag typically has a top flap closure.

These bag come (new) with a detachable shoulder strap, although this may be missing on pre-owned bags.

The Lady Dior in any size may be made of lambskin, suede, leather, exotic leather (lizard or alligator), haircalf, or fabric.  It will have either leather bound or acrylic handles. 

MATERIALS / QUILTING (classic bag)

Lady Dior bags may or may not be quilted. 

There are styles made of haircalf, fabric, glazed leather that are not quilted. 

Quilted styles may be made of lambskin, calfskin, suede, satin, denim or other fabrics. 

There are various styles of quilting, the flat style (as in the cannage line), the more rounded style (which is a bit bubbled) or the classic quilting).  There are examples of each in the photos. 

Dior's cannage, by the way, is older than Chanel's although Chanel is more closely associated with the quilted style handbag.

HARDWARE & HANDLES

The charms on the Lady Dior are generally either goldtone or silvertone metal.  Some versions of the evening bag have crystal studded charms, and there are some limited versions of the bag with charms made out of other materials (bamboo or faux tortoise shell).

The charms on all sizes of the classic bag are all in capital letters, and the O is the prominent letter. 

If the bag has leather-bound handles, these should not be stitched up the inside and outside, only the outside and the very bottom of the inside. 

The shape at the base of the handles should be raised and semicircular or traingular, not flat.  

The oval shaped metal rings where the handles attach to the bag on the classic Lady should be stamped "CD" on the outside of the bag. 

On the inside of the bag, they should have what look like rivets either side of the handle.  However, these should only be stamped into the metal.  They should not be actual screws or rivets.  There should be only one horizontal line going across each one of these "rivets" (see photo).

Handles  (classic quilted)            Rivets on Soft Shopper                  Charms (cannage /flat quilted)

A.                                               B.

A.  Classic Lady w/ Acrylic Handles  (rounded quilting)

B.  Handles on a counterfeit bag (the base of the raised area is flat whereas on the authentic bag it is more of a rounded triangle or semi-circle--to compare see photo of black classic bag above)

Counterfeit bag with philipp's head screws, metallic CD interior zipper pull.

LINING

The Lady is typically lined in signature jacquard.

This can include the CD logo pattern or the more traditional cannage quilted style. 

Both versions of the cannage are woven with the logo woven into the fabric. 

You should see the weave in the lining (it is a diagonal weave, you can see it in the photo). 

The lining should not be shiny. 

The logo should not be raised (I have seen a copy which has the raised logo). 

Typically, the lining is the same color as the leather, however the black classic Lady is usually lined in red (although there are some versions in which it is lined in black).

Fur or haircalf models are sometimes lined in plain faille. 

Evening styles are sometimes lined in satin. 

Cannage Lining                           Logo Lining

INTERIOR TAG

On current versions of the bag (and versions since 2005 or so), the tag is made of the same leather as the bag.  It is rectangular tag that is slightly wider than it is tall, measuring approximately 1 inch wide. 

The tag on these models is stitched all the way around.  It is stitched across the top only to the lining of the bag, and it should be located (on medium and large sized bags) just under the interior zipper pocket, and on small sized bags, on the side pocket. 

The tag should read "Christian Dior" and then "Paris" underneath. Then below that, it should say "Made in Italy."

The tag should lift up, and there should be a code that is a combination of letters and numbers on the reverse side.

On versions of the bags from the early 1990s to the present, the tag should be the same size and shape, located in the same place and stitched in the same way. 

The tag should still be made of the same leather as the bag.  The exception is some cannage quilted black fabric bags, which may have a red tag.

The front of the tag should say simply "Christian Dior" and "Paris."  On the reverse side it will say "Made in Italy" and then the code with letters and numbers.

On versions of the bag prior to 1990 or so, the tag will not be stitched and on some early versions, there is no code on the reverse.

There are a very few versions of this bag where the tag says "Made in Spain" but these are rare, so proceed with caution.

Dior bags have not been made in France since before 1990.

VARIATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS (THE CANNAGE LINE)

There are a number of variations on the Lady.  There are too many to cite them all but I will give a few examples.

On one version (which comes in the classic medium size, as well as an East-West bag and a large shopper) the handles are leather, and they loop around where they are attached. 

On this variation of the bag, there are no rivets and the metal loops directly around the metal ring that hold the straps to the bag. 

The charms on the updated bag are lower case, except for the D, which is the prominent letter. The "i" is acutally a "1" on this version.  This style bag comes with a padlocked zipper, but the padlock is removable, and I frequently found myself losing it altogether, so used bags may or may not have the lock.

Another version is the Dior Soft line.

This line has various styles including bucket style shoulder bags (pictured) and various styles and sizes of the shopping tote as well as a shoulder hobo style. 

On the drawstring, bucket style bag, the only charm is a large D.  These feature large, puffy, classic quilting and come in three sizes and two different styles (one has the charm on the side, and  one has a top flap and the charm hangs from the front).

These bags cinch closed through the adjustment of the shoulder strap (see photo).

On the leather-handled shopping totes, the handles are also stitched up and down (see photo above) but there is a rivet where the metal ring attaches.

The larger, rectangular totes also have a series of metal links attaching the leather shoulder strap to the bag. 

On these bags, the letters are D-I-O-R (rather than D-1-O-R) and the D is the prominent letter.

Cannage Drawstring Bag     Charms on the Updated Lady (East West) 

This bag has been produced and modified over the years, so there is alot of variation.   It is also one of the most copied Dior styles, so you have to be careful.  If unsure, consult me.

When you get your Lady, enjoy it.  It is a classic and timeless style that works with just about any outfit. 

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