Anti-Coach snobs...ugh

[graebelle]

I think the same can be said regarding coach and the full price vs made of outlet pieces. I do not think this situation applies solely to coach VS other designers as I see this very same opinion echo within the coach "community" as well.

 

[sunspray]

I have a confession; I was one of those snobs. Now, I never trashed Coach in any of my posts but I went off the brand around the time signature came out and in my opinion, quality had declined. I moved on to LV, which touts itself as a luxury brand and dabbled in Prada, Miu Miu, Chanel, Mulberry and finally Hermes. Of these, Hermes and Mulberry stand by their product. They repair without blaming the customer for whatever needs to be repaired and if it's a defect, they call it a defect. LV is notorious for knowing about quality issues and pretending they don't exist. Prada sold $2000+ fairy bags that couldn't get wet or the image would run, never told their customers and then refused returns. There are threads on all of this.

Hermes has gone from a luxury experience to an expensive head game. Want a Birkin? In some places you have to buy thousands of dollars worth of other stuff before you are good enough to be offered one. There are threads on this too.

In every luxury designer forum, you will see threads posted about declining quality, shoddy repairs, poor customer service and so on.

Which brings me back to Coach. There I was, minding my own business on the train to work when I glanced at the beautiful beige satchel held by the woman next to me. Her hand was covering the logo. I kept peeking and you can imagine my shock when I saw the word Coach. Out came the iPhone and there it was -- a sand Haley and it was only $358! That was one tenth of what LV would charge for a similar style all leather bag. Now I was curious. I visited an outlet made a purchase of a sand Romy but couldn't get past the "I can't buy a Coach" mentality so I returned it.

Then I saw the Anna Sui FDL duffel and also saw that a fellow Hermes refugee bought one. That, my friends, marked my return.

Here's my humble opinion: Coach is trying to position itself as a luxury brand and for now, they are affordable luxury. Bringing in the former designer from Loewe may boost the brand even further. Loewe bags, like Coach, have an understated elegance but come in gorgeous colors. In the meantime, the return of the classics I grew up with and the introduction of Legacy leather have definitely brought me back. So what if the bags are made in China? So are many of the luxury brands, although they are finished in France, Italy, etc., in a way that will allow a "Made in France" label to be added.

There are no games being played at Coach. Need a repair? They'll do it. Need customer service? You have it. And above all, these bags are still being hand made -- and they are usually less than $1000.

Let people bash the brand. They don't know what they're missing.

Great post. Thank you for your honest perspective.

 

[ktheartscoach]

The bag I carry does say a lot about me. It says I'm feeling feisty, or I'm in a retro state of mind, or I'm using a bag that serves as my mental suit of armor when I'm having a tough day. It says I'm going to the flea market today, or I'm reminiscing about a special day when I got the bag I'm carrying. It says I'm feeling girly, or outdoorsy, or goofy, or serious.

It cannot tell you about my bank account, or my job, or socioeconomic standing. Well, you'd know (if you cared) that at some point in time I, or someone who gives me gifts, had sufficient cash or credit to buy this bag without risk of losing food or shelter.

I don't read threads like "what would you never carry?" or the like, because it can only be one thing. The statistical likelihood of reading such a thread and finding no derogatory comments about my beloved brands is 0.000001%, and I don't really see the point. I've seen some of the less-than-tactful comments (and snaps to MFF bags giving you the clap, best quote ever), here's my question: what do people who say ugly things (not just sharing opinions, there's a difference) expect to happen? That somewhere in the world, a Coach/Dooney-lover stands up and screams "MY WHOLE LIFE IS A LIE!!!", burns all of her heinous bags and dances naked around the flames (since they have no dollar value and needy people would do better to carry around their belongings in a knotted bandanna) then knocks over a liquor store and buys a LV/Chanel/Prada/Miu Miu/I'm out of examples with the proceeds, thereby creating the best evah illustration of ends justifying the means and moral equivalency?

Did I just make up words?

If someone looked at me or my bag in a disparaging way, my assumption would be they don't like me or my bag, or they have that resting *****face syndrome we're all hearing so much about lately. That actually has never happened to me (and I lived in Dallas for 10 years, working in Oil and Gas - if there's a higher concentration of LV in this country, I'm not sure where it is, and I think it's lovely so if you like LV and want to see real-life examples, I've just provided your next vacation destination). If it did happen, I didn't notice. If anyone has ever seen me giving a bag a dirty look, that wasn't me. I'm the weird lady who will compliment your bag whether it's sewn with thread from unicorn mane or came from the discount bin's discount bin.

 

[ltbag]

The bag I carry does say a lot about me. It says I'm feeling feisty, or I'm in a retro state of mind, or I'm using a bag that serves as my mental suit of armor when I'm having a tough day. It says I'm going to the flea market today, or I'm reminiscing about a special day when I got the bag I'm carrying. It says I'm feeling girly, or outdoorsy, or goofy, or serious.

It cannot tell you about my bank account, or my job, or socioeconomic standing. Well, you'd know (if you cared) that at some point in time I, or someone who gives me gifts, had sufficient cash or credit to buy this bag without risk of losing food or shelter.

I don't read threads like "what would you never carry?" or the like, because it can only be one thing. The statistical likelihood of reading such a thread and finding no derogatory comments about my beloved brands is 0.000001%, and I don't really see the point. I've seen some of the less-than-tactful comments (and snaps to MFF bags giving you the clap, best quote ever), here's my question: what do people who say ugly things (not just sharing opinions, there's a difference) expect to happen? That somewhere in the world, a Coach/Dooney-lover stands up and screams "MY WHOLE LIFE IS A LIE!!!", burns all of her heinous bags and dances naked around the flames (since they have no dollar value and needy people would do better to carry around their belongings in a knotted bandanna) then knocks over a liquor store and buys a LV/Chanel/Prada/Miu Miu/I'm out of examples with the proceeds, thereby creating the best evah illustration of ends justifying the means and moral equivalency?

Did I just make up words?

If someone looked at me or my bag in a disparaging way, my assumption would be they don't like me or my bag, or they have that resting *****face syndrome we're all hearing so much about lately. That actually has never happened to me (and I lived in Dallas for 10 years, working in Oil and Gas - if there's a higher concentration of LV in this country, I'm not sure where it is, and I think it's lovely so if you like LV and want to see real-life examples, I've just provided your next vacation destination). If it did happen, I didn't notice. If anyone has ever seen me giving a bag a dirty look, that wasn't me. I'm the weird lady who will compliment your bag whether it's sewn with thread from unicorn mane or came from the discount bin's discount bin.

Best purseforum post ever. :salute:

 

[karman]

I have a confession; I was one of those snobs. Now, I never trashed Coach in any of my posts but I went off the brand around the time signature came out and in my opinion, quality had declined. I moved on to LV, which touts itself as a luxury brand and dabbled in Prada, Miu Miu, Chanel, Mulberry and finally Hermes. Of these, Hermes and Mulberry stand by their product. They repair without blaming the customer for whatever needs to be repaired and if it's a defect, they call it a defect. LV is notorious for knowing about quality issues and pretending they don't exist. Prada sold $2000+ fairy bags that couldn't get wet or the image would run, never told their customers and then refused returns. There are threads on all of this.

Hermes has gone from a luxury experience to an expensive head game. Want a Birkin? In some places you have to buy thousands of dollars worth of other stuff before you are good enough to be offered one. There are threads on this too.

In every luxury designer forum, you will see threads posted about declining quality, shoddy repairs, poor customer service and so on.

Which brings me back to Coach. There I was, minding my own business on the train to work when I glanced at the beautiful beige satchel held by the woman next to me. Her hand was covering the logo. I kept peeking and you can imagine my shock when I saw the word Coach. Out came the iPhone and there it was -- a sand Haley and it was only $358! That was one tenth of what LV would charge for a similar style all leather bag. Now I was curious. I visited an outlet made a purchase of a sand Romy but couldn't get past the "I can't buy a Coach" mentality so I returned it.

Then I saw the Anna Sui FDL duffel and also saw that a fellow Hermes refugee bought one. That, my friends, marked my return.

Here's my humble opinion: Coach is trying to position itself as a luxury brand and for now, they are affordable luxury. Bringing in the former designer from Loewe may boost the brand even further. Loewe bags, like Coach, have an understated elegance but come in gorgeous colors. In the meantime, the return of the classics I grew up with and the introduction of Legacy leather have definitely brought me back. So what if the bags are made in China? So are many of the luxury brands, although they are finished in France, Italy, etc., in a way that will allow a "Made in France" label to be added.

There are no games being played at Coach. Need a repair? They'll do it. Need customer service? You have it. And above all, these bags are still being hand made -- and they are usually less than $1000.

Let people bash the brand. They don't know what they're missing.

Awesome post! You took the words right out of my mouth (post)?

I also used to be a bag snob. LV only, then Chanel, once I could afford it. A combination of change in life priorities and getting sick of Chanel's ridiculous price increases had me searching for "affordable luxury" bags.

I always thought Coach was for a younger crowd. It got really popular when I was in high school (every girl wanted a Coach bag), and these days (I'm 25 now) I still see young girls toting around Coach siggy bags, which are not for me. I still associate the Coach brand with a younger consumer base (high school/University), probably because they often have very young and girly looking bags, and of course the brand is much more affordable compared to LV and Chanel, for example.

However, Coach makes beautiful, classic leather bags too. I got sick of paying $4000 for Chanel leather bags, so now I'm turning to Coach to fulfill that "need". A couple of months ago I really "needed" a camel/tan cross-body bag to go with an outfit for an event, it felt really good to be able to just go shop for a bag last minute and find something that works for my outfit and budget (I bought the Penny in camel leather). I could have never done that with LV or Chanel, it's tough for me to drop $2000-$3000 for a bag just like that. I'm in love with the new Madison collection, and am so glad the prices are easy on my wallet! Hopefully Coach will continue to bring out beautiful, classic designs that will appeal to me.

To top it off, I've never had a problem with Coach's quality. I've probably owned 6-7 Coach pieces over the last 7 years and have never had a problem. Even the quality of their factory bags are great!

 

[ktheartscoach]

Best purseforum post ever. :salute:

Thank you!!!

 

[cola262]

I am beginning to love coach more than LV. I think it's a change in priority for me. I don't feel like paying so much for bags that come in the same 3 prints I already have, or paying several thousand for leather. My only 2 coach bags are outlet (Kristin round satchel) and I love them so much. (Recent purchase not included because I haven't received yet lol)

 

[Spoiledlttleldy]

The bag I carry does say a lot about me. It says I'm feeling feisty, or I'm in a retro state of mind, or I'm using a bag that serves as my mental suit of armor when I'm having a tough day. It says I'm going to the flea market today, or I'm reminiscing about a special day when I got the bag I'm carrying. It says I'm feeling girly, or outdoorsy, or goofy, or serious.

It cannot tell you about my bank account, or my job, or socioeconomic standing. Well, you'd know (if you cared) that at some point in time I, or someone who gives me gifts, had sufficient cash or credit to buy this bag without risk of losing food or shelter.

I don't read threads like "what would you never carry?" or the like, because it can only be one thing. The statistical likelihood of reading such a thread and finding no derogatory comments about my beloved brands is 0.000001%, and I don't really see the point. I've seen some of the less-than-tactful comments (and snaps to MFF bags giving you the clap, best quote ever), here's my question: what do people who say ugly things (not just sharing opinions, there's a difference) expect to happen? That somewhere in the world, a Coach/Dooney-lover stands up and screams "MY WHOLE LIFE IS A LIE!!!", burns all of her heinous bags and dances naked around the flames (since they have no dollar value and needy people would do better to carry around their belongings in a knotted bandanna) then knocks over a liquor store and buys a LV/Chanel/Prada/Miu Miu/I'm out of examples with the proceeds, thereby creating the best evah illustration of ends justifying the means and moral equivalency?

Did I just make up words?

If someone looked at me or my bag in a disparaging way, my assumption would be they don't like me or my bag, or they have that resting *****face syndrome we're all hearing so much about lately. That actually has never happened to me (and I lived in Dallas for 10 years, working in Oil and Gas - if there's a higher concentration of LV in this country, I'm not sure where it is, and I think it's lovely so if you like LV and want to see real-life examples, I've just provided your next vacation destination). If it did happen, I didn't notice. If anyone has ever seen me giving a bag a dirty look, that wasn't me. I'm the weird lady who will compliment your bag whether it's sewn with thread from unicorn mane or came from the discount bin's discount bin.

This is one of the most amazing posts I've read yet!

 

[ildera5]

The bag I carry does say a lot about me. It says I'm feeling feisty, or I'm in a retro state of mind, or I'm using a bag that serves as my mental suit of armor when I'm having a tough day. It says I'm going to the flea market today, or I'm reminiscing about a special day when I got the bag I'm carrying. It says I'm feeling girly, or outdoorsy, or goofy, or serious.

It cannot tell you about my bank account, or my job, or socioeconomic standing. Well, you'd know (if you cared) that at some point in time I, or someone who gives me gifts, had sufficient cash or credit to buy this bag without risk of losing food or shelter.

I don't read threads like "what would you never carry?" or the like, because it can only be one thing. The statistical likelihood of reading such a thread and finding no derogatory comments about my beloved brands is 0.000001%, and I don't really see the point. I've seen some of the less-than-tactful comments (and snaps to MFF bags giving you the clap, best quote ever), here's my question: what do people who say ugly things (not just sharing opinions, there's a difference) expect to happen? That somewhere in the world, a Coach/Dooney-lover stands up and screams "MY WHOLE LIFE IS A LIE!!!", burns all of her heinous bags and dances naked around the flames (since they have no dollar value and needy people would do better to carry around their belongings in a knotted bandanna) then knocks over a liquor store and buys a LV/Chanel/Prada/Miu Miu/I'm out of examples with the proceeds, thereby creating the best evah illustration of ends justifying the means and moral equivalency?

Did I just make up words?

If someone looked at me or my bag in a disparaging way, my assumption would be they don't like me or my bag, or they have that resting *****face syndrome we're all hearing so much about lately. That actually has never happened to me (and I lived in Dallas for 10 years, working in Oil and Gas - if there's a higher concentration of LV in this country, I'm not sure where it is, and I think it's lovely so if you like LV and want to see real-life examples, I've just provided your next vacation destination). If it did happen, I didn't notice. If anyone has ever seen me giving a bag a dirty look, that wasn't me. I'm the weird lady who will compliment your bag whether it's sewn with thread from unicorn mane or came from the discount bin's discount bin.

And I am still recovering from the clap comment .. fantastic post!

 

[bwalwayswins]

The bag I carry does say a lot about me. It says I'm feeling feisty, or I'm in a retro state of mind, or I'm using a bag that serves as my mental suit of armor when I'm having a tough day. It says I'm going to the flea market today, or I'm reminiscing about a special day when I got the bag I'm carrying. It says I'm feeling girly, or outdoorsy, or goofy, or serious.

It cannot tell you about my bank account, or my job, or socioeconomic standing. Well, you'd know (if you cared) that at some point in time I, or someone who gives me gifts, had sufficient cash or credit to buy this bag without risk of losing food or shelter.

I don't read threads like "what would you never carry?" or the like, because it can only be one thing. The statistical likelihood of reading such a thread and finding no derogatory comments about my beloved brands is 0.000001%, and I don't really see the point. I've seen some of the less-than-tactful comments (and snaps to MFF bags giving you the clap, best quote ever), here's my question: what do people who say ugly things (not just sharing opinions, there's a difference) expect to happen? That somewhere in the world, a Coach/Dooney-lover stands up and screams "MY WHOLE LIFE IS A LIE!!!", burns all of her heinous bags and dances naked around the flames (since they have no dollar value and needy people would do better to carry around their belongings in a knotted bandanna) then knocks over a liquor store and buys a LV/Chanel/Prada/Miu Miu/I'm out of examples with the proceeds, thereby creating the best evah illustration of ends justifying the means and moral equivalency?

Did I just make up words?

If someone looked at me or my bag in a disparaging way, my assumption would be they don't like me or my bag, or they have that resting *****face syndrome we're all hearing so much about lately. That actually has never happened to me (and I lived in Dallas for 10 years, working in Oil and Gas - if there's a higher concentration of LV in this country, I'm not sure where it is, and I think it's lovely so if you like LV and want to see real-life examples, I've just provided your next vacation destination). If it did happen, I didn't notice. If anyone has ever seen me giving a bag a dirty look, that wasn't me. I'm the weird lady who will compliment your bag whether it's sewn with thread from unicorn mane or came from the discount bin's discount bin.

i highlighted the stuff i needed to re-read!

:worthy::salute:

 

[MommaLV]

I have only 2 "nice" bags, one is my new LV that my husband gifted me for our 20th Wedding Anniversary and the Coach bag that I purchased myself a couple weeks ago. (Just a nice little tote in the needlepoint print.) I absolutely love my LV Empreinte leather Speedy 30 but I just switched out my bags this morning because of my outfit today and I can't tell you how happy I was to carry my $258 coach bag just as much as my "I can't even repeat the price it's so ridiculous" LV bag. I REALLY like my Coach tote. And I hadn't been in a Coach store in years and they really do have some fabulous leather bags. I purchased my Mom her very first ever nice bag at Coach, a Phoebe. I don't think she's stopped looking at it since she opened the box. She LOVES it.

And Yes, I had a HUGE quality issue with my first LV bag and had to have it exchanged. (This process was not easy and took 3 months really, to get completely taken care of between sagging and cracking straps.) So just because you pay a fortune for a bag, that doesn't mean it's immune from problems. So far, my coach bag has performed perfectly and no issues!

 

[firstclasscoach]

The bag I carry does say a lot about me. It says I'm feeling feisty, or I'm in a retro state of mind, or I'm using a bag that serves as my mental suit of armor when I'm having a tough day. It says I'm going to the flea market today, or I'm reminiscing about a special day when I got the bag I'm carrying. It says I'm feeling girly, or outdoorsy, or goofy, or serious.

It cannot tell you about my bank account, or my job, or socioeconomic standing. Well, you'd know (if you cared) that at some point in time I, or someone who gives me gifts, had sufficient cash or credit to buy this bag without risk of losing food or shelter.

I don't read threads like "what would you never carry?" or the like, because it can only be one thing. The statistical likelihood of reading such a thread and finding no derogatory comments about my beloved brands is 0.000001%, and I don't really see the point. I've seen some of the less-than-tactful comments (and snaps to MFF bags giving you the clap, best quote ever), here's my question: what do people who say ugly things (not just sharing opinions, there's a difference) expect to happen? That somewhere in the world, a Coach/Dooney-lover stands up and screams "MY WHOLE LIFE IS A LIE!!!", burns all of her heinous bags and dances naked around the flames (since they have no dollar value and needy people would do better to carry around their belongings in a knotted bandanna) then knocks over a liquor store and buys a LV/Chanel/Prada/Miu Miu/I'm out of examples with the proceeds, thereby creating the best evah illustration of ends justifying the means and moral equivalency?

Did I just make up words?

If someone looked at me or my bag in a disparaging way, my assumption would be they don't like me or my bag, or they have that resting *****face syndrome we're all hearing so much about lately. That actually has never happened to me (and I lived in Dallas for 10 years, working in Oil and Gas - if there's a higher concentration of LV in this country, I'm not sure where it is, and I think it's lovely so if you like LV and want to see real-life examples, I've just provided your next vacation destination). If it did happen, I didn't notice. If anyone has ever seen me giving a bag a dirty look, that wasn't me. I'm the weird lady who will compliment your bag whether it's sewn with thread from unicorn mane or came from the discount bin's discount bin.

Applause, applause, applause.

 

[AngelSlapsAlot]

Don't knock it til you tried it!

I love my Coach bags and I'm always so glad that there are so many other insane people who love to obsess and talk about them here with me. And I mean that in the nicest most flattering way possible

 

[LvoesBags]

The bag I carry does say a lot about me. It says I'm feeling feisty, or I'm in a retro state of mind, or I'm using a bag that serves as my mental suit of armor when I'm having a tough day. It says I'm going to the flea market today, or I'm reminiscing about a special day when I got the bag I'm carrying. It says I'm feeling girly, or outdoorsy, or goofy, or serious.

It cannot tell you about my bank account, or my job, or socioeconomic standing. Well, you'd know (if you cared) that at some point in time I, or someone who gives me gifts, had sufficient cash or credit to buy this bag without risk of losing food or shelter.

I don't read threads like "what would you never carry?" or the like, because it can only be one thing. The statistical likelihood of reading such a thread and finding no derogatory comments about my beloved brands is 0.000001%, and I don't really see the point. I've seen some of the less-than-tactful comments (and snaps to MFF bags giving you the clap, best quote ever), here's my question: what do people who say ugly things (not just sharing opinions, there's a difference) expect to happen? That somewhere in the world, a Coach/Dooney-lover stands up and screams "MY WHOLE LIFE IS A LIE!!!", burns all of her heinous bags and dances naked around the flames (since they have no dollar value and needy people would do better to carry around their belongings in a knotted bandanna) then knocks over a liquor store and buys a LV/Chanel/Prada/Miu Miu/I'm out of examples with the proceeds, thereby creating the best evah illustration of ends justifying the means and moral equivalency?

Did I just make up words?

If someone looked at me or my bag in a disparaging way, my assumption would be they don't like me or my bag, or they have that resting *****face syndrome we're all hearing so much about lately. That actually has never happened to me (and I lived in Dallas for 10 years, working in Oil and Gas - if there's a higher concentration of LV in this country, I'm not sure where it is, and I think it's lovely so if you like LV and want to see real-life examples, I've just provided your next vacation destination). If it did happen, I didn't notice. If anyone has ever seen me giving a bag a dirty look, that wasn't me. I'm the weird lady who will compliment your bag whether it's sewn with thread from unicorn mane or came from the discount bin's discount bin.

I LOVE IT!!!!

 

[NutsAboutCoach]

The bag I carry does say a lot about me. It says I'm feeling feisty, or I'm in a retro state of mind, or I'm using a bag that serves as my mental suit of armor when I'm having a tough day. It says I'm going to the flea market today, or I'm reminiscing about a special day when I got the bag I'm carrying. It says I'm feeling girly, or outdoorsy, or goofy, or serious.

It cannot tell you about my bank account, or my job, or socioeconomic standing. Well, you'd know (if you cared) that at some point in time I, or someone who gives me gifts, had sufficient cash or credit to buy this bag without risk of losing food or shelter.

I don't read threads like "what would you never carry?" or the like, because it can only be one thing. The statistical likelihood of reading such a thread and finding no derogatory comments about my beloved brands is 0.000001%, and I don't really see the point. I've seen some of the less-than-tactful comments (and snaps to MFF bags giving you the clap, best quote ever), here's my question: what do people who say ugly things (not just sharing opinions, there's a difference) expect to happen? That somewhere in the world, a Coach/Dooney-lover stands up and screams "MY WHOLE LIFE IS A LIE!!!", burns all of her heinous bags and dances naked around the flames (since they have no dollar value and needy people would do better to carry around their belongings in a knotted bandanna) then knocks over a liquor store and buys a LV/Chanel/Prada/Miu Miu/I'm out of examples with the proceeds, thereby creating the best evah illustration of ends justifying the means and moral equivalency?

Did I just make up words?

If someone looked at me or my bag in a disparaging way, my assumption would be they don't like me or my bag, or they have that resting *****face syndrome we're all hearing so much about lately. That actually has never happened to me (and I lived in Dallas for 10 years, working in Oil and Gas - if there's a higher concentration of LV in this country, I'm not sure where it is, and I think it's lovely so if you like LV and want to see real-life examples, I've just provided your next vacation destination). If it did happen, I didn't notice. If anyone has ever seen me giving a bag a dirty look, that wasn't me. I'm the weird lady who will compliment your bag whether it's sewn with thread from unicorn mane or came from the discount bin's discount bin.

You have an excellent way with words. Loved this post.