HOW TO IDENTIFY COMME DES GARÇONS
COMME DES GARÇONS SERIAL NUMBERS
Comme des Garçons, founded by Rei Kawakubo in Tokyo was officially established as a company in 1973, deriving its name from the French phrase "like boys." The inspiration for the brand's name comes from Françoise Hardy's song "Tous les garçons et les filles." The brand is famous for numerous diffusion lines such as JUNYA WATANABE COMME des GARÇONS or COMME des GARÇONS HOMME PLUS. This means that countless garments have been released over the years.
COMME des GARÇONS uses a unique identification system that provides detailed information about each garment. It consists of a series of two sets of alphanumeric digits (style & date code) that are present on most COMME des GARÇONS tags throughout their history.
These COMME des GARÇONS serial numbers follow a specific format that reveals key information about the garment. Each digit represents a different aspect of the product, such as the season and year of production, which of CDG's many lines it belongs to, and the specific category it falls under.
By understanding the meaning behind each digit, you can gain valuable insights into the authenticity, rarity, and desirability of your COMME des GARÇONS. When selling online, this provides buyers insights into the age or rarity of the items.
This guide will consist of two parts:
- How to find the COMME des GARÇONS diffusion line
- How to find the COMME des GARÇONS year & season
HOW TO FIND THE DIFFUSION LINE FOR COMME DES GARÇONS
The first letter in the series on the style code of the tag will tells you the COMME des GARÇONS diffusion line. The example is W which is JUNYA WATANABE Man or eye JUNYA WATANABE. Here's a list of all the lines that the first letter of the wash tag corresponds to:
G - COMME des GARÇONS
R - COMME des GARÇONS COMME des GARÇONS or robe de chambre COMME des GARÇONS
3 - Tao COMME des GARÇONS
P - COMME des GARÇONS HOMME PLUS
H - COMME des GARÇONS HOMME
D - COMME des GARÇONS HOMME DEUX
S - COMME des GARÇONS SHIRT
J - JUNYA WATANABE COMME des GARÇONS
A - PLAY COMME des GARÇONS
1 - BLACK COMME des GARÇONS
E - GANRYU
B - COMME des GARÇONS parfums
O & V- wallet COMME des GARÇONS
S - Special Lines
This is important to know when listing CDG items online so that buyers can find the correct brand. It is also a great asset when shopping for COMME des GARÇONS online since some lines are more sought after such as JUNYA WATANABE.
HOW TO FIND THE RELEASE DATE FOR COMME DES GARÇONS
COMME des GARÇONS tags include a 6 digit alphanumeric date code which tells you the year the item was made, NOT the season it was released. It is a common mistake for sellers to list this date as the collection the item was part of. The rules are different for reading COMME des GARÇONS tags both pre and post 2001.
The four digit numbers of the code can be used to determine if the item is before or after this date. As examples: AD2000 means 2000, AD2009 means 2009.
PRE-2001
Unfortunately, before 2001, there is no way to indicate the season of release, other than referencing runway images. AD1991 will either mean Autumn Winter 1991 or Spring Summer 1992. Please see our guide for dating vintage clothing for more information on how to reference runway images for this information.
For pre-2001 COMME des GARÇONS, the second letter on the style codes will tell you the garment type:
J - Jacket
C - Coat
N - Knit
V - Vest
T - Tops
O - Dress
S - Skirt
P - Pants/Trousers
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POST-2001
After 2001, the dating system was modified to tell you the specific runway collection, where the item was featured and the year of production. For pre-2001, the second letter of the style code tells you the garment type. for post-2001, this indicates the collection.
For post-2001 COMME des GARÇONS, the third letter on the style code after the hyphen will tell you the garment type. This follows the same format as pre-2001.
HOW TO AUTHENTICATE COMME DES GARÇONS
Due to the popularity of the brand, COMME DES GARÇONS is known to be widely counterfeited and to be sure on the authenticity of any COMME DES GARÇONS item, we would recommend using a service like LegitGrails who specialise in COMME DES GARÇONS authentication.
WHERE TO BUY AUTHENTIC COMME DES GARÇONS
When shopping for COMME des GARÇONS, you can use TRUSS’ guide to gain more detailed insights about the item. For authentic COMME des GARÇONS pieces, TRUSS recommends trusted platforms like The RealReal, Grailed, Vestiaire Collective or The Luxury Closet.