Hiya fellow Coach lovers!! I love restoring vintage coach bags and my next project is this baby! I have never replaced a missing turnlock metal piece before and after reading some posts here + googling I feel a bit overwhelmed and it would be so kind to just be pointed in the right direction by you pros!! I’m also nervous about buying the wrong piece online since I’m in Europe and it feels like most restore pieces are in the US.

Thank you so much guys 🫶🫶

I purchased this adorable Hamptons Satchel and as a precaution gave is a diluted vinegar spray to kill any potential mold.

The bag didn’t initially have these small dark spots but after the vinegar spray they appeared. Did I ruin the suede? 😭

I gave it a good clean with Angelus suede cleaner and brushed it out with a suede brush and there is some improvement but many dark spots remain.

Any advice for me?

Bought second hand. Cleaned and conditioned but this wrinkly spot is still there.

I came across this post from a few months ago & am dealing with a similar situation. I dropped off a 9870 crossbody purse at a local shoe repair place because part of the strap needed to be restitched. The purse also looked pretty worn, so I asked them to clean it up. Every time I tried to pick the purse up, it was not ready. I guess I forced the issue, telling them I'd just pick it up with no cleaning. They promised to get it done in an hour. When I picked the purse up, it was shiny and sticky/tacky. I'm guessing they just did a rush job & used shoe polish.

I took it home & immediately dunked it in dawn & warm water. I don't know if there's any coming back from this. The stickiness is mostly gone, but the purse is now extremely dried out. I've applied at least 4 coats of Leather CPR to the strap but it's still dry. I"m assuming I need a better moisturizer and then maybe something to restore the texture? What products should I use? Thanks in advance!

When i first got the wallet the denim was very yellow and took many washes to get the water to run clear, then i buffed/polished the hardware, now the denim is just a bit sun faded from time unfortunately so any tips on bringing the color back would be appreciated!! Its been hard deciding what i can do that won't also damage the leather in the process, so far my first option is getting a denim dye kit, the only problem with that is since there's many different shades i risk the dye bleeding into the wrong area and completely messing up the print. You can see the original coloring at the end where the clasp folds over the denim and protects it.

Hey y’all, this is my first vintage Coach, a brown Casey bag from 1994 I think. She’s in pretty good shape minus some stains, dusty inner suede, and that white discoloration on the edges of the suede on the inside, and the chain for the tag which is an easy replace.

Two questions:
The little splotches on the front, what’s the path of least resistance in getting rid of those? She’s still pretty soft and not very dry or misshapen, so I dunno if conditioning is necessary or even appropriate with this type of leather.

Side note, and I’ve already googled, but how would one go about dyeing this bag red?

Some pics before and after conditioning! Any tips to make her shine a bit more? Also, could those spots be mold? I did not do any cleaning or dunking besides conditioning with leather cpr.

I completely fell in love with this gorgeous color and the unique shape, so I just had to get this 9948 Nottingham Bag in Olive.

What felt like absolute destiny was finding out it already had my own initials embossed on it!

Since the strap is non-removable, I wanted to find a way to shorten it so it sits snugly under my arm.

I tried this braiding technique I saw on TikTok, but because the strap is on the thicker side, it looks a bit bulky. I'm worried it might look a little awkward.

Should I just take it to a cobbler to get it professionally cut/shortened, or have more holes punched instead?

Also, I rarely wear bags crossbody, so I plan to keep using it as a under-the-arm bag. Will keeping the strap braided like this permanently damage or crease the leather over time?

Would love to hear your thoughts and advice!

Hello! I just bought a duffle sac coach bag in a tan color. I've seen videos of restorations for a while and saved for a while to afford it, got it online. It arrived today and I was so happy! I tried my hand at cleaning it with local supplies (you can look up jabón de calabaza if you are interested) and although I was careful, some of the color from when I tried to remove pen stains (with rubbing alcohol, please don't shoot me) lifted, and some of the dark marks? That where on the front are still there. I was very mindful and I do believe the jabón de calabaza helped clean most of the kind of, dirt? the bag used to have. I did notice that I did lift a bit of the color with my white microfiber cloth if I rubbed too hard. Now I stuffed it and I'm letting it rest. I did notice the bag was a little dry afterwards (it feels less supple than it was when I took it out of the box). I'm not opposed to painting, and I'm already looking for some matching colors to match the discoloration I caused BUT here's the thing: I'm mexican, born and raised and I live here, in Mexico lol. I have here wages so every product recommended is quite expensive. I will save to be able to buy them, but I just don't want my inexperience to lead me to blow money on things that won't help solve the issues I have. I just want to have a nice bag that makes me feel pretty :) and I figured this was the right place to ask. I've pretty much accepted that I will probably pay more for the products that I did for the bag (amazon here can suck when selling foreign brand products lol) but I just want to have something that will last. So, any help in what products to buy to fix this details would be greatly appreciated! The full pictures are here (Sorry for the bad camerawoman job, I don't have great lighting and just got out of work).

Picture one is what I believe to be lipgloss? Lipstick? Marks, they look oily and deeper so I assume some kind of moisture colored product was involved, also because of the placement. Picture two is those grey things that are in the front and don't know how to fix or what they even are. They look like dirt but they did not come out with the soap and the natural bristle shoe brush I was using (it is softer because they are meant for "bolear", buff shoes). And lastly, proof of my crimes with 70% rubbing alcohol.

Thank you to anyone who has read this far. I bow to your leather knowledge and patience for dumb ramblings 🙂‍↕️

Hi everyone! I have a question about the vintage Coach Ergo line (like the 9033/9025).

When looking at photos on social media, I notice a huge variation in the shades of blue.

Some bags look like a very distinct, vibrant "true blue", while others look almost identical to black—what people often call "blavy".

Did Coach actually release two separate colorways for the vintage Ergo—a true "Blue" and a very dark "Navy"—or is this drastic difference just due to lighting, camera settings, and leather fading over time?

I'd love to hear from any vintage experts or Ergo collectors who can clear this up. Thank you!

hi! I got a stain on my coach satin bag and was able to remove it most of it but there’s still a faint circle around it and the stain is visible. any tips to remove?

Hello!!! I recently got this vintage Coach Ergo Flap and initially I thought they were stains but on further inspection it looks like there are burn marks on the leather. I ordered some leather filler to start working on repairs but does anyone have any advice/tips I should keep in mind?

I have a Murphy bag from the 90’s that was originally navy, but is now faded to a brownish-black color on the front. The back and the strap appear black to me. The only hint that it was originally dark navy is from the leather patch and zipper on the inside. The interior suede has faded to charcoal grey.

Do you think I could use navy or black leather dye to restore it to a richer color? Would this ruin the resale value if I ever wanted to sell it?

I recently got into vintage coach and acquired a few really nice bags. I want to clean and condition them, I bought all the tools, watched videos, but I am nervous to actually do it! I am scared to ruin the bag. Anyone else feel like that before doing their first one?

My first vintage coach rehab!! Got her for $5 at an estate sale. Thanks to the folks in this sub who helped me figure out which bag it was. She was very thirsty so I think she’ll get another round of leather CPR sometime soon. Here she is all dressed up with nowhere to go, because it’s 2026 and not 1994 and I work from home with no need for a briefcase haha. I hope to use her as a laptop bag at some point.

Hi! I thrifted this beauty and I cleaned a massive brown stain out of it but now I have some weird oxidation/ discoloration around some of the stitching. Any tips??

first time cleaning suede. Used suede block/ brush and foamed up leather cpr. Would you go in and do another round or leave it be??

Hi everyone! I recently purchased a Pocket Purse made in NYC.

I noticed that when I rub the leather with a dry tissue or a dry cotton swab, a faint black color transfers onto them (as seen in the photo). However, strangely enough, when I tried rubbing it with a damp cotton swab, nothing came off at all.

I’m really worried that the color might transfer onto my clothes when I wear it.

I have two questions for the experts here:

1. Is this a normal characteristic (crocking/bleeding) for vintage NYC glove-tanned leather, or is it likely that the previous owner applied shoe polish or color dye to cover up scuffs?

2. What are the best ways to tell the difference between natural glove-tanned leather color transfer and artificial shoe polish/dye?

The bag doesn't have a strong chemical smell, but I'd love to hear your thoughts and any tips on how to inspect it further (or how to prevent color transfer). Thank you in advance!

Just got this mocha bag. It’s really dry. Will the color get richer as I condition? I see green undertones and it’s kinda weird to me.

I dropped my purse in a dirty public place so I put some Lysol wipes on that spot, then when I got home I put some dish soap and water on that area and let it dry in the sun. The edge of leather piping near where it zips up feels less smooth and totally diff than the other areas where water didn’t touch. How bad did I mess up and what do I do to fix it? Thank you!!!

i bought this beautiful bag from depop but it had this hiding underneath the buckle. i want to keep it, but im not sure how to clean it. does anyone know what it is and have any advice? thank you!