First of all, I have to say that I have been a collector of Coach handbags since the 1970’s and do not represent the company in any way. I love your products and share with you what I have learned from collecting, studying and owning almost every catalogue, along with an extensive collection, passion and knowledge of your brand over the last 45 years. I consider Coach’s ‘glove-tanned’ leather story an American icon we can all be proud of, here in the US.

The story behind Coach Glove tanned leather is as unique to America as apple pie and baseball, and I literally mean ‘baseball’! Here you will discover why.

The story began in 1941 with a company known as Manhattan Leather bags in New York, owned by Lillian and Miles Cahn. Legend has it that Miles loved baseball and was amazed at how his leather baseball glove was so durable and never wore out. He decided to visit a ‘baseball glove’ leather plant to see how his leather was treated, and it was there that he discovered the ‘tanning’ process for the gloves, and that’s when he decided that his bags and luggage would be best made using this same process.

Glove tanning keeps the leather soft and supple, yet durable, while showcasing the beautiful natural grains of the cowhides. Therefore, on many earlier Coach bags, you would see this written on its “creed patch” inside the bag, indicating that this bag was

‘Made in the United States of

Totally natural tanned cowhide leather glove.

Variations in grain are characteristic

full grain natural leather

It wasn’t long before it was a huge hit and in demand across the country. Not only were they made from the finest glove tanned leather, they were also handcrafted with meticulous stitching, real brass or nickel hardware and the quality was excellent compared to anything else on the market at the time.

The Coach Glove tanned leather design, produced there iconic Classic Legacy bags such as

coach janice legacy #9950,

coach patricia legacy #9951,

The legacy of coach Lula #9952,

and trainer Helen Legacy #9953

There was also the City Legacy Classic, The Stewardess Legacy, and many others that were just as popular. His Legacy Classics were his most in-demand hits for decades. As Coach went through many changes over the years, trying different designs and materials, these bags were no longer in production and could only be found on the resale market. Unfortunately, these bags, along with most of his other designs, were largely counterfeited in the counterfeit market.

The one thing that wowed everyone is how well these bags held up for decades thanks to ‘glove-tanned leather’. The quality of these bags is unlike any other that Coach has ever produced. Many began to miss these iconic Legacy Classics.

Trying to catch up with women saying Coach was ‘the bag their mothers wore’, Coach began producing other materials such as their ‘Jacquard Signature Cs collection’, and while these bags were a huge hit with the younger consumer, her long time collectors craved the quality of her ‘Glove Tanned Leather’ bags. While they did keep a couple of them available, there were very few options and the trainer was losing their baseline collectors.

Finally, in 2006, for Coach’s 65th anniversary, the Legacy Classics made a comeback by popular demand. People were running to stores looking for them and they could barely keep them in stock. While people were thrilled to have these Legacy bags available again, they noticed a difference from the once ‘Made in the USA’ classics, between the newer versions now ‘Made in China’ and around the world. .

These newer versions were missing ‘something’ that no one can identify. Many believe it is because they are rarely made in the US, although some believe this is just a prejudiced fallacy. The bags are truly fantastic, and to this day there are no other bags that, in my opinion, can compare to the Coach Glove tanned leather bags.

Personally, like many others, I prefer to go back to the resale market to find their original ‘made in the USA’ versions of these Legacy Classics. One of each color is all you need! They will never wear out and these classics will outlast any of us. I still have several from the 1970s that are in mint condition and many others as well, which is a true testament to the quality of Coach Glove’s tanned leather Legacy classics.

Be careful in your search for these bags, there are many copies and fakes out there! Anytime something is this popular for so many years, of course, counterfeiters will reproduce it. However, the fakes are NOT compared to the originals and their value is worthless, also if you ever try to trade or sell the fakes you can get yourself in big trouble as selling fakes is illegal.

Looking for these ‘Made in the USA’ Coach Legacy Classics can be very difficult to tell a real from a fake, so it’s best to use a professional Designer Handbag Authentication Service, to make sure you’re getting an authentic Coach. . These same Legacy classics can still be found new, on sites like eBay or stores like TJ Max, etc. and often at Coach Outlet stores. ‘Made in the USA’ are rarely found, though, so the resale market is your best bet for finding these Legacy Classics if you insist on the US versions.

Many designers today also use the Glove tanned leather which originated from Coach and you can find them everywhere, however if you’re like so many of us who just want the ‘original’ the search can be fun. I hope you find your perfect Coach Legacy Classic and enjoy it as many of us have for generations. Simply put, they’re the best of the best, and I know you’ll love them.