Coach - What Was an American Brand

Coach was founded in 1941 as the Gail Manufacturing Company. It began with six leather workers who made wallets and handbags under various names. In 1946, Miles Cahn and his wife Lillian joined the company and soon they had taken over. In 1957 the Coach brand of wallets and other small leather goods was introduced. In the 1960s, Cahn discovered a complex method for making leather strong, soft, and durable. Coach women's handbags were made out of sturdy cowhide. Other handbags were of thin leather pasted over cardboard material that was used to make other handbags at the time. Coach earned a reputation as an American brand making stellar quality products.

With Lillian's suggestion, Miles had made the women's handbags a little less expensive. This put them in a perfect niche of price and quality that quickly grew their company. In the 1980s, Coach was sold to the Sara Lee corporation. Coach Inc. opened many stores, and by the 1990s was making much of its products overseas. Now, while Coach retains the appearance of being an American brand, it produces most of its collection in China, and sells to the masses through many stores and presences at lower priced retailers. Coach bags have lost a lot of their luster as they proliferate everywhere, and at the lower end their bags have sacrificed much of their quality, and attention to detail. Not much better than their knock-offs in many cases.

Who are the brands that will fill the shoes of Coach which lasted so long as an emblem of quality and style? Maybe someone from our list of American Brands.

Where Can I Buy Handbags Made in USA

One of the reasons we started this blog is there was no reliable list of handbags made in America. Most of the lists we found were a scattershot sampling of strange local websites featuring kind of fugly items. Yes we said it, fugly. Honestly, we wanted to make a resource where people could find true designer bags that were fashionable and made in America.

We recommend you purchase straight from the designer. You can buy American Made Handbags directly from Be & D, Corrente, and Hayden-Harnett. You can also search for and shop for these brands on eBay, Amazon.com, Nordstrom, and Shopbop.com. Also, why not stop by your local flea or designer market to find up and coming designers?

Visit our continually updated List of Handbag Brands Made in USA and don't forget to suggest new brands!

Handbags Made in USA don't Have to be Expensive

A lot of times, people think that just because something is made overseas that it's a lot cheaper. It's true that in many countries labor costs are much lower than in the United States. It's also true that many of the other costs are smaller too. But, because of the way most fashion companies operate, all these low costs wind up with an expensive product anyway. Botkier, Rebecca Minkoff, Coach and more. All these handbag companies manufacture in China. Marc by Marc Jacobs. Manufactured in Indonesia.

Why are these bags costing the same or even more than quality handbags made in America by companies like Be & D, Corrente and Hayden-Harnett? It's because these companies often sell many of their bags to discounters just to meet minimums and increase volume. The discounters want to sell the bags at huge discounts off retail. Gilt Groupe and other sample sale sites have made the problem even worse. On top of that, traditional department stores build in all kinds of markup into the bags. Finally, the companies charge an extra premium just because.

Many American made handbags are great values. On top of that, you can feel good because you're supporting the American economy all the way down the line.

Handbags Made in USA Blog - Welcome

A lot of the things we buy these days used to be made in America. There's a lot of reasons that this has changed over the years, but it has weakened our economy, and has moved our focus away from timeless durable goods to styles that are quick, cheap, and flimsy. This blog is about designer handbags made in the US. It features information about US made handbags so that you can be encouraged to look into designer bags made here in the US.

Many small independent designers make a few handbags at a time here in the US. As their business grows, they look to reduce the prices, and to sell thousands of bags to department and other chain stores. The quality goes down. The prices don't go down, but profit for the stores goes up. Gradually the designers lose focus, and what made them so great in the first place starts to fade.

Some designers have stayed manufactured in the United States, however. Others have actually returned their production to the US after years manufacturing overseas. Traditional American brands like Coach and Dooney & Bourke no longer make most of their handbags here, but rely on cheap labor overseas. It's time for a new crop of American brands to rise to the challenge!

In the meantime, we hope you will consider our List of Handbag Brands Made in USA.