How to Tell a Real Chanel Tweed Jacket From a Fake

The first thing you’ll want to do when it comes to vintage Chanel jackets is to check the material.

The most coveted material in vintage Chanel jackets is tweed – a sophisticated fabric that is made of pure wool, but can be mixed with a variety of other fabrics such as silk and cashmere. 

There are several different types of tweed that are known in the world of Chanel. Please reference images below to compare your tweed fabric.

Fantasy Tweed. Chanel fantasy tweed is a special tweed that is made of different colors and yarn types. It is the favored type of tweed for Chanel clothing, and is often incredibly bespoke and unique, with the different colors and yarns woven together into a single cohesive structure. 

Lesage Tweed. Lesage tweed is made specifically at the hands of Chanel, and is one of the most expensive and luxurious types of tweed in the world. The term “lesage” references the name of one of the design houses that Chanel uses. There are other types of tweed, of course, and it is important to recognize all of them to get the best results.

Harris Tweed. Harris tweed is the original tweed that inspired most modern tweed fabrics. It is a legally-protected type of tweed, as laid out in the Harris Tweed Act 1993. According to the Harris Tweed Act, it is defined as “handwoven by the islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, finished in the Outer Hebrides, and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides.”

Donegal Tweed. This tweed is named after the Donegal county in Ireland where it originally came from. It is a very popular type of tweed which is characterized by rainbow-colored yarn specks.

Saxony Tweed. Saxony tweed is made from merino sheep, which are originally from Saxony in Germany. The tweed itself is nice and smooth, and quite soft, because Merino wool is soft and smooth. 

Boucle Tweed. Boucle tweed is made from a looped yarn, and the fabric is then woven from that yarn. Boucle yarn features loops of different sizes, from big curls to small circlets.