Several years ago, while thrifting, I found a Vintage Coach Kensington Briefcase. Initially, I took this bag for granted, not realizing the gem that it was. I knew that it was Vintage Coach, so I did not pass on it. I decided to take it home, and there, Pandora's Box opened.

I live in the Midwest and found the business card of the previous owner of this bag in one of the side pockets. The business card was for a location in the Sears Tower. The former owner of the bag either worked at the Sears tower or attended a meeting at the Sears Tower and the card was left inside this bag for many years. Since that time, the Sears Tower has been renamed to the Willis Tower, which indicates how long ago this bag was donated, as well as how long ago this business card must've been placed inside that side pocket. I felt so happy to find this treasure because knowing that this bag once attended meetings in the Sears Tower, and now is being carried to business meetings with me for my career, makes me appreciate this classic style even more.

The Kensington is a unique briefcase. It measures at 16" X 10.5" X 4.5". It originally sold in Mahogany, Black and British Tan colors. My bag is in the lovely British Tan color. This bag has two front gusseted pockets, one inside zipper pocket, an outside back pocket, as well as a 41-inch adjustable and detachable strap. In 1996, this bag sold for $412.

The leather on this bag is immaculate. There is absolutely no stains or wear to the leather of the bag. The interior has beautiful, raw leather, and the bag overall shows no signs of wear. It is obvious that this bag was well cared for. The bag has two turn-lock front closures, and one of the brass rivets that secures the back of the turn locks was missing. This leads me to believe that this one flaw may have been the reason the former owner donated the bag. The missing rivet caused the bag, when closed, to be uneven on one side.

I had this bag in my possession for about a year, and then one day, I decided to take the bag to a cobbler to see if he could repair the rivet. I decided to wear the bag, crossbody-messenger-style, to work with my belongings inside it. At the end of my workday, I stopped at a local shoe-cobbler store. This was right before the pandemic and most small businesses were still open. Now I find that cobblers are getting harder to find. It just so happened that this particular cobbler was local. That day, I walked into the shop, and to my right, I saw a wall of about 40 handbags that needed to be repaired. Looking down the corridor, there were rows and rows of shoes that needed to be repaired. I began to think that this was going to be more than I bargained for. My first thought was, "Please! Don't let my Vintage Coach bag end up on this rack with all these other bags!"

From the back of the store came a very friendly cobbler, who welcomed me. I placed the bag on the counter and explained the problem about the missing rivet. The cobbler examined the bag and asked if he could take the bag to the back of the store. While in the rear of the store, I could hear drawers opening and closing, and screws and bits being moved around. I heard light hammering and repair noises. Shortly after, the cobbler returned with my bag. I examined my bag and saw that he found a brass rivet that was almost identical to to the one that Coach used on the Kensington bag. It was the exact same in color and dimension, and the turn lock now worked perfectly. I asked the cobbler how much I owed him for the repair. He looked at me and said, "Ah, just throw it back across you", the way I wore it into the shop. I insisted on giving him a tip, on which he still refused. I remember leaving thinking how kind he was to repair my bag and not charge, as well as what an excellent job he did. To this day, my Kensington Briefcase turn lock still works perfectly. It is not a visual repair; no one would even be able to tell a repair has been made if i did not have this story to tell. I enjoy this vintage Coach bag in my collection and have carried often to business meetings. This will always be one of my greatest thrifted finds. It compares to any modern Coach briefcase today. I also am a proud owner of a Coach Signature Hudson Briefcase, which is similar in size, but the Kensington is just as good still.