Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[katev]

Just finished rehab the new to me Cash era hobo bag. She was arrived in good condition. Still I gave her a dunk and followed by conditioning with leather cpr. She has a leather finish repells water and almost no color bleeding during the dunk. It is interesting the craftsmanship in the 70s might not pass today's quality control standards. For example, the hand forged dog leash clasp is stamped "Germany", but is deformed a bit at the end, the adjustable strap is hold in place by a row of tiny metal teeth biting into the leather, and left several rows of bitting marks into the leather from past use. The strap end design looks raw and not lined up completely. Still she is beautiful and perfectly imperfect.

See looks gorgeous and I am so glad that you dunked her because it is further proof that Cashin-era bags were built tough and can take it!

 

[katev]

I thought I'd share my experience getting a replacement hangtag, since I imagine some folks out there are in need of them. I had read online that you can request a brass or silver metal replacement tag from Coach, and I have done that successfully by emailing Coach. They sent me a hangtag very quickly, for free. I had also read that it's possible to drop by a Coach store and ask for a hangtag, and that they will do their best to help you by offering whatever orphaned tags they have in the back. I was a bit leery of this method, being an introvert, but I finally decided to give it a go as I was hoping for a leather tag this time.

I went by a Coach outlet store at a large outlet mall (Katy Mills Mall, for those of you in the Houston area). I wasn't sure that an outlet store would allow this, but I figured I'd try. The store was pretty empty and it was a quiet evening, so I went on ahead as I hoped I would not be bothering the staff. I was carrying the bag in question--my rehabbed vintage brown NYC Stewardess bag--and launched into the whole thing about free tags, etc. At first, the person I spoke to (turned out to be a manager) was not sure what I was asking about--she stated that they sold tags, so I might have to purchase one--but after a bit of discussion, she offered to have someone bring out their box of orphaned tags and let me pick one.

A very helpful young woman brought me the box and we went through it, looking for a nice match. She was very chatty and we discussed the greatness of vintage Coach bags. After a few minutes I selected a tag that was a good match for the color (I think it is tabac, she said it might be mahogany). I know it's not the original vintage type tag and the metal grommet is silver and not brass, but it looks pretty nice! She even gave me a bit of chain to attach it. The box held quite a few tags of different colors and styles, mostly black and brown.

So I can report that my attempt to replace the hangtag on my vintage bag was a success. If you need a tag and don't want the brass or silver one Coach will send you (they are really shiny and nice, but heavy), give a brick and mortar store a try. Even an outlet may have some tags to pick from. It may take a little explanation, but in the end it's worth it.

Anyway, I may share some photos of the rehabbed bag, it's not as amazing as the rehabs you all share here, but it is much improved over its sad state when I bought it. And I do enjoy carrying it.

Thanks for sharing and I would love to see your Stewardess rehab!

 

[LunaSilver]

See looks gorgeous and I am so glad that you dunked her because it is further proof that Cashin-era bags were built tough and can take it!

I have you to thank for. If not for your post about rehabing your mini shopper, I'd never dare to put any of those Mexican strip lined bags into water.

 

[Catbird9]

Here are the two basic bags I got authenticated last week, after baths and conditioning. Does anyone know what colors they are? The darker one has the glued-in tag and the lighter one has the eight digit number with no dash.

I think the darker one could be Mocha or Tabac. I think the lighter one is British Tan.

Early 1980s colors (for your bag with the glued-in serial number):

 

[whateve]

Thanks for the positive feedback!! it was my first rehab . Here is the creed... If anyone knows the color that would be fantastic. The listing said taupe but she is definitely a brown.. not chocolate or mahogany though.

I think it is most likely mahogany. Taupe was also a 1996 color but not necessarily made in all styles. The sample color swatches I have don't show much difference between taupe and mahogany, and pictures of mahogany bags look lighter than your picture.

 

[Catbird9]

Thanks for the positive feedback!! it was my first rehab . Here is the creed... If anyone knows the color that would be fantastic. The listing said taupe but she is definitely a brown.. not chocolate or mahogany though.

I can't quite read the year number. It's either a 6 or an 8.

Taupe and Mahogany were both color choices in 1996. They are very close, and probably the only way to tell the difference would be to see them together in real life.

1996 Classic colors:



By 1997, Taupe seems to have been dropped and the only dark brown was Mahogany (as far as I can tell; someone else may have more information).

ETA: posted before I saw @whateve's post!

 

[whateve]

I thought I'd share my experience getting a replacement hangtag, since I imagine some folks out there are in need of them. I had read online that you can request a brass or silver metal replacement tag from Coach, and I have done that successfully by emailing Coach. They sent me a hangtag very quickly, for free. I had also read that it's possible to drop by a Coach store and ask for a hangtag, and that they will do their best to help you by offering whatever orphaned tags they have in the back. I was a bit leery of this method, being an introvert, but I finally decided to give it a go as I was hoping for a leather tag this time.

I went by a Coach outlet store at a large outlet mall (Katy Mills Mall, for those of you in the Houston area). I wasn't sure that an outlet store would allow this, but I figured I'd try. The store was pretty empty and it was a quiet evening, so I went on ahead as I hoped I would not be bothering the staff. I was carrying the bag in question--my rehabbed vintage brown NYC Stewardess bag--and launched into the whole thing about free tags, etc. At first, the person I spoke to (turned out to be a manager) was not sure what I was asking about--she stated that they sold tags, so I might have to purchase one--but after a bit of discussion, she offered to have someone bring out their box of orphaned tags and let me pick one.

A very helpful young woman brought me the box and we went through it, looking for a nice match. She was very chatty and we discussed the greatness of vintage Coach bags. After a few minutes I selected a tag that was a good match for the color (I think it is tabac, she said it might be mahogany). I know it's not the original vintage type tag and the metal grommet is silver and not brass, but it looks pretty nice! She even gave me a bit of chain to attach it. The box held quite a few tags of different colors and styles, mostly black and brown.

So I can report that my attempt to replace the hangtag on my vintage bag was a success. If you need a tag and don't want the brass or silver one Coach will send you (they are really shiny and nice, but heavy), give a brick and mortar store a try. Even an outlet may have some tags to pick from. It may take a little explanation, but in the end it's worth it.

Anyway, I may share some photos of the rehabbed bag, it's not as amazing as the rehabs you all share here, but it is much improved over its sad state when I bought it. And I do enjoy carrying it.

That's great! I've had better luck having them bring out that bucket of hangtags in an outlet than in a boutique. The first time I asked the outlet had only been open 6 weeks, yet they had a huge collection of orphaned tags. I haven't asked in years so I don't know if things have changed. I do spend money in Coach stores so I think that helps.

 

[ansrue]

THanks everyone! I think it is taupe . . appreciate it!

 

[meepabeep]

My outlet has given me tags too, even if I don't have the bag with me. They bring out several to choose from (not a basket, a few at a time), and let me keep them all. I just got one the other day, for my bone 1994 Small Zippered Pouch. Not a perfect match, but close enough for me.

 

[Morgan_Bellini]

Today is red bag rehab day!
One of these Station bags is going to end up on eBay but I can't decide which one. The darker red one is a NYC bag but I like the bright cherry red of the pre-1994 one. They're both in great shape. The NYC Station has really dense leather. It feels like it's been carried quite a bit and has absorbed decades of hand oils. Sounds a little nasty, but I can't think of any other way to describe it. Even the suede is worn almost smooth in some places. I like how it feels, I hope dunking it doesn't drastically change it.

 

[Narnanz]

Today is red bag rehab day!
One of these Station bags is going to end up on eBay but I can't decide which one. The darker red one is a NYC bag but I like the bright cherry red of the pre-1994 one. They're both in great shape. The NYC Station has really dense leather. It feels like it's been carried quite a bit and has absorbed decades of hand oils. Sounds a little nasty, but I can't think of any other way to describe it. Even the suede is worn almost smooth in some places. I like how it feels, I hope dunking it doesn't drastically change it.
View attachment 4643033

Lovely variations of red....what a hard choice to make.

 

[WishingonaCoach]

Katev gave good suggestion on this, if you can pull the lining out of the bag, then wash it with Down dish detergent and water may get the stain out, brush the lining gently with a soft tooth brush. I washed two BC stripe lined bags, the lining both came out ok.

Thanks for replying.
I can not pull the liner out in this bag. I do not believe they are stains, because the one it had at first it came out very easily with the water and Soilove. It looks like is coming from in between the two pieces of fabric that make the pocket.
I am still trying (very carefully) other cleaners.

 

[Morgan_Bellini]

Lovely variations of red....what a hard choice to make.

Yeah, I'm not sure which one to keep. I will most likely keep the NYC one because it's NYC and the other bag is in slightly better condition. It might be easier to sell. The hoarder in me says to keep both but my goal is to slim down my collection this year. There are 2 more bags on ebay that I'm going to bid on and then I'm done until I sell at least 20 bags.

 

[valv54]

Today is red bag rehab day!
One of these Station bags is going to end up on eBay but I can't decide which one. The darker red one is a NYC bag but I like the bright cherry red of the pre-1994 one. They're both in great shape. The NYC Station has really dense leather. It feels like it's been carried quite a bit and has absorbed decades of hand oils. Sounds a little nasty, but I can't think of any other way to describe it. Even the suede is worn almost smooth in some places. I like how it feels, I hope dunking it doesn't drastically change it.
View attachment 4643033[/QUO
I like the bright red one better. I know it sounds blasphemous, but I sold off all my NYC bags. you could sell that nyc station as is, and someone would buy it.

 

[valv54]

Today is red bag rehab day!
One of these Station bags is going to end up on eBay but I can't decide which one. The darker red one is a NYC bag but I like the bright cherry red of the pre-1994 one. They're both in great shape. The NYC Station has really dense leather. It feels like it's been carried quite a bit and has absorbed decades of hand oils. Sounds a little nasty, but I can't think of any other way to describe it. Even the suede is worn almost smooth in some places. I like how it feels, I hope dunking it doesn't drastically change it.
View attachment 4643033

I like the bright red one better, its hard to find that nice cherry color, and its in great condition. I know it sounds blasphemous, but I sold off all my Nyc bags. You could sell the NYC station as is, no problem. JMO.