[Purchasing a] wife's purse

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Robert44
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[Purchasing a] wife's purse

Post by Robert44 »

my wife wants a good purse and she mentioned a Coach purse. Any recommendations? She would keep it for probably ten years or more. She wants good things and keeps them forever.
It would be an every day purse and said she needs the shoulder strap. SHe has been using these Vera Bradley purses, which are nice, but she wants something a little bit classier all of a sudden.
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BL
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Re: wife's purse

Post by BL »

Have her give you a couple of model names if she wants it to be a surprise or else make sure it can be exchanged if she doesn't like it. If it is to be expensive, it might as well be exactly what she wants!
Beth*
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Re: wife's purse

Post by Beth* »

A purse is very personal. Your wife needs to pick it out.

I keep things for a long time. However, a purse that is used daily is going to end up looking very beat up well before 10 years are over. I wouldn't count on your wife keeping the purse that long unless you want her to go around looking like she is close to destitute. My current purse is a Coach (bought at a Coach outlet store). It's a great purse; it's a year old and still in excellent condition. That said, I think it is highly unlikely I will get 10 years out of it. From past experience, it will start looking shabby in a couple of years.
Topic Author
Robert44
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Re: wife's purse

Post by Robert44 »

Beth, do you know what model it is. she is looking at Style 34340.
RunningRad
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Re: wife's purse

Post by RunningRad »

My wife has been using the same Coach purse, daily, for nearly ten years. I do not know which model it is.
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bluejello
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Re: wife's purse

Post by bluejello »

OP, I heartily second the recommendations to let your wife pick out the exact purse she wants!

Personally, I'm not a fan of Coach because I don't think their products are really that high quality. They trade more on their brand name. Other handbag manufacturers in the same price range ($300 - $700) that I think are better quality include Michael Kors, Kate Spade, and Marc by Marc Jacobs.
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Dale_G
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Re: wife's purse

Post by Dale_G »

We have a neighborhood website that sends me "important" emails about where to find someone to fix a leaky faucet or take care of a mouse or how to deal with two ants spotted at pool side.

I have to wonder where these folks are from (I pretty much know, but I am not going to say).

Of note: about 1/2 of the emails are from ladies wanting to sell their high end purses. I have no idea whether they need to loot to make a mortgage payment - or they are simply bored.

My "male" purse (called a wallet) is at least 20 years old and it holds everything I need. I admit it does not carry 5 or 6 pounds of cosmetics, etc. to disguise the fact that I am a human.

To each his own.

Dale
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brad.clarkston
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Re: wife's purse

Post by brad.clarkston »

I got my wife a Coach Prairie Satchel bag four or five years ago at Macy's for Christmas.
She's starting to grumble about wanting a new one I guess I should start looking for her birthday.

She also had a Derek Alexander brand from Macy's before that a little cheaper but I'm getting fogy on what she likes/dislikes about them.
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island
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Re: wife's purse

Post by island »

Robert44 wrote:Beth, do you know what model it is. she is looking at Style 34340.
She gave you a style #? Well I'll go out on a limb and say I think she knows what she wants.
No need for recommendations from us other than buy Mrs Robert44 that Coach bag! :D

Either surprise her with it all gift wrapped (tuck a shiny new penny inside it for good luck) or take her shopping followed by a nice surprise lunch or dinner out.
DVMResident
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Re: wife's purse

Post by DVMResident »

My wife has two Tumi purses: one large, one small.
She uses them daily and they seem to hold up well. The sippers are sturdy, material is thick/heavy duty, and there are lots of organizational features.
Looks fine...I think? :confused
dolphinsaremammals
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Re: wife's purse

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

island wrote: She gave you a style #? Well I'll go out on a limb and say I think she knows what she wants.
No need for recommendations from us other than buy Mrs Robert44 that Coach bag! :D
+1
angelescrest
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Re: wife's purse

Post by angelescrest »

DVMResident wrote:My wife has two Tumi purses: one large, one small.
She uses them daily and they seem to hold up well. The sippers are sturdy, material is thick/heavy duty, and there are lots of organizational features.
Looks fine...I think? :confused
Great sale going on at Tumi right now. I just ordered my wife a purse way in advance of her birthday.
bowtie
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Re: wife's purse

Post by bowtie »

Never heard of Tumi. Italian?
Flashes1
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Re: wife's purse

Post by Flashes1 »

Coach is good quality and will last a lifetime. I personally like the more understated yet refined brand image of Coach-----kind of an old money feel....as compared to the more "flashy" Fendi, Vouitton, etc. brands....which feel new money to me.
Flashes1
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Re: wife's purse

Post by Flashes1 »

bowtie wrote:Never heard of Tumi. Italian?
Tumi is American.....they're more known for their luggage---but I'm sure they're purses are top notch quality. Tumi luggage is the preferred brand of road warriors---without question. You see someone in the airport toting a Tumi bag---it's safe to assume they know what they're doing.
JLJL
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Re: wife's purse

Post by JLJL »

dolphinsaremammals wrote:
island wrote: She gave you a style #? Well I'll go out on a limb and say I think she knows what she wants.
No need for recommendations from us other than buy Mrs Robert44 that Coach bag! :D
+1
+another 1

Check a coach outlet store, if you're lucky this is last year's model. Same stuff much more affordable. But I doubt she gave you last year's model.
saladdin
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Re: wife's purse

Post by saladdin »

GF just bought a coach. Told her I'd pay for it, $164. She is happy with it. It's pink, that's all I care to know about it.

My wallet was made by my sister during the mid 80's. When it comes apart I just use a stampler to fix it.

Each his own.
ThankYouJack
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Re: wife's purse

Post by ThankYouJack »

I would check the Outlets. I got my wife a Kate Spade work bag for Christmas. I'm not sure how Kate Spade compares with Coach, but I know Coach has great outlet prices too. She loves it, it's real stylish and high quality. The original price was ~$400, but it was an online outlet item for $200 and I used a 25% off coupon code so the total was $150.
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wilpat
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Re: wife's purse

Post by wilpat »

I bought my wife a coach purse many years ago. It took her about 2 minutes to decide to return it! Her comment was "You should never waste money like that!"
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mrehal
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Re: wife's purse

Post by mrehal »

Got my s/o her first Coach purse 2 years ago from an outlet store for Christmas. It was cloth with leather straps and trim.
She used it as her every day bag, literally every day, for 2 years and the leather's stitching began to fray. The remainder of the bag was in good shape.
I bought her another one for Christmas from the same outlet, this time in all leather. Hopefully this one holds up better.

The outlets are all the regular bags, just last year's styles. Each time I have been in the store, an employee comes up to me and gives me a 50% off entire purchase coupon. I'm sure this is just a ploy to make you think you're getting a great deal. However, I'll take it.
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Raymond
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Re: wife's purse

Post by Raymond »

Robert44 wrote:Beth, do you know what model it is. she is looking at Style 34340.

(emphasis added)

There you go!

I bought a Coach wallet at their local outlet store five years ago, it's holding up well.
saladdin wrote:...My wallet was made by my sister during the mid 80's. When it comes apart I just use a stampler to fix it...
At least go to a cobbler to get it sewn up properly, those staples rust and get stuck in pocket linings :P
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mak1277
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Re: wife's purse

Post by mak1277 »

One thing to consider even if you know the style she's looking for is whether or not your wife will also want (expect?) the matching billfold. I happen to know that my wife loves the matching billfold, so I never make the mistake of forgetting that (even though it is always somehow almost as expensive as the purse itself).
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Aptenodytes
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Re: wife's purse

Post by Aptenodytes »

I have given my wife nice purses on a couple occasions for birthday or holiday gifts. In each case she told me the exact make and model, and I would not do it any other way. I was essentially a very inefficient voice-activated catalog interface, but it preserved enough of the gift-giving tradition to make sense.
Flashes1
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Re: wife's purse

Post by Flashes1 »

Now that I think about it, my first big splurge out of college was the purchase of a $100 Coach wallet which I use to this day-----a couple decades later.
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dbCooperAir
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Re: wife's purse

Post by dbCooperAir »

I was made to go shopping one day, I hate shopping. I look over at this store front and I see a line of people standing outside when it was like 20 degree outside. I ask the wife what in the world is up with that, she tells me that's the Coach Store, they only let x amount of people in at one time. It was a low number, something like 10 people, this was a bigger store at a outlet mall.

Not sure if its some kind of sales tactic, if so its seems to be working well. I however would not stand in line just to get into a store, not going to happen.

I agree let your spouse pick out her own purse. It would be like asking her to pick out your fishing pole, its to personal.
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ResearchMed
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Re: wife's purse

Post by ResearchMed »

mrehal wrote:Got my s/o her first Coach purse 2 years ago from an outlet store for Christmas. It was cloth with leather straps and trim.
She used it as her every day bag, literally every day, for 2 years and the leather's stitching began to fray. The remainder of the bag was in good shape.
I bought her another one for Christmas from the same outlet, this time in all leather. Hopefully this one holds up better.

The outlets are all the regular bags, just last year's styles. Each time I have been in the store, an employee comes up to me and gives me a 50% off entire purchase coupon. I'm sure this is just a ploy to make you think you're getting a great deal. However, I'll take it.
I haven't used Coach purses in ages, but back in the day (and their bags were all leather then, *heavy* leather, but they lasted and lasted), one could take a bag in need of repair back to Coach, and they'd have it re-stitched or a zipper repaired/replaced, and it would come back newly polished, etc., and looking just about brand new.

You might want to check if they still do this, free or at some (modest?) cost.

It was sort of like LL Bean. A friend had a pair of chinos, and after about 10 years of use, the zipper broke. He sent the (well frayed) pants back, and received a brand new pair.
The only amazing thing about that was that he still wore the same size!

RM
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poker27
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Re: wife's purse

Post by poker27 »

My SO probably has 3 or 4 Coach purses, a few Michael Kors, and has recently been getting into Tory Burch (keeps on getting more expensive).

Coach is definetly not on the high end, you should be able to pick one up for under $200. She still has the first one I got her, it must be going on 5 years old.
Skeet
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Re: wife's purse

Post by Skeet »

I've carried leather Coach bags for years, and they last for years for me, even with my throwing them under chairs, under my desk at work, under airplane seats, etc. It helps to use a good saddle cleaner/oil a couple times a year to condition the leather. Coach will still fix zippers, seams, etc., for free (you pay shipping to them). I only get a new one because I get tired of the old one after a few years, but I'll often go back to one I already have in my closet. The model she chose is the Prairie satchel--I like it. I'm very picky about my purse--I need a zipper on top, I like a zipped compartment on the outside for my key-fob, a couple inside pockets for phone, the right size, etc. So if she picked out the Prairie satchel (at $275 on the Coach site) then get her the exact style and color she picked! I hate it when I pick out an exact thing, but the buyer gets me something "kinda" like it that they thought I'd like better...no, I wanted the EXACT THING! :happy

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StormShadow
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Re: wife's purse

Post by StormShadow »

Robert44 wrote:my wife wants a good purse and she mentioned a Coach purse. Any recommendations? She would keep it for probably ten years or more. She wants good things and keeps them forever.
It would be an every day purse and said she needs the shoulder strap. SHe has been using these Vera Bradley purses, which are nice, but she wants something a little bit classier all of a sudden.
Give her a ballpark figure of how much to spend, and you're done. Pretty sure she won't have too much trouble picking out which bag to get. :wink:
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Rob5TCP
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Re: wife's purse

Post by Rob5TCP »

I buy my gf at least on Coach bag a year, mostly from the outlets. While nice, the outlet bags are for the most part made for the Outlets. I bought one in the Key West outlet for $135 that had a 50%/50% listing.
There is no way that sold for $540 and when I inquired she told me the same. That original price is not what it ever sold for, but what they say is the "fair value".

The quality of the workmanship is quite good at the outlets, but again not as good as the regular stores.
Price wise Coach is significantly less than Luis Vuitton or Hermes. But the prior two are just a bit out of
what I am willing to spend as a gift purse.
etf
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Re: [Purchasing a] wife's purse

Post by etf »

coach used to be decent quality in the 90s, but now the quality is terrible and vastly overpriced.
michael kors, marc jacobs, etc...all low end designers and the quality (but not the price for some reason...) reflects it.
tumi is nice, but while it is an american company, their merchandise is usually made in thailand or china.

all the same, your wife has told you exactly what she wants so just go out and get it.
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Robert44
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Re: [Purchasing a] wife's purse

Post by Robert44 »

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. Going to the outlet mall Thursday. Hopefully they will have the model she has requested.
magazinewriter
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Re: [Purchasing a] wife's purse

Post by magazinewriter »

Robert, I looked up the model you listed. Here is the bag, the Prairie Satchel, $275.

http://www.coach.com/coach-designer-han ... 34340.html

Ask your wife what color she prefers. I know that many prefer the Coach Outlet, but I would go either to a regular Coach store or a department store. I know that Macy's carries Coach. I am not sure about Coach, but I know that a lot of outlet stores like Kate Spade have merchandise specially made for the outlets. It is not just last year's merchandise.

Good luck. Hope your wife loves the bag.
island
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Re: [Purchasing a] wife's purse

Post by island »

Robert44 wrote:Thank you everyone for your suggestions. Going to the outlet mall Thursday. Hopefully they will have the model she has requested.
Don't count on it. Years ago Coach outlets used to carry some of the classics that might have a slight imprefection, and I mean slight and it was a good deal. However every Coach outlet I've been to for last several years, either carries seasons old models that aren't very classic in shape or color or junk that looks like it's massed produced just for the outlet, typically fabric with Coach written all over them. Often see people buying 10 of those at a time to resell elsewhere I suppose.
Sometimes can find a peach if luck out or there often enough, but that's rare.
Same with Michael Kors and others.

I do like the style your wife wants. Expect to pay full pop (and be good with that :D ), unless have a coupon for Macy's or somewhere that sells that paticular one.

Please be sure to post back when you get it!
Topic Author
Robert44
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Re: [Purchasing a] wife's purse

Post by Robert44 »

My wife and I went to the Outlet Store today and they handed us a 50% coupon when we hit the door.
They didn't have the model she was interested in, but found one she really loves in less than 10 minutes. Very similar to the other one.

She sent our daughter a pic of her new purse and daughter texts back. (exact same purse she got for Christmas from her husband)

We Did do a nice lunch.
So, everything is great for now.
Thanks for all the replies.
island
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Re: [Purchasing a] wife's purse

Post by island »

Robert44 wrote:My wife and I went to the Outlet Store today and they handed us a 50% coupon when we hit the door.
They didn't have the model she was interested in, but found one she really loves in less than 10 minutes. Very similar to the other one.

She sent our daughter a pic of her new purse and daughter texts back. (exact same purse she got for Christmas from her husband)

We Did do a nice lunch.
So, everything is great for now.
Thanks for all the replies.
What model was it, do tell! :D
magazinewriter
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Re: [Purchasing a] wife's purse

Post by magazinewriter »

Robert44 wrote:My wife and I went to the Outlet Store today and they handed us a 50% coupon when we hit the door.
They didn't have the model she was interested in, but found one she really loves in less than 10 minutes. Very similar to the other one.

She sent our daughter a pic of her new purse and daughter texts back. (exact same purse she got for Christmas from her husband)

We Did do a nice lunch.
So, everything is great for now.
Thanks for all the replies.
Glad it worked out so well and that your wife is happy!
Topic Author
Robert44
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Re: [Purchasing a] wife's purse

Post by Robert44 »

island wrote:
Robert44 wrote:My wife and I went to the Outlet Store today and they handed us a 50% coupon when we hit the door.
They didn't have the model she was interested in, but found one she really loves in less than 10 minutes. Very similar to the other one.

She sent our daughter a pic of her new purse and daughter texts back. (exact same purse she got for Christmas from her husband)

We Did do a nice lunch.
So, everything is great for now.
Thanks for all the replies.
What model was it, do tell! :D
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LM89DPM/ref ... aba2c9cbda

apparently a 2014 model. SIL bought it at Nordstroms in Nov. 2014 for 200+, I got the exact purse in Jan 2014 for $100 +
We compared the purses this week and they are identical.
HIinvestor
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Re: [Purchasing a] wife's purse

Post by HIinvestor »

What a thoughtful gift at a great price! Win/win!
angelescrest
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Re: wife's purse

Post by angelescrest »

bowtie wrote:Never heard of Tumi. Italian?
I just gave her the purse early. Top quality leather, wow, I'm so impressed. Yes we are travel warriors and have some of their luggage--it's hard to beat. The Japanese are obsessed with them, that tells you something. Lately we have seen more of their female bags and purses, and for us it is the perfect blend of functionality, quality, and fashion. I had considered Coach for her, but I just couldn't get excited about the build quality for what you pay. With tumi you get both. I'm not sure how many purse options they have, if you are looking for a particular style.

They aren't cheap, but like the sale that just passed, you can sometimes find a great deal.
island
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Re: [Purchasing a] wife's purse

Post by island »

Nice Robert!
Glad she found one she liked and thanks for sharing what it is.
leod
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Re: [Purchasing a] wife's purse

Post by leod »

Coach is ok and wife has a few purse and bags, always on sale at outlet but most outlet carries a different material (feels like lower quality then the one in the mall).

until she saw my sisters LV bag which is some years on it already and still looks nice. her coach leather doesn't age well so she stopped buying them.

I'll check out the Tumi suggestion
protagonist
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Re: [Purchasing a] wife's purse

Post by protagonist »

Robert44 wrote:my wife wants a good purse and she mentioned a Coach purse. Any recommendations?
Yeah. Buy her a spinoff and tell her it's the real thing. She will never know the difference. (laughing.....)
Rodc
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Re: wife's purse

Post by Rodc »

island wrote:
Robert44 wrote:Beth, do you know what model it is. she is looking at Style 34340.
She gave you a style #? Well I'll go out on a limb and say I think she knows what she wants.
No need for recommendations from us other than buy Mrs Robert44 that Coach bag! :D

Either surprise her with it all gift wrapped (tuck a shiny new penny inside it for good luck) or take her shopping followed by a nice surprise lunch or dinner out.
This.

An expensive purse is a little like jewelry though it does not last as long. It is really not a completely rational item, it is a luxury item. And thus the justification is simply I like it and I have the money. And if not invoked too often is just fine.

PS: finished the thread: glad it worked out!
We live a world with knowledge of the future markets has less than one significant figure. And people will still and always demand answers to three significant digits.
jimishooch
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Re: [Purchasing a] wife's purse

Post by jimishooch »

my wife loves Brahmin,

but she picks them out, loves the "anywhere tote" and uses them for business as well. one Brahmin wallet transfers to seasonal purses...has a couple of clutches for dressy affairs.

when one purse starts looking a little worn I send it off to Brahmin repair for a makeover and have never been charged for the service. very good customer service.
thx
jim
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