The coach Parker

[indiaink]

Love that the lining "looks like" suede - alcantara is a wonderful suede-like lining used by many of the fashion houses; I'm most recently familiar with it in Max Mara's "Whitney" bag.

Very pretty bag, and good luck making a decision on which to keep - Coach leather is pretty easy to keep clean (DH has a chalk Coach x Keith Haring barking dog wallet) that so far we just wipe clean with a damp towel...

 

[vivianyan]

Thanks for the close ups of the chain comparisons!!

I have a Python embossed Crosby in Chalk and I think it is more yellow white than the soft white when I got it 2 years ago. I don't know if it's something to do with the type of leather that white color is used on, but it's one reason I am hesitant to get the chalk colored quilting for Grace or Parker. I wear beige and pastels a lot, but I'd be afraid that I wouldn't be able to use this bag for summer events because of the hot weather and potential for sweat or clothing to discolor it.

Thank you for your input about the Chalk color. maybe you are right. I have a Chalk tearose Rogue 25, the smooth leather around the zipper seems to become a little yellow-ish off white, not sure it originally came like that or changed later. I have it for several months now, I even never carried it once.

After all I made my decision to keep the black. I have 3 white color bags, and I noticed that I tend to not use them that much. I've had 5 black coach bags but I never get bored with them and I rotate between my black bags a lot. I don mind add one more.

 

[vivianyan]

I just took the black Parker to work with me today. Now I understand why they made the chain thinner. The wholes that chain goes through are limited size, if the chain is made the same thicknesses as the 1941 bags, the wholes had to be larger and will look odd.

 

[Pink Chanel Frosting]

This bag is gorgeous! I love that it's kind of Chanel inspired but totally its own bag. I like to wait awhile before buying a bag to see how badly I want it, but I could see this being my first Coach bag.

 

[donutsprinkles]

I was doing some Fashionphile browsing and discovered YSL also released a silver stud rivets over black chevron leather (their Monogram College style). Basically everything is still all about rivets, embellishments and whatnot. I'm here for it!
The Coach Parker is just a bit more sweet and "gentle" because of the lack of sharp angles in the flap or quilting pattern.

 

[elisabettaverde]

@vivianyan
Glad I'm not the only one tired of the "Western" theme. This little Parker is just the right blend of sophistication and fun and your choice is lovely. I don't think Chanel always has to have the sole rights to chains and quilting, and I love these particular elements done well in any designer. You're right about it being a better alternative to the Dinky size-wise. I just bought the tearose Dinky during a flash sale at Bloomingdale's and I'm just wondering how I'll get used to that small size, even if it'll be a weekend bag.

 

[vivianyan]

@vivianyan
Glad I'm not the only one tired of the "Western" theme. This little Parker is just the right blend of sophistication and fun and your choice is lovely. I don't think Chanel always has to have the sole rights to chains and quilting, and I love these particular elements done well in any designer. You're right about it being a better alternative to the Dinky size-wise. I just bought the tearose Dinky during a flash sale at Bloomingdale's and I'm just wondering how I'll get used to that small size, even if it'll be a weekend bag.

Thank you for your input.

I still admire the Chanel CF but Considering the the Chanel price increasing and quality dropping, I feel buying it today would like to be taken advantage of as an consumer.

Dinky is such a great quality bag, I can tell Coach could do better if they released Parker in 1941 collection. It's sad all the 1941 collection bags have great quality and priced low (considering the how much other fashion houses would charge for the same quality bag), but Coach still struggles to sell them in full price. Most of the seasonal color 1941 bags ended up with 50% off on sale, which dis-encourage people buying 1941 bags in full price in the future.

This might have forced the brand to either drop the quality of the bags to reduce cost of manufacturing or switch back to their old strategy as a "fast-food" fashion house to flood the market by number of the merchandise at lower price point. I hope this is not the reason that Coach decided to make Parker in non-1941 line. They really are capable to do better job if the market/consumer can backup them.

At least I will keep supporting this brand as long as they can keep their strategy of producing high quality bags and moving upwards in fashion industry.

 

[katev]

My Parker in quilted leather with rivets has finally arrived. Now I finally have my questions answered. please let me share what i found out...

Congratulations on your lovely new Parker bags and thank you for sharing the details and your insights!

I sometimes wonder about the decision-making process that Coach uses to name a new line, or re-use the name of an older line - how many times have we seen new releases of "Legacy" bags?! Sometimes the names are obvious, like "Bonnie" in homage to the great Bonnie Cashin who designed the first Coach handbags.

I've noticed that some of the lines are named after streets in NYC, like Bleecker and Mercer. I'm guessing that these streets run through the fashion district near the corporate Coach headquarters; does anyone know if that is correct?

I wonder where the name "Parker" came from, any ideas? I am curious because my very first Coach bag was an op-art, signature Parker Hippie 13420 in khaki and sand with rosegold hardware. Most of my later bags are leather, but this one started my love affair with Coach bags. I still reach for it whenever I want to carry a light-weight, hands-free, medium-sized, and comfortable bag. Here is a picture of it on the train during a trip into the city for an adventure!

 

[donutsprinkles]

I appreciate that Coach is trying to create bags for the various and diverse customers they have, but I don't think I'm ready for them to have more 1941 bags than NY ones, if only because my wallet can't handle it. hahaha! I buy Coach because the designs fit my aesthetic, budget and lifestyle. If the 1941 bags get anymore expensive, and the designs in CNY are reduced in favor of 1941, then I'll probably only buy on the second hand market or go back to something more affordable.
Chloe and Valentino are trying to do the same thing as Coach and Michael Kors, just in reverse. The goal is to have something for everyone, but I wonder how long that's truly sustainable, as to be honest I don't really think that approach for bags is highly lucrative for Ralph Lauren, or maybe it is? I live in middle America where cost of living is not very high, so $400-$500 for a CNY bag is certainly luxurious in every sense. $700-1500 is just not an option.

 

[vivianyan]

I appreciate that Coach is trying to create bags for the various and diverse customers they have, but I don't think I'm ready for them to have more 1941 bags than NY ones, if only because my wallet can't handle it. hahaha! I buy Coach because the designs fit my aesthetic, budget and lifestyle. If the 1941 bags get anymore expensive, and the designs in CNY are reduced in favor of 1941, then I'll probably only buy on the second hand market or go back to something more affordable.
Chloe and Valentino are trying to do the same thing as Coach and Michael Kors, just in reverse. The goal is to have something for everyone, but I wonder how long that's truly sustainable, as to be honest I don't really think that approach for bags is highly lucrative for Ralph Lauren, or maybe it is? I live in middle America where cost of living is not very high, so $400-$500 for a CNY bag is certainly luxurious in every sense. $700-1500 is just not an option.

I certainly don't want to coach raises their price either, like the other fashion houses does which made me sick.
I simply don't want Coach to trade off their quality because the higher quality bags can't sell. Me neither does'n want to spend over 1000 on a purse. Be honestly Coach 1941 bags are the only thing that I can find in the market with superb quality (the leather the stitching and the lining) that priced under $1000. If the bags are sold by other fashion houses, it could easily be priced around $2000.

back to Parker, I found some pictures on Instagram, maybe these are 1941 line? I'm not ready to carry their signature monogram yet though, I hope it's the other way around (quilted leather in 1941 line, and monogram in normal Coach NY line)

 

[donutsprinkles]

back to Parker, I found some pictures on Instagram, maybe these are 1941 line? I'm not ready to carry their signature monogram yet though, I hope it's the other way around (quilted leather in 1941 line, and monogram in normal Coach NY line)

I agree, don't particularly like that monogram on Parker. Maybe they're a limited edition Parker? Similar to some of those limited edition kisslock crossbody bags that came out last year? If they made a 1941 Parker, besides thicker chains, what would you like?

I think it'd be neat if they did a thick chain and thick leather strap like in the Swagger shoulder bags.

By the way, does the bottom of the Parker sag with your stuff in it or is it fairly stiff?

 

[Hobbsy]

I certainly don't want to coach raises their price either, like the other fashion houses does which made me sick.
I simply don't want Coach to trade off their quality because the higher quality bags can't sell. Me neither does'n want to spend over 1000 on a purse. Be honestly Coach 1941 bags are the only thing that I can find in the market with superb quality (the leather the stitching and the lining) that priced under $1000. If the bags are sold by other fashion houses, it could easily be priced around $2000.

back to Parker, I found some pictures on Instagram, maybe these are 1941 line? I'm not ready to carry their signature monogram yet though, I hope it's the other way around (quilted leather in 1941 line, and monogram in normal Coach NY line)

I love this bag. I'm not a signature gal, only have leather from Coach, but for some reason the signature works on this, for me anyway!

 

[vivianyan]

I agree, don't particularly like that monogram on Parker. Maybe they're a limited edition Parker? Similar to some of those limited edition kisslock crossbody bags that came out last year? If they made a 1941 Parker, besides thicker chains, what would you like?

I think it'd be neat if they did a thick chain and thick leather strap like in the Swagger shoulder bags.

By the way, does the bottom of the Parker sag with your stuff in it or is it fairly stiff?

I am sure this won't be a limited edition as it's on the big campaign.
If they make 1941 Parker, I am expecting : thicker chains (in brass hardware as my preference), Interior: smooth leather lining, Exterior: glovetanned leather (quilted glovetanned Nappa leather as my preference) , stronger structure on the flap.

my Parker bag doesn't sag on the bottom, the structure on the bottom seems strong enough to hold the shape, but not the same story on the flap. when the bag is fully loaded, the flap discovers a pointy shape on the top rather than the nice curve. when wearing it as cross-body, the hardware where the shorter side of the chains go through seem to be squeezed towards center a little bit. that's the only unsatisfactory point to me with this bag. adding more structure on the flap (especially where goes to curve) can make this bag hold the shape better.

 

[vivianyan]

I love this bag. I'm not a signature gal, only have leather from Coach, but for some reason the signature works on this, for me anyway!

Yes, the signature on this bag doesn't look bad. I am not complete negative for this signature parker yet, I will have to see it in person and decide.

 

[pbnjam]

Anyone have mod pics for the parker bag? I wonder how it looks as a crossbody.