Coach
Coach to bag more customers with lower prices
Remember a few years ago, when Kathryn wrote about the $10,000 Coach Bag?
Well….the economy is catching up to the struggling retailer and as a result, it will “add more collection and weight to the under-$300 price in order to gain share in a changed consumer marketplace.” So, while Coach purses may never be what we’d call cheap, some will be a little more affordable.
Will you respond to designer labels that cut prices by a hundred bucks, or will it take even more drastic measures to get your attention?
Colorful Bridal Gowns, Coach Contest, Cute Necklaces: Web Round Up
While trolling the Web, we’ve hit upon some pretty interesting topics. Here is a sampling of what’s floating around in the ether of the Internet!
—The Budget Babe examines the idea of wearing non-white bridal gowns. Two celebrity fashion icons, Sarah Jessica Parker and Gwen Stefani, both defied tradition and wore different colors to their weddings. She notes that choosing a colored gown immediately lowers the cost. What do you guys think? Is it a passing fad, or a growing phenomenon?
—SheFinds tells us about a contest from Coach: design graphics to go on a Coach tote, and if you win, you’ll be rewarded with a shopping spree, cash, and your design will be brought to life.
—Styledash introduced us to an adorable gumball necklace, from Old Navy. We love its retro feel, and the array of bright colors to choose from instantly brings a smile to our faces.
The $10,000 Coach Legacy Alligator Bag: Coach Has Lost It’s #$% Mind
You never forget your first….
For my 16th birthday, I received my first designer handbag, a black Coach Saddle bag. Back in the day (early 90s), Coach was like THE handbag to have, right up there with Liz Claiborne and Esprit. I loved that bag more than life itself and for a while, I was officially the coolest kid at Washburn Senior High.
Coach continues to occupy a special place in my heart, but they have lost their #$% minds with the release of the $10,000 Coach Legacy Alligator Bag. When I first read about this bag, on the lovely blog bagsnob, I seriously thought it was a joke. In my humble opinion, $10,000 for any bag is wacko, but who, in their right mind, would pay $10,000 for a Coach handbag? Especially one that resembles a a bag I recently saw at Lord & Taylor for less than $100 by budget bag designer, Kathy Van Zeeland. Could you imagine paying that much for a Coach bag and then seeing the same bag at TJ Maxx, where all Coach bags go to die, for like $200 bucks?
Fashion Advice: The Great Fake Debate Continues
Q: How do you buy a knock-off hand bag? What are your guidelines, what are smart prices to pay? What is important to look for? I want to be able to have nice handbags but not be broke because of them!
A: There has been quite a bit of debate regarding knock-off bags (especially fake Louis Vuitton handbags) and the impact these bags have had on the fashion industry. Exact duplicates are not fair to the designers, period. Imagine spending years perfecting your art and name, only to have some steal your idea and sell it for well below market value. However, using elements of a popular design is nothing new in fashion. Every major and minor design house “borrows” design elements from other fashion designers and lower priced stores like H&M often sell items using a design made popular by more expensive designers (I call it “designer inspired” items). The difference between “knock-offs” and “designer inspired versions”, that the designer inspired versions don’t claim to be the real thing.
When looking to buy a knock-off you have to ask yourself, do I want it because the celebrity of the moment has it or do I want it because I truly like the designer and the bag. If the later is your answer, skip the rest of this article and save your pennies (nickels, dimes,) to purchase a real bag. However, if the reason why you want it is because Nicole Ritchie, Lindsay Lohan, or whatever celebrity of the moment has the bag, then I suggest you really think about why you’re buying the item (and why you feel the need to emulate an idea that isn’t real in the first place—celebrities often get those items for free). Buying a designer bag isn’t going to make you Jessica Simpson.
If it is quality you want—rarely are knock-offs good quality—then look for high quality, mid-priced bags from designers like Coach, Hype, Kenneth Cole, Donna Karan, Cole Haan, etc. You’ll find these bags for up 75% off at stores like Nordstrom’s Rack, Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, and their outlet stores. Furthermore, designer label doesn’t always equal quality. For example, a very famous designer makes a nylon bag that just because it has its label on it retails for over $300. You could buy the same bag, same quality for around $30 at your local T.J. Maxx.
Shopping Advice: Bargain Shopping in Las Vegas
Dear Budget Fashionista: What are the best places for bargain shopping in Las Vegas
A: Personally, I think the best places to do real bargain shopping in Las Vegas is at the outlets (read below my comments on pawn shops). Las Vegas has more shopping outlets per capita than probably any other place in the world. which is just fine my me. At the Fashion Outlet Las Vegas. you’ll find a pretty good Williams Sonoma Outlet, as well as outlets from companies like Coach, Last Call Neiman Marcus, St. John Knits, Tod’s, Burberry, etc. at the Fashion Outlet Las Vegas. It is about a 10-minute (around $10) taxi ride from the strip or you can use the shuttle from the MGM Grand.
Head to the site, to get more information on the outlet (as well as a link to a coupon to save an additional $3.00 off the shuttle service). Make sure you get a discount book with coupons for additional savings at the mall.
There is also another, outlet mall (Las Vegas Premium Outlets) located about 10 minutes or so from New York New York (about a $10-15 taxi ride) between the strip and Downtown Las Vegas. They have a Dolce & Gabbana, Tahari, etc outlet. Go to Premium Outlets and register for the VIP club to receive even more savings.
I would also check out the shopping mall on the other end of the strip near Treasure Island and Circus, Circus. It isn’t a discount mall, but they have some great stores, like Neiman Marcus and Saks. Since it is the end of the season, these stores are probably having pretty good sales. Some people like the pawnshops (which, of course, are EVERYWHERE). Personally, I feel kind of creepy buying something that was someone else’s misfortune. However, if a pawnshop had a pair of Cartier gold and diamond earrings for less than $500 bucks I would purchase it as quick as you can say “bankruptcy”.
Brands vs. Department Stores: The Move to Limit Sales
Take a walk down the main shopping street in any major city and you’ll notice that several of your favorite department store brands, like Coach, Juicy Couture, and Ellen Tracy, have begun to develop their own stores.
Wait a sec before you getting ideas of terry cloth jump suit heaven. Brands are creating boutiques not just as a direct route to customers, but to help monitor their brands and to reign in the massive discounts budget shoppers like ourselves find when shopping at a good end of the season department store sale. According to a New York Post article two weeks ago, “By opening their own stores, these labels hope to better control their image, rein in discounts, and avoid, margin-eroding negotiations over markdown money.”
So what does this mean for us? It means that we will truly become a slave to brands and it will become more difficult to find truly designer lines in our local department stores, making offline comparison-shopping nearly impossible. However, all is not lost. We bargain shoppers still have the Internet and can use it to comparison shop for bargains. Here’s how using Coach handbags as an example.
Let’s say you’re in the market for a new Coach bag. You head into the Coach boutique and find the bag you like. At this point you should write down the SKU (the numbers below the barcode), name, color, style and price of the bag. If you have a digital camera take a picture as well. Then head home, juicy up the computer and enter the SKU number and/or bag style into google. You can also use comparison-shopping tools like Pricegrabber and Shopzilla or search on eBay. Also check with Coach outlet stores. I recent purchased a white leather bag for a client at the outlet in Naples, Florida and saw the same purse, two days later for $100 more at the Coach boutique off 5th Ave in New York. Gather the information from the store, outlet store, and sites and compare the prices to ensure you get the best deal. This can be done with practically ANY piece of clothing.
Time consuming? Yes.
Money Saving? Yes.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Coach Positively Pink Watch
I don’t use a watch, which is probably why I’m always late. However, this sassy watch from Coach may make me change my mind. For every watch sold during the month of October, Coach will donate $100 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
This product is no longer available. To find other products to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, click here.
Murses: Purses for Men
“Why are there no accessories for men?” a very close male friend asked one day over brunch.
I tried to point out to him that men have ties, cuff links, watches, and if you from Queens, gold chains. As I started to explain the power of gold chains, especially when nestled against a hairy chest, I realized that my friend was right—there are few accessory options for men. Especially men who are bound by the confines of heterosexuality.
Ties have become more fun and varied in the past couple of years, but ascots, a very stylish alternative to the traditional tie, has yet to rise to their full potential. Male watches and cufflinks seem to follow a standard theme: the more metal, the better. Someone could develop a male version of this season’s hottest trend—brooches. Instead of jewel encrusted flowers, man brooches could be jewel encrusted NASCAR logos or miniature x-boxes. Unfortunately the brooch option does not exist (yet).
There is an option, a genre that previous has been occupied by only women . . . handbags. For centuries, women have known the power of a good purse in adding that panache to an otherwise boring outfit. It is about time that men realized the power of the purse as well. Now, most men will not go out and buy that new Kate Spade bag to match their new gray three button suit, but Coach does have masculine “European carry-alls” (man speak for “purse”). In fact, I found one last month at my favorite store, Off 5th, for $99.90, about a $200 savings off the original price. I purchased it for my friend and he was the toast of the water cooler the next day.
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