Saturday, March 2, 2013

Finally, I Can Start Looking For A New Canvas Tote

My Coach tote finally got a blemish, so now I can start the search for its replacement. It started life as a diaper bag, and since my youngest is in graduate school, you know how old it is. I still have the changing pad that came with it. Maybe red this time?  But even at more than 20 years old, this is still one of my "new" Coach bags.  And it's only the "new" Coach items that will ever need a replacement - because the first Coach bags made will never wear out in my lifetime.  Seriously.  Thirty years ago, if you walked into a Coach store with one of their first bags, they would give you some line about wanting to acquire it for their archives, and that they would trade you for a brand new Coach bag.  (One of my friends fell for this.)  But the truth was, they figured out that they had built purses that would never wear out.  And thirty years ago, if your bag didn't wear out, you probably didn't replace it.  So they re-engineered them.  And that is why this tote has begun to wear out before it is even 30 years old.



6 comments:

  1. There is something very sad about this. We have the ability to make something that lasts a very long time, but for the sake of profit or the want of novelty we make something more disposable. I understand the motivation, but it still seems sad.

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  2. Hi Shelley - So true - and don't get me started about washing machines and television sets. We just got one of the High Efficiency Washers - not enough better for how much more expensive it was. But at least I can live with an unmatched set, so didn't fall for the matching dryer.

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  3. Don't know much about 'high efficiency' washing machines, but the front loaders they have here in Britain are brilliant. They have a spin dry that makes line drying inside feasible. British dryers on the other hand are rubbish. Good on you for being aesthetically practical. You might find that your dryer runs for shorter periods with the new washing machine, which should save you some money off its purchase price.

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  4. It would be hard for me to give up that handsome tote. I wonder what you will find to replace it. I have a couple of old Coach leather handbags and boy are they heavy. I guess I was used to it when they were new but when I get one out now it seems like too much of a load. I don't like the new Coach line with their logo splashed over everything.

    Darla

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  5. That's a very handsome Coach tote. I have never bought one. It's a very interesting story -- about them wanting to trade bags. I heard a similar story just the other day about another company doing a similar thing.

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  6. That is one gorgeous bag! and very interesting that Coach was offering to replace new for old. Very intriguing. I'm like you... I buy bags with a view that they should last many many years. It's worth spending a bit extra, in my opinion.

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