Back in 2006 or so, I used to be obsessed with Coach handbags. Not only did I stalk the website and boutiques, but I even joined forums to talk about them! Haha, yes, I was part of the whole community that would do live reveals and share photos of purchases.
And because even back then I was really into reviews and doing solid research prior to making a decision, I would read everything I could about Coach purses before making a purchase. I even studied all the tips and tricks for spotting a fake.
But the love affair cooled off after I bought all the Coach purses I think I’ll ever need. (In fact, I’m thinking about selling many of them if I can find anyone who’s interested.)
In 2008, I stopped ‘collecting’ Coach items (because I also bought their wristlets and handbag charms) and began collecting nail polish. Haha, let me tell you, becoming a lacquerhead was much more economical! 😉
For this week’s Smorgasbord Sundays post, I’ll share just the photos of the Coach handbags I currently have.
Here are my babies…haha!
This denim tote is the one that I wear 90% of the time because it’s comfy and the size is perfect for my small frame. And, yes, I wear it with the 2 Coach charms even if it’s a bit tacky.
I bought the apple, but the cherries were purchased for me by my ex-boyfriend. (To put the apple on, I had to borrow the Coach tag from my brown purse, which is why you’ll see it missing in the picture later on.)
Below is the plum leather Carly that I had been drooling over for some time. I was going to get the signature jacquard (i.e. fabric) version, but then I read on the forums about how those frayed like something fierce. The leather one doesn’t have that problem, it has the same nice slouchy shape, andddd (most importantly), it’s purple!
My ex-boyfriend surprised me with this for a Christmas gift one year.
This is my second most-worn Coach purse.
Now, this next Coach purse is the most expensive one I own. Strangely, though, I’ve only worn it a few times, so it’s still in near-perfect condition.
This tiny little satchel is the one I love to use in the summer when I don’t want to bring much with me. I love the shape, and the short handles.
Here’s a better look at the shape.
This is my only black purse. When I was in high school, all my purses were black. So in university and afterwards, I wanted to stay as far away from black purses as possible because I got bored of them.
However, I bust out this purse a lot for more formal occasions. It’s one of my ‘serious purses’.
I love how it’s very structured and I can hold it in my hands or carry it over my shoulder. Also, it has metal legs on the bottom to protect it when you put it down somewhere.
This brown Coach handbag was purchased on a whim. I browsed the Coach store one day, and then caught sight of it. During that time, I was really feeling the chocolate colour because it went with a lot of things in my wardrobe. Up until that point, it was the most expensive spontaneous splurge I ever had!
This bright Heritage Stripe Tattersall Tote was really fun-looking, so it caught my eye. But I only ended up wearing it 3 times before storing it in its dust bag to protect it. (It was too big for my small frame. I like to carry smaller purses.)
Below was the first Coach purse I ever bought. I remember being so excited to buy it, but then I ended up not liking the shape of it after I wore it a few times.
This was the second Coach purse I ever bought. It’s a denim patchwork pouch, so it’s very tiny. It’s pretty much like a large pencil case. I never use this anymore because I need to carry around more than this has the capacity for. Also, I’m not into patchwork as much as I used to be.
Were you ever obsessed with handbags to the point where you started collecting them? Before you got into nail polish, did you collect anything? Do you rotate your purses, or stick to one?
These are all so darn cute! I love those two fruit keychains you have on the first one :). I received a little Coach crossbody pouch as a Christmas gift in high school and wore the heck out of it. Then, towards the end of high school and into college I developed a Vera Bradley obsession. I wanted to find everything in my favorite print (Symphony in Hue). Eventually I did, which cured my desire for Vera Bradley (although I still think it’s all so awesome!).
Hey Jessica!
Thanks – I love being ‘fruity’ everywhere I do. 😉
The crossbody bags are really cute. I almost got one back when I was obsessed with Coach. It’s nice to have your hands free to do stuff…especially when you go grocery shopping and have to carry lots of other bags!
Shoes! Shoes! Shoes! Although I still love shoes, I now also splurge on yarn, nail polish and I do have a few Coach bags, but only bought at the outlet or eBay. My favorite is the Soho tote and I have royal blue, red, silver grey and lavender!
Hey The KnitMaster!
Hehe, if I wasn’t such a beginner knitter, I’d be buying yarn and making more things all the time. Seriously! When one of my friends introduced me to this huge yarn store, my eyes widened at all the lovely colours and combinations. Colour Mecca! 😛
Cute bags, I also have an addiction to coach bags. I currently own about 20 handbags and I am considering selling some. I am starting to notice my taste in handbags is getting more expensive. But I’ve been better about it since now I do collect nail polish and handbags.
Hey Lissette!
Wow, 20 is quite the collection! 🙂 Haha, y’know, when I realized that my taste in handbags was getting more expensive, that’s when I made an abrupt switch to collecting nail polish. (At one point, I was seriously considering buying a Fendi Spy Bag. But that price tag is WHOAAAA, so I never got it.)
I am new to Coach handbags, I have 2 and love them both. I switch them around. I use the fabric for spring and summer and the leather for fall and winter. I use to collect Aigner purses. Now I’m really into collecting OPI nail polish. Snice Feb. of this year I’ve bought about 30 bottles. Last year I bought my first two bottles of OPI. The Black Satin and Sahara Sappirhire. Thats when my Obsession started witj OPI. Before that it was Sally Hansen nail polish, which I have about 80 bottles of her. Love your site.
Hey Melissa Watts!
Thirty bottles since February of this year is pretty impressive! You’re starting quite the collection. 🙂 Haha, be careful – it gets even more addictive as the months go by. 😉
Have you ever been to a Coach outlet?? The majority of my purses are Coach and Dooney & Bourke, some of which are from the Outlets. The Outlets closest to me have a Coach and right across the walkway is a Dooney so you can see them from inside each store staring at you lol. I usually go back and forth several times trying to find something better than what I found in the other store. The majority of the time I end up having major buyers anxiety and fighting with myself… I eventually walk away from everything. Such a temptation to buy something since its so heavily discounted, but you’re still dropping $100 – $300 still on something you don’t really need but are buying just cause of the 30%-40% discount. Ugh, and then they have additional 20% off sometimes! My favorite Coach is still the first one I ever bought, a dark chocolate bucket shaped medium tote with the signature stripe across it 🙂 My most expensive that I rarely use is my dark gray patent leather sabrina satchel. I put a coach snowflake keychain on it to bling it up :). Haven’t bought any coach bags in years though, mostly cause I haven’t seen anything I had to have when ever I really looked and polish has sucked all the money out of me.
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Hey Frosso!
Yes, I’ve been to a few Coach outlets. Hehe, used to be dangerous for me to step in there because of all the discounted bags. Now, though, I don’t go to any. I don’t even step inside the Coach boutiques. Haha, it’s easy to resist the temptation when you don’t know what’s out. (Right now I can only afford my nail-polish obsession. :P)
Haha, I like how the Dooney purses are calling to you while you’re in the Coach outlet! 😉
Oooohhh, you got the Sabrina! 🙂 I remember when those first came out – I really loved the shape. It’s such a cute purse, and I wanted one…haha, but then I just couldn’t justify buying another purse when I didn’t even wear all of the ones I already had. :S Still, though, I would drool over the reveal photos of the Sabrina in The Purse Forum. 🙂
Oh my gosh Mary!!! I so did not know this about you!!!! 🙂
So, believe it or not, I am NOT a purse kind of gal… nor do I really pay attention to shoes… costume jewelry is where my temperature rises and my blood pressure goes up 😉
I would like to own a nice quality purse (right now I only have one Guess purse that Peter bought me a few anniversaries ago 🙂 ) I like it, but I could use a change too 😉
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Hey Marta!
Costume jewelry is the best! 🙂 Not only is it affordable, but the designs are always so unique and fun to wear. 🙂 (I loved the camera one you showed today.)
Price doesn’t really matter. As long as the purse is functional, you think it looks good, and it’s comfy, that’s all that matters. I had an Old Navy purse (also purple…haha, of course) that cost maybe $15 or less. It was my favourite for 2 years straight. The only reason I retired it was because it was starting to fray really badly. But considering the price and how I used it daily at that time, it really held up insanely well! (Mind you, I’m gentle with my purses, but still – $15 for a purse worn 2 years daily! :O)
Oh my goodness! This is quite the collection, Mary! I hope you don’t mind that I used this as exhibit A in a recent conversation I had with Mr. J who commented on how I might have too many purses. 😉 I’ve been trying to pare it down some but I can’t seem to let go of the ones that have some sort of sentimental value even if I rarely use them, if at all! Which doesn’t really help because about 60% of my purses are gifts. Haha! I do like to rotate my purses depending on the occasion (I like to usually carry around a bigger bag but it gets heavy so I like to switch it up) and to spread the love. I don’t consciously collect them though. Great post!!
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Hey Carmela!
Yup, quite the collection…and that’s why I haven’t bought any purses in years. 🙂 I have enough to last me until I’m ready to retire. Back when I was into Coach, I was obsessed in a bad way. Thank goodness I latched onto polish instead, right? 😉
Hahahaha, I don’t mind at all that you used me as a case in point! I bet your husband thinks I’m sick in the head. Guys will never understand purse obsession. (Well, most, anyway…)
It’s an impressive collection though. The purple ones are so pretty! I didn’t really get into purses until I started working. I was a backpack kinda girl up till then, haha! 🙂
I think he understands now. He just got his own Coach man purse (lol) when his trusty travel one broke and he’s starting to see the light, methinks. 😉
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Oh boy – I was always a purse lover even back in high school. I have a crazy purse collection from back in the day. One of them is a one-of-a-kind Rainbow Brite handmade purse that features the front and back of the red Sprite. (I think his name’s Romeo.) It was only when I started working full-time that I even knew about Coach handbags. (I blame my co-worker. But it’s funny since she had a FAKE Coach purse. That still led me to buying genuine Coach purses.)
Cool that he got his own man purse! Hahahaha! Now to get him into polish. The transformation is nearly complete. 😉
Hi! What is the name of the denim tote? I JUST bought this purse at a yardsale today…but I’m not sure if mine is authentic.
Thanks!
Hey Andrea Staten!
I believe it was called the Denim Signature Stripe Tote. What part of the design is making you unsure that yours is a knock-off? The inside should have rainbow stripes in a satiny fabric. Also, check the Coach creed patch on the inside.
Hi, are you still considering selling? I’m interested in the chocolate brow coach handbag.
Hey Miranda!
Yes, I’m still interested in selling the brown one you’re interested in. I’ll send you an e-mail soon to touch base. However, if I forget, please reach out to me at swatchandlearn (at) gmail (dot) com. 🙂