Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

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#24,061
nursebetty said:
Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone has ever kept/used a fake Coach bag?

I won an ebay auction for a poorly listed Court bag without creed pics, that I bid on in the last few minutes of the listing ( so I didn't authenticate). I took the risk as it was a VERY cheap bag with reasonable shipping ( I live outside of the U.S.) I am getting more involved in vintage bag collecting and restoration and repair for my own use, and thought at least if the bag was fake I wouldn't feel bad about using it as a guinea pig for testing leather products, trying some stitching or even harvesting parts - things I would stress about with a real bag. ( I don't know if the bag is fake, but now that I look at the photos more carefully, I am a bit suspicious).

Has anyone here ever experimented on a Foach? Used fake parts on genuine bags? If I were to donate the bag to Goodwill at some point, can I cut out the leather cartouche/ remove the fake hang-tag and do so? I know if the bag is fake I can return to seller, but I might not bother if the bag is leather and actually can be used - just not passed off as a genuine item.

Thanks so much!
Click to expand...
Experimenting on it won't do you much good because the leather isn't the same as the leather on a real Coach. Sometimes you can use the hardware or strap but you'll know they aren't authentic parts. If you were to donate, just remove anything that says Coach. If I bought one on ebay, I would hold the seller accountable. At least ask for a refund.

If you ask on the authenticate thread, we might be able to give you some guidance without seeing the creed. It would be better to cancel the sale before shipment.
 
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#24,062
Thanks for your reply, whateve. I didn't think about the leather difference. I guess I'll see if I get lucky with a real bag and if not decide what to do next. For the price, it would be useful for me to have a strap ( even a fake one) that matches another bag.

My big plan - that I have been too chicken to try so far - is to teach myself how to add either leather or suede panels to bags, or inset patterns. I have a bit of experience with leather bookbinding, and have made a suede cover for a hand-bound book that featured an inlaid pattern on the cover. However the sewing was minimal, as the cover is reinforced with a board so you use leather glue on the inlay pieces to set in place and stitch for extra stability or cosmetic reasons.

It would be interesting to see the difference in fake/genuine Coach leather from a stitching standpoint. If the qualities are similar it might be valuable to be able to remove a stained panel, for example, and replace just that part with another leather... but that's a spicy meatball of a project. lol. My closet is full of projects with 'potential'.


ETA: the bag has already shipped
 
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#24,063
Thanks for your reply, whateve. I didn't think about the leather difference. I guess I'll see if I get lucky with a real bag and if not decide what to do next. For the price, it would be useful for me to have a strap ( even a fake one) that matches another bag.

My big plan - that I have been too chicken to try so far - is to teach myself how to add either leather or suede panels to bags, or inset patterns. I have a bit of experience with leather bookbinding, and have made a suede cover for a hand-bound book that featured an inlaid pattern on the cover. However the sewing was minimal, as the cover is reinforced with a board so you use leather glue on the inlay pieces to set in place and stitch for extra stability or cosmetic reasons.

It would be interesting to see the difference in fake/genuine Coach leather from a stitching standpoint. If the qualities are similar it might be valuable to be able to remove a stained panel, for example, and replace just that part with another leather... but that's a spicy meatball of a project. lol. My closet is full of projects with 'potential'.
 
#24,064
nursebetty said:
Thanks for your reply, whateve. I didn't think about the leather difference. I guess I'll see if I get lucky with a real bag and if not decide what to do next. For the price, it would be useful for me to have a strap ( even a fake one) that matches another bag.

My big plan - that I have been too chicken to try so far - is to teach myself how to add either leather or suede panels to bags, or inset patterns. I have a bit of experience with leather bookbinding, and have made a suede cover for a hand-bound book that featured an inlaid pattern on the cover. However the sewing was minimal, as the cover is reinforced with a board so you use leather glue on the inlay pieces to set in place and stitch for extra stability or cosmetic reasons.

It would be interesting to see the difference in fake/genuine Coach leather from a stitching standpoint. If the qualities are similar it might be valuable to be able to remove a stained panel, for example, and replace just that part with another leather... but that's a spicy meatball of a project. lol. My closet is full of projects with 'potential'.
Click to expand...
I would imagine it wouldn't be that different from a stitching standpoint. I think you would want to punch holes before sewing. That sounds exciting! I'd love to see what you do. I admire your ambition.
 
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#24,065
nursebetty said:
Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone has ever kept/used a fake Coach bag?

I won an ebay auction for a poorly listed Court bag without creed pics, that I bid on in the last few minutes of the listing ( so I didn't authenticate). I took the risk as it was a VERY cheap bag with reasonable shipping ( I live outside of the U.S.) I am getting more involved in vintage bag collecting and restoration and repair for my own use, and thought at least if the bag was fake I wouldn't feel bad about using it as a guinea pig for testing leather products, trying some stitching or even harvesting parts - things I would stress about with a real bag. ( I don't know if the bag is fake, but now that I look at the photos more carefully, I am a bit suspicious).

Has anyone here ever experimented on a Foach? Used fake parts on genuine bags? If I were to donate the bag to Goodwill at some point, can I cut out the leather cartouche/ remove the fake hang-tag and do so? I know if the bag is fake I can return to seller, but I might not bother if the bag is leather and actually can be used - just not passed off as a genuine item.

Thanks so much!
Click to expand...
So far I've only gotten one and it felt so cheap and gross that I never even considered using it.
 
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#24,066
Has anyone used Coach's leather moisturizer? I know the salespeople aren't always the most knowledgeable but I did ask them about a classic bag and what to treat it with and they had to go get a girl who seemed to know at least something about classic bags and she recommended their leather moisturizer over their cleaner or other products on their counter. So I got the moisturizer and applied it to my british tans. It seemed to help a little bit by evening out the tones on two bags, but on one, the leather is pretty faded and the portion under the flap is definitely the original shade and the outer parts are lighter, even after a couple of applications of the moisturizer. Am I using the wrong product on that bag (do i need a heavier duty cream to really get the lighter leather back to original shade) or is leather fade on tans a lost cause? I didn't dunk any of them and would prefer not to if I can get away with it.
 
#24,067
artax two said:
Has anyone used Coach's leather moisturizer? I know the salespeople aren't always the most knowledgeable but I did ask them about a classic bag and what to treat it with and they had to go get a girl who seemed to know at least something about classic bags and she recommended their leather moisturizer over their cleaner or other products on their counter. So I got the moisturizer and applied it to my british tans. It seemed to help a little bit by evening out the tones on two bags, but on one, the leather is pretty faded and the portion under the flap is definitely the original shade and the outer parts are lighter, even after a couple of applications of the moisturizer. Am I using the wrong product on that bag (do i need a heavier duty cream to really get the lighter leather back to original shade) or is leather fade on tans a lost cause? I didn't dunk any of them and would prefer not to if I can get away with it.
Click to expand...
There are much better conditions available in my opinion.
 
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#24,074
I finished my black Willis, technically not vintage till next year. This bag turned out beautiful after a bath, four applications of CPR, and Black Rocks. Look at the leather shine!
Last one is a before pic. Already shiny but so much color loss that was fixed nicely.
 

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