company Coach | megabrand Coach | New York

Seventy years after its inception, luxury leather-goods company Coach is returning to its roots and expanding its men’s collection. And we say: It’s about time.

Here’s a little-known fact — megabrand Coach was launched in 1941 as a leather-goods company with an emphasis on men’s products, and it stayed that way for 20 years before it began creating all those luxurious handbags that women love so much. But now, 70 years later, the company is circling back to where it started and expanding its men’s line with a variety of collections for fall and at least 10 new men’s stores opening throughout the next fiscal year (a flagship men’s store opened last year on Bleecker Street in New York, followed by shops in Boston and Paramus, N.J.).

Products encompass everything from watches, jackets and footwear to gorgeous molded-leather laptop cases, totes (including new reversible versions with leather on one side and canvas, suede or quilted nylon on the other), and bicycle accessories — all done in well-chosen materials and in classic styles guaranteed to age well. “This wasn’t about diving into the archives and reissuing pieces we’ve done before,” explains Greg Unis, vice president of men’s merchandising. “It’s about diving into the archives and being inspired by our rich history, but making pieces for the modern man. $128 to $798, www.coach.com