Coach Clones

Where I am, Coach stores are popping up in almost every mall in the city.  Now, I have a like-hate relationship (love is too strong a word) with Coach.  I like the majority of their leather bags, accessories and shoes:

But I hate their fabric, monogrammed bags:

And "hate", in this case, is not too strong a word.  Over the past couple of years, Coach has expanded to reach a larger group of consumers, namely the middle-class.  Although I have nothing wrong with making more affordable bags, I think Coach is really beginning to cheapen itself.

I can guarantee myself that whenever I go out, I am bound to see at least a couple Coach bags.  There have been days when I've literally seen seven Coach bags in the course of two hours...all made out of monogrammed fabric.  I see all kinds of people carrying them: young teenagers to elderly women.  I see fake ones, real ones, big ones, small ones...

I walk into a Coach outlet store, and that's the worst.  The line-up at the cashier goes on forever, and some people are purchasing four bags at once.  I'm embarrassed to say I own a fabric, monogrammed Coach bag myself.  I never use it because I can't quite bring myself to carry it around the street and simply blend in with practically everyone else.  Even though Coach isn't the only handbag label, from what I see, it might as well be.

Image Source: Coach.com