The Coach Conman Brand

Well, well, well. Doesn't that shearling coat in the first photo look like something out of Almost Famous? Totally over the top, extremely bulky....and I love it. These new ads for Coach definitely make me take a second look at a brand I mostly associate with heinous knockoffs and a special portion of the early 2000's where I was obsessed with a flat cross body bag. I still have said tiny purse my mom gave me as a Christmas gift in high school because in retrospect it is one of my most favorite material possessions. Not because it was one of the earliest brand name goods I got, but because of the shameful lesson it holds. 

See, at the time it was $199, which was just outrageous, not to mention completely unaffordable for my family. I was prepping for college and tests were expensive, and I could not contribute financially to my family in any way because I was always in school doing annoying extra credit classes and sports to look good for colleges. But somehow on Christmas day I open a Coach branded box with beautiful satin ribbon and inside was the little logo purse. I was happy, nay elated, and even a little cool in that one moment. But soon a guilty feeling eventually came over me for wishing for something so expensive, and even worse for knowing my loving and doting mom would get it for me. I feel like Coach made me a conman that year for having dollar signs for eyeballs, and the brand reminds me of how silly it can be to be completely caught up in the beautiful appeal of a designer item. 

2 comments:

  1. This really resonated with me--I grew up working class and was mostly self-aware enough not to wish aloud for things I knew would put a strain on us, but not always. Now that I am old enough to pay my own way I'm grateful for and take pleasure in the small luxuries I can afford to buy myself, but I also shake my head at how little I understood how hard my mother was working to support not herself alone like I do, but herself and four children. I am ashamed of times I felt "deprived" and hope I rarely let her know I felt that way. I love beautiful things but I try to keep my feet on the ground and maintain a realistic perspective about what all this stuff is really worth. Thanks for sharing this small story about yourself.

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    1. I'm so glad this resonated with someone! I was typing it this morning and I realized my post about wanting that crazy shearling coat turned into a flashback story of when I felt real shame for wanting what was really out of my own means.

      I totally hear you on the grateful feeling you get when you can afford your own little luxuries. Still feels a little bit naughty though, but you have to reward yourself sometimes. I love my mom so much and I think it's amazing a gift from her can have so much more meaning throughout the years.

      Thanks so much for sharing YOUR story with me, Genevieve :)


      Olga

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