Vintage Coach Bags

A Little History to Coach and Why Vintage Coach is So Superb

I'm venturing into new territory. I'm learning about Coach, the leather handbag, luggage, and accessory company that started in 1941 in New York. 

This leatherworks company began with wallets and billfolds made by Miles and Lillian Cahn by hand. Lillian suggested at some point - probably in the early '60s - that they should start making handbags. And that was the beginning of the rest of their story. The handbags were a hit.

They hired an incredible designer Bonnie Cashin (probably the most unknown famous designer who ever lived) and it changed their company for the better kickstarting the brand into new territory. Basically, a rebranding, if you will. 

My first "real" purse was about twenty-plus years ago. It was a black bucket-style Coach purse and I loved that thing. Because Coach was my first "big girl" bag, I have an affinity towards this brand. Not to mention, I'm much more interested in supporting a (formerly) American-made company. I'll always choose American-made over anything else.

Unfortunately, Coach outsources its materials and production today, which is the way of all good American labels these days. Maybe one day, American manufacturing will return. One can hope. I'd rather pay more for an American-made piece of clothing or accessory than a China-made counterpart.

Louis Vuitton isn't my thing, though I'm inspired by its history and provenance. While I love its vintage pieces from decades ago, I'm not a fan of its new products, mostly because of the leather quality and that coated canvas. I love Gucci, but again, most of its pieces today are trendy, not classic. 

Other high-end couture brands like Versace, Hermes, Balenciaga, and Prada exist as options too. (Again, most are trendy). But, they're not my brand of choice and the quality of their modern pieces is not what they used to be.

I'm a lover of American-made things, as well as traditional pieces, and ultra-quality leather, which brings me back to an American equivalent, and that is Coach. Coach filled a gap in the need for affordable quality purses. 

For women in the '50s '60s, and '70s, there were high-end haute couture bags and there were cheap knockoffs. There wasn't much else. So, what did women buy who wanted something quality without having to sacrifice their entire savings account? What did women buy who didn't want a cheap faux leather bag from K-Mart?

They bought Coach. As is the unwritten rule for all successful businesses, "Find a void and fill it." And that's exactly what they did.

There has been a resurgence in the popularity of Coach bags in the last few years. Something about the vintage look appeals to many millennials today (I don't blame them. Classic pieces never go out of style) but it means they're also in demand and hard to find.

I've been looking for them - while I source vintage for my shop for the last four or five years or so - and hadn't found any. They seemed like unicorn pieces; something other people could easily thrift and yet I still had no idea what they looked like in the wild!

Then two weeks ago happened and I found one, and then a week later, I found another.

Both are beautiful, both are worn to perfection, and both need a little TLC (which I plan on doing - a little cleaning and conditioning). I don't have Coach purses in either of these colors. So, I am thrilled.

Yes, I could easily buy new Coach bags similar to these. They've brought back many of their old styles, because of their popularity. But, as a vintage lover and purist, I just don't want the new stuff. As is normal with many brands of today, vintage leather is of much better quality than their modern counterparts. I hate that this is also true of Coach, but it is. 

This isn't to say their leather is bad. It isn't. But if you compare it to the bags of the '60s or '70s, (full-grain leather) you can literally feel the difference. And I’m going to say it again, vintage Coach was made in the USA whereas the modern pieces are not. Need I say more …

Here are the two I found:

Probably from the late '60s or early '70s. Does not have a creed (early ones don't) - is missing its hang tag. This is the 9530 (I believe it's the Tabac color but it looks very British tan to me.)

Probably from the mid-'90s, this one is called the Fletcher. Which is appropriate. The first time I really began to notice Coach Bags was on Murder, She Wrote reruns with the main character, Jessica Fletcher, wearing them. This was my first thrifted Coach. How apropos.

Here is some fun advertising too. 

Here is one of my bags! The 9530. 

I don’t plan on collecting all of the bags. I just want a few key quality Coach bags that will last another fifty years to mix with my heritage / slow fashion wardrobe. If you're a fan of the newer Coach line, you don't have to go to a Coach store. There are plenty available on Amazon, as well as used and new on eBay.

Most likely, I will be selling them in my Etsy shop as I find them (fingers crossed that I do find them) but just having these two and getting to take care of them is a treat. I’m so grateful to have them. And at thrifting prices? It makes me even happier. 

There are plenty of knowledgeable folks who fully comprehend the Coach company and know every handbag ever made. I'm not one of those people and may never be. But, I want to note their help and I'm thankful there exists such enthusiasts. 

One great website that helped me to identify bags I've found is run by a sweet mother-daughter duo called Your Great Finds. Their single blog post about Coach Bags is incredibly detailed. 

Here's another great piece written for Love to Know. You can also Google “Coach history” and an exorbitant amount of information will pop up.

Also, Vintage Coachie is a superb source of information. She's also on Instagram.

I have a lot to learn about the brand but having sold vintage Coach belts for years, I’m happy to add another quality vintage item to my regular listings of vintage clothing and accessories to my shop. Learning about each piece and when it was made is the cherry on top of the vintage sundae.