Is Coach considered a luxury brand?


+1 again.

There's a really nice article by Prudential (http://www.bringyourchallenges.com/roundtable/letting-go-of-keeping-up) that specifically addresses conspicuous consumption and the desire to "keep up with the Joneses" in lieu of the Joneses now also being easily accessible info/photo/social media on celebrities. The point is that many of us no longer find just our neighbors, who might be in similar income ranges, aspirational or peers. The Joneses family for the average American family has suddenly expanded thanks to social media and reality TV shows which give 24-7 coverage of what celebrities do both for work and play, and many of us, whether purposefully or not, are exposed to and aspire to things that make no sense for our purses (pun intended).

If the average worker is making $50,000 USD annual salary in the USA, one must admit it is an entirely different thing for this person to pay $$$ - $$$$ for any discretionary item compared to someone who is making 100x that salary. Indeed, there are many workers making $400,000 USD per annum who can afford thousands more than the average worker for discretionary items, but that doesn't disqualify discretionary items that are not $$$+ from being "luxury." I can go into the grocery store and find dozens of items that are more expensive than others simply because of branding or perceived superior taste (and sometimes there's truth to it); I also classify those as luxury food items, or "gourmet" even. There's no reason 3 pieces of chocolate should be $10, but we've assigned value to it.

The first time I spent the equivalent of $100 USD on a handbag I was a bit shocked at myself. I wanted it because it was too cute to pass up, even though it was double what I normally would've paid. As time goes on, it becomes an easy/slippery slope to glide on the more I earn, I've found. I've been trying to keep it in check. I imagine many people with any fiscal responsibility try to keep in mind to make discretionary expenses much less than income, lol. For this reason, I do consider Coach items luxury items, just the same as those "gourmet cookies" I splurge on about every 6-10 weeks instead of baking at home.
 
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+1 again.

There's a really nice article by Prudential (http://www.bringyourchallenges.com/roundtable/letting-go-of-keeping-up) that specifically addresses conspicuous consumption and the desire to "keep up with the Joneses" in lieu of the Joneses now also being easily accessible info/photo/social media on celebrities. The point is that many of us no longer find just our neighbors, who might be in similar income ranges, aspirational or peers. The Joneses family for the average American family has suddenly expanded thanks to social media and reality TV shows which give 24-7 coverage of what celebrities do both for work and play, and many of us, whether purposefully or not, are exposed to and aspire to things that make no sense for our purses (pun intended).

If the average worker is making $50,000 USD annual salary in the USA, one must admit it is an entirely different thing for this person to pay $$$ - $$$$ for any discretionary item compared to someone who is making 100x that salary. Indeed, there are many workers making $400,000 USD per annum who can afford thousands more than the average worker for discretionary items, but that doesn't disqualify discretionary items that are not $$$+ from being "luxury." I can go into the grocery store and find dozens of items that are more expensive than others simply because of branding or perceived superior taste (and sometimes there's truth to it); I also classify those as luxury food items, or "gourmet" even. There's no reason 3 pieces of chocolate should be $10, but we've assigned value to it.

The first time I spent the equivalent of $100 USD on a handbag I was a bit shocked at myself. I wanted it because it was too cute to pass up, even though it was double what I normally would've paid. As time goes on, it becomes an easy/slippery slope to glide on the more I earn, I've found. I've been trying to keep it in check. I imagine many people with any fiscal responsibility try to keep in mind to make discretionary expenses much less than income, lol. For this reason, I do consider Coach items luxury items, just the same as those "gourmet cookies" I splurge on about every 6-10 weeks instead of baking at home.
Very good post.
 
Hi,

Been lurking and reading for awhile. I'm surprised to see so much Coach bashing in this section of PurseForum. I thought it was for fans of Coach? I love my Coach bags but reading the posts here has made me feel bad for doing so. :sad:


Do not feel bad at all. Be grateful for what we have.
I have 2 coach bags and I won't deny the fact that it is not a luxury brand, but I still love them! I'm a student so right now all my bags are not in luxury categories because that is what I can afford for now. I have Juicy couture, Moschino, Fossil, Calvin Klein, DKNY, Longchamp, Kate Spade, Tory Burch, Michael Kors, Esprit, Cath Kidson, Lesportsac and Kipling. Some of them are preloved. I bought them with my hard earned $$$ SO what is there not to love?? So for time being I am happy. Gotta make do with what we have.
:smile: :smile:
Of course I wish I can afford real luxury brand like Chanel, Lv and other designer name. My friend has 1 Chanel and 4 Lv given by her grandma. The bags are really old but still so amazing. The design and quality is what I call and consider true luxury.
 
Depends who you are I guess. Personally, I don't care how anyone else chooses to classify stuff. I like what I like, so I get it if I can. Choosing to look down on someone else for the bag they carry or don't says more about you (you in general, not to anyone specific) than them.
 
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Many, many ladies here have already said some really amazing things here, but I have to throw in my two cents. Is Coach a luxury brand? That depends on ones perspective. Is Coach a luxury for me? Yes. The average person doesn't spend as much of his or her income as we do on bags, and the one thing that I have noticed from reading posts and articles here on TPF is the desensitization to price. A price that a few years ago would have made me faint, now seems perfectly normal and even "good." In many ways, I really appall myself. :nogood: The bottom line though is that I am happy with picking out my Coach for the day from my collection, and that is all the luxury I need. ;) Buy bags that you love, be happy, and ignore anyone who thinks that you shouldn't be happy because who cares what anyone else thinks?!
 
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Do not feel bad at all. Be grateful for what we have.
I have 2 coach bags and I won't deny the fact that it is not a luxury brand, but I still love them! I'm a student so right now all my bags are not in luxury categories because that is what I can afford for now. I have Juicy couture, Moschino, Fossil, Calvin Klein, DKNY, Longchamp, Kate Spade, Tory Burch, Michael Kors, Esprit, Cath Kidson, Lesportsac and Kipling. Some of them are preloved. I bought them with my hard earned $$$ SO what is there not to love?? So for time being I am happy. Gotta make do with what we have.
:smile: :smile:
Of course I wish I can afford real luxury brand like Chanel, Lv and other designer name. My friend has 1 Chanel and 4 Lv given by her grandma. The bags are really old but still so amazing. The design and quality is what I call and consider true luxury.

The vintage bags from nearly all of the older brands are superior to their products today. Chanel in particular seems to have declined, at least according to the posts I've read on tpf and reviews I've seen on YouTube. Fwiw, I'm sure her grandma's bag is far nicer than the chanels made today.
 
Many, many ladies here have already said some really amazing things here, but I have to throw in my two cents. Is Coach a luxury brand? That depends on ones perspective. Is Coach a luxury for me? Yes. The average person doesn't spend as much of his or her income as we do on bags, and the one thing that I have noticed from reading posts and articles here on TPF is the desensitization to price. A price that a few years ago would have made me faint, now seems perfectly normal and even "good." In many ways, I really appall myself. :nogood: The bottom line though is that I am happy with picking out my Coach for the day from my collection, and that is all the luxury I need. ;) Buy bags that you love, be happy, and ignore anyone who thinks that you shouldn't be happy because who cares what anyone else thinks?!

I agree with the desensitized sentiment. I don't bat an eye at some of the prices here, but my friends would faint if they ever plunked down $400 on one handbag. It is a matter of perspective.
 
I've definitely become desensitized to handbag prices. In 2006 I said these words to a co-worker who brought me into a Coach boutique: "I'd never pay $300 for a purse!"

BAHAHA! [emoji23]
 
I agree with the desensitized sentiment. I don't bat an eye at some of the prices here, but my friends would faint if they ever plunked down $400 on one handbag. It is a matter of perspective.

It really is. I have friends who would cheerfully spend $100s on video game things, a fine dinner, or something else I'd not want to spend that much on, but they're perfectly fine with it.

Another thing is that as much as we spend on Coach, it's much more likely that you will still be using your bag and it will still have decent resale value in 10 years. If I drop $1000 on bags, I will get more back in resale than if I spend $1000 on some computer gadget that will be obsolete in 5 years and/or may stop working.
 
Coach is the luxury I allow myself to have. :greengrin:
I could afford a higher end bag and have just a couple, but why do that when I can have a variety of colors and shapes in great leather? Plus, people have no idea it's Coach just because it's leather. Their loss- my gain. :giggles:
 
Desensitization and perceptive, all very relevant terms.. the 'average' person does not buy car payment handbags let alone some pushing mortgage payments.

This forum is NOT the real world, fun place but not just your average place ;)
 
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I think Coach is still considered luxury, particularly in Asia. I think the outlets and a lot of fabric signature products have likely diluted the brand over the years. This year, the outlet products seem to be produced with a lot more leather and deletes are not as available or as heavily discounted in stores.


I especially like that a lot of new FP men's products are made of calf leather, which is usually found in mostly high-end brands.


Frankly, the quality of Coach products are as good if not better than high-end luxury products I have that are made in France, Italy or Spain, so I don't really relegate them to a lower tier, and people usually don't believe that what I'm using is Coach because they are so desensitized to a pre-conceived look the brand should have. =)
 
Frankly, the quality of Coach products are as good if not better than high-end luxury products I have that are made in France, Italy or Spain, so I don't really relegate them to a lower tier, and people usually don't believe that what I'm using is Coach because they are so desensitized to a pre-conceived look the brand should have. =)


This is so true, while i have seen some great signature pieces as of late, most don't realize there are Coach bags beyond that...
 
I'd say it's casual or affordable luxury. When I was a kid, around middle school or so, Coach was HUGE. The Coach C was slapped on everything. Some of their designs are a bit tacky IMHO and geared towards mass appeal. Luxury to me is something special, exclusive, something that first and foremost benefits YOU and makes YOU feel special. It's that fine touch of a true artisan, NOT mass appeal in just a higher price range. Turning half of suburban America into walking billboards is not my idea of true luxury. That said, I'm not trying to diminish them. I like most of their leather goods.