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#7,249
Oli2259 said:
Thanks! I'm sure that it looks really nice in brown. Now I really want to fine one of the bags designed by Lillian Cahn... But the info on them is soo hard to find..
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It's really difficult to know which ones were Lillian Cahn and which ones were Bonnie Cashin. Cahn's bags would probably be less embellished, with fewer pockets and less hardware. The only bag I have heard attributed to her is a shopping bag that was like the paper bags she delivered noodles in, but I'm not sure what it is supposed to look like. At one time I thought it was like this one:bonnie shopping bag026.jpg but it has the striped lining that is associated with Bonnie Cashin.
 
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#7,250
whateve said:
It's really difficult to know which ones were Lillian Cahn and which ones were Bonnie Cashin. Cahn's bags would probably be less embellished, with fewer pockets and less hardware. The only bag I have heard attributed to her is a shopping bag that was like the paper bags she delivered noodles in, but I'm not sure what it is supposed to look like. At one time I thought it was like this one:View attachment 3592577 but it has the striped lining that is associated with Bonnie Cashin.
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I Know! All the information that can be found is always talking about the noodles delivering inspired bag... I wonder if Joel Dinerstein's Coach: A Story Of New York Cool would have some info on the subject...
 
#7,251
Oli2259 said:
Thanks! I'm sure that it looks really nice in brown. Now I really want to fine one of the bags designed by Lillian Cahn... But the info on them is soo hard to find..
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"...designed by Lillian Cahn..."? You've piqued my curiosity....

I'm wondering if you've any documentation, beyond the myths, revisionism, and stories that have been offered and promoted over the years, as to which designs were attributable to the Cahns versus those assigned to Bonnie Cashin. I've yet to come across anything definitive other than some quotes sourced to after the Cahns and Cashin separated. All the evidence I've seen (such as the April 25, 2011 New Yorker article that quotes Miles Cahn's as saying that Cashin "designed some very expensive bags, and they really didn't sell." or the fact that the COACH metal tags were removed from the bags that Cashin retained in her personal archives) suggests that the parting of the ways was probably less than amicable. So subsequent accounts may invite some examination when mining for the truth.

I believe that all the very early COACH bags, including the unlined Shopping Bag series, carried a white fabric tag whose gold thread embroidery spelled out "A BONNIE CASHIN DESIGN Cashin-Carry for COACH." So unless this was a marketing decision to exploit Cashin's reputation, it casts a shadow on whether these originated with Lillian Cahn. Subsequent COACH bags (up through the mid to late 1960s) were identified with both a metal "Bonnie Cashin" tag plus red fabric labels whose white lettering spelled out "COACH LEATHERWARE A BONNIE CASHIN DESIGN." So again, it asks the question: would Bonnie Cashin take credit for someone else's design? I suspect that she wouldn't insofar as: (a) she was commonly known to be a independent contractor during her long career as a designer, and (b) her contractual arrangements typically had her retaining the rights to her design work.

If I had to guess, I suspect that one of the first "Cahn" designs (whether Miles' or Lillian's) may have been the Classic Pouch since it was the bag that later COACH adverts referred to as "The Original Coach Bag." Admittedly, that particular style shares quite a bit with the Large Courier Pouch, but if you look at the designs that emerged towards the end of the era where bags were identified using a COACH metal tag (late 1960s to 1971 or so), a number of them (Classic Pouch, Small Pouch, Convertible Clutch, early Dinky, etc) were simple to construct and could not be directly traced to a known Cashin precedent.

So if you know of or have anything that definitively separates the Cashin from the Cahn (or other designers who were added to the COACH staff during that period), please do share it. I'm sure that others on this forum would love to see it.
 
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#7,253
Sorry, but I don't have a name for this particular style. It appears to be an evolution from an earlier hobo hand/arm bag (photos below). As for the straps, I've seen photos of others from the same era with the diagonal cut on one end (side with a single hole) though I've never owned one. So it wouldn't surprise me if that was part of the design even if I'm puzzled as to how it was intended to be carried (overarm sling?). I'll go hunt and see if I retained any of those photos in my files.Black Hobo front.jpg Black Hobo back.jpg Black Hobo interior.jpg Black Hobo bottom.jpg
 
#7,254
RL Bernstein said:
Sorry, but I don't have a name for this particular style. It appears to be an evolution from an earlier hobo hand/arm bag (photos below). As for the straps, I've seen photos of others from the same era with the diagonal cut on one end (side with a single hole) though I've never owned one. So it wouldn't surprise me if that was part of the design even if I'm puzzled as to how it was intended to be carried (overarm sling?). I'll go hunt and see if I retained any of those photos in my files.View attachment 3594621 View attachment 3594622 View attachment 3594623 View attachment 3594624
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Thank you!
 
#7,255
Catbird9 said:
Anyone know what this style was called (if it had a name)?:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Vintag...679094?hash=item2cb9cb7276:g:pPwAAOSwTglYlN3Y
Too bad about the straps.
(Not my listing.)
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Wouldn't it make more sense to attach the straps differently - like one on the front and the other on the back, except then you would have that cut end showing? I bet the cut end is meant to end up inside the bag somehow. I'd love to play with those straps to see if I could set up someway that would make sense. I'm pretty sure they aren't correct the way they are in the listing.
 
#7,256
whateve said:
Wouldn't it make more sense to attach the straps differently - like one on the front and the other on the back, except then you would have that cut end showing? I bet the cut end is meant to end up inside the bag somehow. I'd love to play with those straps to see if I could set up someway that would make sense. I'm pretty sure they aren't correct the way they are in the listing.
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I was thinking the same thing!
 
#7,259
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