The Coach Collector
Jamie M Shire
Strayer University

The Coach Collector
Everyone has a collection of something, whether they realize it or not. Many people casually collect items as they live their daily lives, picking up a series of this or that as they happen across them. Some will spend considerable amounts of time and money scouring the world for specific pieces they must have in their collection. A few of us have dismissed the idea of collecting until a friend opens up a kitchen cabinet and announces “WOW, that’s quite a collection of coffee cups you have there!” At this point, one of two things usually happens. Either 10 coffee cups immediately get thrown away, or each time we’re in a store, garage sale, or the best friend’s house, we find ourselves looking at coffee cups to add to the cupboard. I don’t consciously collect too many things. Ironically I DO have a small collection of Starbucks coffee cups, but I’m getting it under control. One group of items that I have collected for many years and have a deep appreciation for is my assortment of Coach products. I’ve learned, through 10 plus years of collecting Coach, that most people associate the company with lady’s purses and handbags. The truth is the company is quite diverse and offers a large selection of high quality products, giving avid treasure seekers like me many opportunities to find additions to our collection. Coach, Inc., as we know it today, began life in 1941 in a Manhattan, NY loft with six artisan leatherworkers handcrafting small leather goods like wallets and handbags. The small company was modestly successful until, in 1961, things changed. Miles Cahn, who was running the company at the time, came across a method of processing leather that produced a soft yet strong and durable product. During this time, most purses and handbags were constructed with thin layers of leather glued over cardboard. Using the new, high quality cowhide to craft their items with, Coach quickly became recognized as a leader in high end leather products. During the 1960’s, Coach partnered with Bonnie Cashin, a well-known fashion designer of the era. Cashin’s work not only revolutionized the design of the existing product line, but she also introduced many additional items for Coach such as shoes, eyewear, pens, and key fobs. Her work brought the company out of a niche market and introduced Coach to the mainstream. Business continued to stay strong throughout the 1970’s and ‘80’s with mail order, specialty stores, and partnerships with major department stores feeding consumer demand. Soon, though, Coach was faced with a dilemma. Supply was not keeping up with the public’s desire for their high quality products. Coach made the decision to restrict sales to only hand selected vendors, rather than expand availability by cutting costs in production in order to create more products faster. This move not only cemented Coach’s standing as a producer of high quality lines, but also created the future collectability of their products. Today Coach retains its prominent standing as a producer of the fine leather handbags and wallets. In addition, they offer an extensive array of women’s and men’s products such as luggage, watches, fragrances, business accessories, and even pet products. Now that you know a little more about Coach, let me help you begin your own collection. Collections can begin in various ways and for many different reasons. My husband, for instance, collects vintage cameras and film projectors. He considers each piece he owns a work of art, which I assumed was the reason he began acquiring them many years ago. I learned, though, that the reason he initially began collecting them runs deeper than I imagined. His grandparents passed away when he was rather young, depriving him of that special relationship. What he did have, however, was a rich narrative of their lives through an extensive amount of photographs and 8mm films. Years of watching home movies of African safaris, weddings, graduations, and simple life moments helped him form a relationship with his grandparents by seeing how they lived. These experiences also sparked an interest in how they chronicled their life, the tools that they used. Thus, a lifelong interest was born in the cameras and projectors of their era. My initial and continued interest in Coach came from a deep family connection as well. My mother and I have always been very close, and like many mothers and daughters, we have experienced differing opinions about many things in life. One of the things we share a passion for and we know will always provide lighthearted bonding time, though, is shopping for our Coach. My mother introduced me to the company so long ago when I was a very young 20. I had just received my first credit card and it was searing a hole in my pocket. I needed to hand that piece of plastic to someone and say “charge it”. My mother looped her arm through mine and offered some sage advice. She asked that if I was bound and determined to buy something, wouldn’t I be happiest if I acquired a product that would not only announce my status as a young woman of means, but continue to provide quality and durability for years to come? With bright eyes and a knowing smile, she held out a beautiful black Coach purse to me. The soft leather, heavy metal clasps, and rich satin interior had me hooked from that moment. She explained to me that other women will initially judge me by two things, my shoes and my purse. I was told that I had the shoes nailed, so now I should consider completing the pair with only the highest quality I could afford. Now my mother obviously comes from the generation of women who believe that accessories make the woman, but I couldn’t deny that I was smitten. After much searching, comparing, and knuckle biting, I became the proud owner of my first Coach bag. I still own that bag, and, on the rare occasion I bring it out, it continues to provide me with the satisfaction of knowing I made the right choice. Getting back to starting your collection, I’d like to share some of the unlikely places I’ve been able to find hidden treasures that will not only help you with a Coach find, but many other products as well. My husband, bless his heart, helped me learn a great deal about collecting. He made the excellent observation that America, in general, is a very “disposable” society. We are obsessive about the “new” and when the thrill of acquiring something new and exciting wears off, many of us turn to donating, garage sales, or ebay as a way to quickly dispose of something perfectly good. The next new and exciting thing is out there waiting for us and what we bought last year is now cluttering up our lives. That’s where the collector steps in. I’ll gladly take that off your hands because I know it will provide me with years of enjoyment, and you’ll miss it eventually! I’ll admit that I was once a prude who wouldn’t dream of buying “secondhand”. My shopping for my beloved Coach was limited to either the Mall or the fabulous Factory Outlet where quality, new Coach items are offered at a fraction of retail prices. That was until I was dragged, kicking and screaming, into a Goodwill store. The person I was with wanted to look for some antique cameras, big surprise. I was wandering around, checking my watch every two minutes, when a strikingly smooth piece of leather caught my eye. When I pulled it out of the pile it was in, I couldn’t believe I was holding a vintage Coach handbag in the middle of a thrift store. I immediately found my husband and waved it in front of him saying “Look what I found, can you believe it?!” He simply shrugged and said “Yeah, I see women pulling those things out all the time in here.” I stared at him for a moment, quietly considering where to bury his body. He quickly realized the danger he was in and shuffled away, mumbling something about looking at books or some nonsense. I casually strolled up to the counter and asked how much it cost and couldn’t believe my ears. After handing over my hard earned $20, I realized that an entirely new world had just opened up to me. My collection now had avenues of discovery that I never knew existed. I grabbed book boy and told him we were leaving, we needed to MapQuest all the second hand stores in town. From there, I changed my whole way of thinking. I’ve found Coach in many thrift stores throughout the years. Some have been imitations, which are fairly easy to identify due to lesser quality material used to make them, but most have been beautifully preserved examples of fine quality craftsmanship. Online auction sites like Ebay and Shopgoodwill.com are treasure troves full of not only Coach products, but many high quality lines such as Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade, and Dooney and Burke. Collecting Coach has provided many years of enjoyment for me. Even more enjoyable is introducing someone you care about to collecting and sharing a passion for it. You will become closer to that person, as my mother and I have. The hardest part is that first piece, whether it’s a handbag, a piece of china, or (sigh) even an old camera. Find something you connect to in some way, and have fun filling a part of your life with it.