Life Cycle of a Coachie

#106
KittyKwilter said:
I'm trying hard not to use the current PCE but I really want an acorn Hailey. DH thinks not. And he notices new things. Darn! So adulthood may be forced on me. Isn't that how it works for teens?
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Lol! This made me laugh! Yes that's how it works for teens. When it's happened to my teens it's been noticeably painful for them!! :smile: but for real I know what you mean and sometimes it just sucks (for lack of a better word) I hope DH softens up a bit :smile:
 
#107
This is a great thread! I would add to the life cycle that some of us started out loving just signature items and MFF bags but later our tastes changed to prefer leather and boutique items, and so the sticker shock escalates.

And then we branch out and start buying jewelry and other accessories and begin amassing a gigantic fob collection and the sticker shock gets even worse!

I guess that I am nearing adulthood now but I am not there yet. I am much more selective about buying new bags and I have forced myself to return many new, unused items. I also try to force myself to "think about the items that I already have in my closet" before making a new purchase (or at least before cutting the tags.)

But I still haven't gotten to the point of selling the less-frequently used items in my wardrobe. I need to do that!

And I have also developed a few co-addictions to my Coach obsession. Although I am still a Coachie at heart I have branched out occassionally to embrace other brands.

Also, I have become a vintage Coach rehab junky! I love finding beat-up older bags at cheap prices and then bringing them back to beauty and usefulness. I cannot possibly keep up with all the bags currently in my rehab pile, but I keep buying more!
 
#108
Now that I think about this my case is not that bad. I just sold several of my MFF bags on ebay. Only my favorite ones are left, laura tote, penelope hippie, snaphead print demi crossbody and 2 small crossbody bags ... Still debating if the snaphead demi should go too
 
#109
cozyc said:
Lol! This made me laugh! Yes that's how it works for teens. When it's happened to my teens it's been noticeably painful for them!! :smile: but for real I know what you mean and sometimes it just sucks (for lack of a better word) I hope DH softens up a bit :smile:
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So true~~~~I have to shop behind my DH and hide my new purse for a while.....Just like a teen:lol:
 
#110
This is a good thread!
For me it started with one nice leather black bag back in 2002. I was tired of the cheaper department store bags falling apart. Zippers, linings and handles would break and I would have to get a new one. Once I got that first bag I was so happy with it but then started thinking, I need another color, then I needed signature. By the mid 2000s I peaked with over 20 coach bags. I would sell one or two to fund something new. I never stayed happy for too long with any one bag.
At some point I downsized to 10 bags. I will usually sell one or two at the end of the year. I usually get a new coach for christmas and love it but by spring am thinking of something new for summer. Then by August am looking at fall bags even though I have plenty to choose from for fall.
I'm still cycling but not like before. I will go through phases of browsing bags online and ebay. Sometimes I will get nostalgic for a bag I sold and have to remind myself that I am not paying $300 for a used bag that I originally got on sale.
 
#111
My addiction started with a petrol patent Zoe a few years ago which turned into maxing all of my credit cards and 9 Zoe's 2 poppy swing hobos and who knows how many wallets scarves fobs cosmetic bags etc...
Ive sold everything over the years, paid off my bills and bought one bag one wallet one cosmetic bag one scarf one fob and one wristlet with cash!!
I guess I'm an adult coachie now :smile:
I do want to get a Sophia bag (not completely sure which one) and one gathered wallet to add to my collection. It's been awhile since I've bought a bag and I'm jonesin lol. But I'm never going to get out of control like that again.
 
#112
Excellent explanation of the life cycle. I have, at my expense, started my grown daughter's collection, 17 year-old granddaughter, and the real coachie-to-be, my 9 year-old granddaughter. Yesterday, as we approached the Coach store, she said "Wow, the have a new collection." I bought her the mini-Willis in British Tan for Xmas; I have bought her older sister the regular Willis in the same color. I do feel they will have these purses long after their Nana gone and they will also remember me when they use them.

I agree this forum is evil, enabling, and I love being a part of it and "talking" with so many others that also love Coach.
 
#113
So true. Luckily I never was into signature prints or MFF because I have a shelf full of barely used coach leather bags from 10-15 years ago. Can't wait to find time to get them down and rediscover them all. I took down a black mint legacy xl duffle the other day and want to order a colorful tassel for it!
 
#114
Oh, my.

I'm throwing around the vocab with the SAs (several of whom I'm on a first name basis with--they're my buddies!), and have amassed a collection (see avatar), and I've thought about weeding down my collection. I did give two bags to my 17yo daughter(passing on the addiction! I also bought her a universal case as part of my CBE haul), but the thought of parting with my Soho bags makes me want to cry. I love my Soho bags.

I have bought several bags for FP, but am now getting more savvy about using the PCE discount. However, I'm not saving money because I'm buying bags at higher price points now!

I do need to thin the herd, though. Today I took several bags outside so I could Apple them, and hubby asked if it would hurt my feelings if he said I have to many bags, and it didn't hurt my feelings! Ack!

Must thin herd. Must thin herd.
 
#115
This is a fun thread, and I would like to share my life cycle too, as I guess we all differ a bit in how we got started in Coach.

I have loved bags for ages, and had generally preferred decent quality bags that were not too pricey (don't have the money). My dream bag being the Birkin of course that I could never afford. I started with Dooneys, Bruce Makowski, some Chi by Falchi, did a lot of home shopping because I live in the boonies. I never liked Coach. Some of my friends were always talking about how they wanted or had spent money on a Coach, and I always thought, "Why are these bags so popular?" I also felt that they were too common.......I was constantly seeing women toting around the siggy bags and felt I wanted to be more unique or something.

Then one day I was shopping at the mall (a rare experience for me) and I went into a Coach store. Oooooooohhhhh I can't describe the feeling. I was in love. I couldn't stop thinking about all those beautiful bags. They weren't the siggy bags I had seen before, but beautiful leathers......colors, patent, crinkles and folds.......luggage, OMG I could go on forever. I was in heaven and could not stop thinking about how wonderful they were.

So I started doing some internet research, went to the Coach site, went to purse forums etc. and I fell in love with the large Madison Sophia. I wanted patent and it came in patent Camel or Cranberry at the time and I debated and debated which one (am still debating if I made the right choice because you can't find the cranberry anywhere now). I also found out that they both made the "Oprah's favorite things" list that year.....interesting, but not necessarily a selling point. I wasn't entirely sure how I wanted to get one.....Amzon....Ebay......the closest store was an hour away, so one morning I called them.

The most delightful SA named Issac answered the phone. He treated me like a queen. I later called coach and gave him a rave review. Soon my new Camel Sophia would be on it's way. I was shocked at how quickly it arrived (in 1 day with free shipping). It was so beautifully laid out with the caramel colored ribbon and a wonderful note from Issac hoping that I enjoyed my bag. Unwrapping it was sheer bliss and when I finally held it I was squealing a little to myself.

The true test of how wonderful my bag is was the fact that I then proceeded to carry that same bag for the next 3 months and never changed it. Before that, I had always changed my bag every day with every outfit. But my camel sophia went with everything and it was bliss carrying it....why change?

Then.....it started all over again. I again went to the mall. Again fell in love. Again I called Coach. And my parchment Sophia was on it's way. You know how coach bags of certain color seem to shimmer in light? This parchment is one of them. And the experience of receiving it was just as good as before.

I have remained loyal to my closest coach store with the exception of 1 ebay purchase of my first and only siggy purple sophia......but that was after they stopped making large sophias.

So to summarize, I have a very small (and picky) Coach collection. 4 Large Sophias in the camel, black, white, and purple siggy. And 2 Lindseys, a safflower and the latest Aegean. I treat them like precious gold. They are all housed in their original boxes (the ribbons and notes from the SA are still in there too) in their dustbags in a special closet, and they are each marked with a small letter so I can lift the top and tell which color is inside.

I guess I am a little unusual having never been to a factory store, but to me the biggest part of the Coach experience is the luxury of the FP store....the SA knowing me by name and calling me about my PCEs etc. The luxury of unwrapping each new baby. Keeping each one in just as good a condition as it arrived to me in. My cousin was looking at my Camel Sophia the other day and asked if it were brand new. I love it!!!!

Thanks for letting me share my long winded but happy experience with Coach! I don't carry coach every day, but I'd say about 75% of the time I have one on my arm :smile:
 
#116
I don't know where I quite fall on that timeline but it sure is true.
I got started with coach in a humorous way. My brother went to NYC and brought me back a "coach" purse from canal street. At the time, I knew nothing about coach. I thought it was beautiful and of course, real. (Why, I have no idea. I think he paid $25 bucks for it.) Anyway, I came on line to get it authenticated and of course it was a fake. I was so hurt at first and I then realized that I never wanted to carry a fake ever again and my obession started. My brother now makes fun of my purse obsession when he's the one the really began it!
 
#117
Mine started the same way, obiwan!

Well, let me back up... :smile: I never carried a purse until I was "forced" to (basically for the obvious reason of keeping all of your items together LOL) around age 20 - I wasn't really an "accessories" girl growing up. So I bought whatever looked ok, was neutral, and cheap - bags from JCPenney's or Target - for the longest time.

When I was about 29, I was "generously" given 2 fake Signature totes - thought they were real (I remember telling my sister about it and saying "they have a creed and serial number & everything!"), but then I did some research to make sure... Oh boy, did that turn my stomach! So I vowed to learn as much as I can about authenticating, and after searching for some time, I found my first *real* Coach on the bay, from a reputable seller - a good first bag (and fell in love with the 65th Anniversary Legacy line in the process!). Fast forward 1 month... just one month...

I started making monthly trips to the outlet (and sometimes weekly), and buying/selling on ebay... then moved on to collecting posters, display items, catalogs, and yes - the fobs, scarves, and all the other pretty, sparkly, beautiful, rare or limited edition things... Like someone here has as their signature, paraphrased - I think of it as ART!

Then along came that first trip to the FP store - aaaahhh, hello Love. :loveeyes::love::loveeyes:

So now, I really have NO clue how many purses, wallets, etc I've bought and sold over the past 5 years, I've never done a running total, and I'm not sure I'd want to know TBH! However, my own collection seems to stay at a fairly level, reasonable number - at least, compared to what "could be"! If I buy something new, I try to find something I haven't carried in awhile (or ever) to get rid of, so there's some turnover. Then, of course, there's the ones I hope to never sell... On the flip side, there are quite a few I've regretted selling over the years, of course. And I am still on the constant search for Legacy Anniversary items, 6ish years later~ but all in all, happy with slowly but surely getting a nice wish list put together and tackled.

Finally, like others here on tPF, I have spread my addiction... friends, family, even the BF. (None of them are immune to my Powers of Coach Persuasion muahaha!:devil:smile: Well - once they understood the quality, customer service, deals at the outlets, PCEs, all that good stuff- I think Coach kind of sold itself to them - I just pushed them in the right direction. :smile:
 
#119
katev said:
My coachie obsession started late but I have been making up for lost time; here is how it all started for me:
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach/share-your-story-how-did-you-fall-love-672753.html#post18492371
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Wonderful story, KateV!! It felt like I was right there with you on your first trip to the store. :smile: The anticipation, the awe, even being a little nervous being a "newbie" ~ what a fun reminder of how it felt to shop the Coach stores for the first time. Thanks for sharing!
 
#120
My Coach relationship began some 20 years ago when I bought a bag at Macy's for my mom for Mother's Day. Wow, that makes me feel old.

...What a minute, was it Macy's? I'm not sure now!
 
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