Your new Coach: a mini-reveal thread!

[Hyacinth]

Back then, I don't recall anyone changing bags, at least among the people I knew. So most people carried basic colors that went with everything. When I bought Coach, I always chose something in the brown family, possibly British tan, because in my mind, that was the color leather was supposed to be. The leather they used was so gorgeous, it was prettier in "leather" colors where you could notice the grain.

And "back then" at least for me, before I was working full time and making my own buying decisions, it was my Mom who bought and paid for the bags, and a mother who had survived the Great Depression believed that a girl only needed 2 purses, a larger brown or black one for school and a smaller one, black (or if she found one on sale, a white or beige one) for church. To this day I'm absolutely sure that's why I can't even force myself to carry a brown or black purse. If I'm paying for it, it had better be in Technicolor!

 

[K.E.W.]

And "back then" at least for me, before I was working full time and making my own buying decisions, it was my Mom who bought and paid for the bags, and a mother who had survived the Great Depression believed that a girl only needed 2 purses, a larger brown or black one for school and a smaller one, black (or if she found one on sale, a white or beige one) for church. To this day I'm absolutely sure that's why I can't even force myself to carry a brown or black purse. If I'm paying for it, it had better be in Technicolor!

Btw, would you happen to know what the specs were for this style? It's soooo cute -- but it 'feels' Dinkyish from this photo (no way to scale it).

 

[K.E.W.]

Don't forget - Bonnie Cashin was designing for Coach long before Betsey Johnson came around. And no one ever accused Cashin of being color-shy! Maybe after Cashin parted ways with Coach in 1974, the Coach Powers That Be decided to play it safe and go back to the ultra-conservative design ethos.

Frome the 1960s and early 70s:
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My wallet is very grateful that these are not a current option -- it reminds me of that 'lunch pail' shape, or at least the silhouette -- I don't see the short top handle. There's your 'Technicolor'!

Sorry, forgot pic -- here it is.

 

[whateve]

My wallet is very grateful that these are not a current option -- it reminds me of that 'lunch pail' shape, or at least the silhouette -- I don't see the short top handle. There's your 'Technicolor'!

Sorry, forgot pic -- here it is.

I have one of these except it is all one color. It is called a mini safari. There are some pictures of these and other Bonnie Cashin bags in the Reference Library: https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/post-your-vintage-classic-pieces-here.292004/ Coach made a version of these a few years ago. It was called the Cady and was made in prints. IMO, it wasn't as cute as the originals.

Bonnie Cashin made a larger version that I wish I could find.

I have a two tone reissue of a Bonnie Cashin design from the early 90s.

 

[elvisfan4life]

Ladies I am loving this history of coach far better than any history book - why was I born in the wrong country in the wrong decade??.

 

[Hyacinth]

Ladies I am loving this history of coach far better than any history book - why was I born in the wrong country in the wrong decade??.

If memory serves, you're in the UK? If you want to talk about great countries and decades for fashion you can't do any better than Britain in the Swingin' Sixties. We got the watered-down versions of Mary Quant and Carnaby Street fashions in the US, and almost everyone used Yardley's London Look makeup and nail "varnish" (Twiggy eyes and white lipstick!) but I would have sold my soul to have been living in London during that time instead of Chicago. What an amazing time and place for fashion as well as music.

 

[K.E.W.]

If memory serves, you're in the UK? If you want to talk about great countries and decades for fashion you can't do any better than Britain in the Swingin' Sixties. We got the watered-down versions of Mary Quant and Carnaby Street fashions in the US, and almost everyone used Yardley's London Look makeup and nail "varnish" (Twiggy eyes and white lipstick!) but I would have sold my soul to have been living in London during that time instead of Chicago. What an amazing time and place for fashion as well as music.

YES!! Omg, that brings back such memories!!

I can just 'smell' those Yardley fruity scented lip smacker/lipstick tubes in their colorful 'tinny' containers! Couldnt they be worn like a lanyard, around the neck? And those white 'Go Go' boots! Those 'bell bottoms' days were TDF at the time, but when they resurfaced later on in the fashion world, I found them repulsive...I'm not sure if I never truly liked them and wore them under teenage peer pressure, or if I resented what was once so unique to our Hippie generation was now 'cool' for the younger generation, lol!

And how about Bonne Bell makeup -- or was that right BEFORE the Swinger** Sixties trend? I think they pushed Bonne Bell products in what was called 'charm school'...where you spent a day with your pre-teen BFF, learning how to 'walk' like a young lady?! Now I want to do some googling, haha!

EDIT -- ** Note in the Swingin' Sixties, our youthful generation were nicknamed 'Swingers' -- not to be mistaken for the subsequent definition of a 'Swinger'...

 

[K.E.W.]

Ladies I am loving this history of coach far better than any history book - why was I born in the wrong country in the wrong decade??.

Isn't it fabulous?!

 

[K.E.W.]

I have one of these except it is all one color. It is called a mini safari. There are some pictures of these and other Bonnie Cashin bags in the Reference Library: https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/post-your-vintage-classic-pieces-here.292004/ Coach made a version of these a few years ago. It was called the Cady and was made in prints. IMO, it wasn't as cute as the originals.

Bonnie Cashin made a larger version that I wish I could find.

I have a two tone reissue of a Bonnie Cashin design from the early 90s.

Your entire vintage collection sounds so amazing! Thx for the suggested link, too.

 

[Hobbsy]

If memory serves, you're in the UK? If you want to talk about great countries and decades for fashion you can't do any better than Britain in the Swingin' Sixties. We got the watered-down versions of Mary Quant and Carnaby Street fashions in the US, and almost everyone used Yardley's London Look makeup and nail "varnish" (Twiggy eyes and white lipstick!) but I would have sold my soul to have been living in London during that time instead of Chicago. What an amazing time and place for fashion as well as music.

I'd love to live in London right now!

 

[whateve]

YES!! Omg, that brings back such memories!!

I can just 'smell' those Yardley fruity scented lip smacker/lipstick tubes in their colorful 'tinny' containers! Couldnt they be worn like a lanyard, around the neck? And those white 'Go Go' boots! Those 'bell bottoms' days were TDF at the time, but when they resurfaced later on in the fashion world, I found them repulsive...I'm not sure if I never truly liked them and wore them under teenage peer pressure, or if I resented what was once so unique to our Hippie generation was now 'cool' for the younger generation, lol!

And how about Bonne Bell makeup -- or was that right BEFORE the Swinger** Sixties trend? I think they pushed Bonne Bell products in what was called 'charm school'...where you spent a day with your pre-teen BFF, learning how to 'walk' like a young lady?! Now I want to do some googling, haha!

EDIT -- ** Note in the Swingin' Sixties, our youthful generation were nicknamed 'Swingers' -- not to be mistaken for the subsequent definition of a 'Swinger'...

I begged my mom for bell bottoms. Everyone in my school was wearing wool plaid bell bottoms. I finally got a pair. They cost $20, which was very expensive at the time. I also had a purple and green striped mini dress. It was straight up and down, and I loved it. I had the Twiggy body, all bones, but not the huge eyes.

 

[Hyacinth]

YES!! Omg, that brings back such memories!!

I can just 'smell' those Yardley fruity scented lip smacker/lipstick tubes in their colorful 'tinny' containers! Couldnt they be worn like a lanyard, around the neck? And those white 'Go Go' boots! Those 'bell bottoms' days were TDF at the time, but when they resurfaced later on in the fashion world, I found them repulsive...I'm not sure if I never truly liked them and wore them under teenage peer pressure, or if I resented what was once so unique to our Hippie generation was now 'cool' for the younger generation, lol!

And how about Bonne Bell makeup -- or was that right BEFORE the Swinger** Sixties trend? I think they pushed Bonne Bell products in what was called 'charm school'...where you spent a day with your pre-teen BFF, learning how to 'walk' like a young lady?! Now I want to do some googling, haha!

EDIT -- ** Note in the Swingin' Sixties, our youthful generation were nicknamed 'Swingers' -- not to be mistaken for the subsequent definition of a 'Swinger'...

I think Bonnie Bell was about the same time. And I remember the Yardley Lip Smackers even though we weren't allowed to wear them in high school.. The Preppies or "cliques" as we called them, meaning the classic prep school / classic early Coach and maybe Dooney handbags / penny loafers and white socks / sweater sets / natural hairdos, were usually the BB wearers. The Mod Wannabees and some of the Greasers went for variations of the London Look, especially white lipstick. So I guess we had Preppies in addition to the classic British Mods and Rockers. But of course we were all "Perfect Young Ladies", dontcha know? The school musical my senior year actually was "The Boy Friend".

"Walking like a young lady" - OMG, I remember those lessons in High School. Mine was a Catholic all-girls "academy" and I still remember the "walk as if you were holding a quarter between your butt cheeks" admonitions. Lots of good times, especially with Beatlemania and folk music both being The Big Thing.

 

[MooMooVT]

I think Bonnie Bell was about the same time. And I remember the Yardley Lip Smackers even though we weren't allowed to wear them in high school.. The Preppies or "cliques" as we called them, meaning the classic prep school / classic early Coach and maybe Dooney handbags / penny loafers and white socks / sweater sets / natural hairdos, were usually the BB wearers. The Mod Wannabees and some of the Greasers went for variations of the London Look, especially white lipstick. So I guess we had Preppies in addition to the classic British Mods and Rockers. But of course we were all "Perfect Young Ladies", dontcha know? The school musical my senior year actually was "The Boy Friend".

"Walking like a young lady" - OMG, I remember those lessons in High School. Mine was a Catholic all-girls "academy" and I still remember the "walk as if you were holding a quarter between your butt cheeks" admonitions. Lots of good times, especially with Beatlemania and folk music both being The Big Thing.

Ah! I ad the Lip Smackers, Bonnie Bell, Coach, Dooney & even Gucci back then, etc. Ditto 12 years Catholic (co-ed) school. Having flashbacks now.

 

[Hyacinth]

I begged my mom for bell bottoms. Everyone in my school was wearing wool plaid bell bottoms. I finally got a pair. They cost $20, which was very expensive at the time. I also had a purple and green striped mini dress. It was straight up and down, and I loved it. I had the Twiggy body, all bones, but not the huge eyes.

Was that dress one of the Empire-waisted ones with polka dots on top and vertical stripes below? I had one of those, lime green and turquoise. Couldn't wear it to school though, we had to wear the dreaded uniform - solid blazer, plaid pleated skirt and "klunkies". At least for Junior and Senior year they came out with a new blazer design - collarless. Everyone flipped over them, we were wearing Beatle jackets!

 

[okdot]

Thanks for sharing these memories - it's so interesting to me. I gather I'm a bit younger than you guys, I even had to google some of these clothing terms My mother has told me stories about growing up in a communist country and how there were hardly any jeans available at all. She was one of the lucky few because her mother was great at sewing and would make her lovely clothes. She also had some 'connections' and managed to get her hands on some jeans after waiting for months. It's hard to imagine for me now a days, we're so lucky here and now. Your stories are fascinating to read and I've often wondered while looking at Twiggy's photos what it was really like during that time in terms of fashion.