Coach made in Italy?
- Thread starter uhkiwi
- Start date
I think the bags made in Italy are all part of the Madison Collection. Not sure when they were made, but 1999 wouldn't surprise me. I recently acquired a Madison Copley bag (looks like a Kelly bag), and it says it was handcrafted in Italy on the creed. It came with a care card that looked positively ancient but had no copyright stamp so I couldn't glean a time frame from it. Not sure when the seller bought it, though I'd say 10 years ago wouldn't be out of the question. Your Pew Pearl Clutch has the same kind of dustbag my Copley came with, so I think it's probably also from the Madison collection. The dustbags are softer and thicker, higher quality flannel. Very chi-chi stuff.
That clutch is beautiful!
That clutch is beautiful!
I just came across this post today, and in case others are interested in the future...here's the scoop: Coach Madison bags were produced in Italy in the 1990's. Each bag was named after a prominent New York location. It's a special, expensive leather that is processed to 'maintain a new look over time'. Further, the hardware is different than on any other type of Coach bag; it's a really pretty brushed brass, in an oblong shape. The inside is done in either a Faille Jacquard Lining, or an Ivory Leather Lined interior (looks like nappa leather). Hope this helps!
according to the gift receipt I found, this was purchased on 12/19/99 !it is the PEW PEARL CLUTCH--does that mean anything to anyone? for $198
That is a gorgeous clutch - it's a classic style and something you could use forever!
Great information from Ellaerese on the Madison line. The one in Grayxie's pic looks like a Bilmore, style number 4417. The Madisons and the Gramercys a few years later were classic dressy styles and each line had several "Kelly"-style bags like the Biltmore. The Madisons had a round fine-grained pebbled leather similar to caviar leather, and the Gramercy leather had a texture similar to linen. Madison turnlocks were elongated ovals with pointy ends and Gramercys usually had rectangular turnlocks - here's a Gramercy:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Coach-Gramercy-...ryZ63852QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem
Besides those, Coach also made other bags in Italy (although any bag you see with a paper "Coach Italy" tag is fake). In the mid 90s they made the stiffer pebbled leather Sheridans that resembled Dooney's All-Weather leather and usually were a Spectator-style two-tone and had taupe fabric linings, a very similar line right before that with no linings which were all Italian-made as far as I know, and the Sonoma line also from the mid-90s with VERY squishy-soft larger-grain pebbled leather and a black-on-black shadow stripe fabric lining. The Sheridans and Sonomas were also made in the US and in Costa Rica. There was also a line called the Bridle bags that were usually made of calfskin and pigskin and were very simple classically Italian designs. Usually you can find a few examples of each line if you search Ebay.
A few Limited and Special Edition bags also were made in Italy in the early 2000s but except for maybe one or two of the really expensive exotic leather bags I think they've stopped making them there. This is one of the last Italian-made bags:
http://www.coach.com/assets/product_images/drilldown2/9497_d2.jpg
http://cgi.ebay.com/Coach-Gramercy-...ryZ63852QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem
Besides those, Coach also made other bags in Italy (although any bag you see with a paper "Coach Italy" tag is fake). In the mid 90s they made the stiffer pebbled leather Sheridans that resembled Dooney's All-Weather leather and usually were a Spectator-style two-tone and had taupe fabric linings, a very similar line right before that with no linings which were all Italian-made as far as I know, and the Sonoma line also from the mid-90s with VERY squishy-soft larger-grain pebbled leather and a black-on-black shadow stripe fabric lining. The Sheridans and Sonomas were also made in the US and in Costa Rica. There was also a line called the Bridle bags that were usually made of calfskin and pigskin and were very simple classically Italian designs. Usually you can find a few examples of each line if you search Ebay.
A few Limited and Special Edition bags also were made in Italy in the early 2000s but except for maybe one or two of the really expensive exotic leather bags I think they've stopped making them there. This is one of the last Italian-made bags:
http://www.coach.com/assets/product_images/drilldown2/9497_d2.jpg
Last edited:
I remember the special editions in the early 2000's, they looked great in print but when I saw them in person I was really unimpressed especially with the hefty price tag.
Hyacinth is correct (like usual) about the style number of my bag, I checked the receipt and I purchased it in Sept. of 1997.
Hyacinth is correct (like usual) about the style number of my bag, I checked the receipt and I purchased it in Sept. of 1997.
