It’s well known that I’m a small bag kind of girl.
With the way my back and shoulders are set up, I really can’t handle a big bag like that.
But when I saw the new Coach Carryall Soft Empire 40 floating around on social media, I was instantly hooked!
Between the rustic color options and, beautiful leather choice and soft squishy structure; this oversize bag is a real charmer.
Compared to the likes of the Row Margaux and the Hermes Birkin, the Coach Empire Bag is being held as a new classic.
But is the Coach Carryall Soft Empire 40 really here to stay? Or is all this hype just a trendy phase?
In today’s blog, I want to share my overall first impression with the Coach Soft Empire 40, but also briefly touch on the current trend towards larger bags and Coach’s rise back to the top of the fashion industry.
I’m going to be going into some background and economic trends for the first bit of this blog post. If you’re just here for my first impressions, feel free to skip around with the table of contents listed below.
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Table of Contents
Save on your next Coach Purchase
Just because the Coach Carryall Soft Empire 40 is fraction of the cost of the Margaux, doesn’t mean that you still can save a cute on it.
Coach and Coach outlet are one of the many designer stores that offer automatic rebates through Rakuten.
I know that I talk about Rakuten all the time, but that’s because they really are one of the best ways to save on purchases you were going to make already.
Simply stop by Rakuten before you shop or download their extension for your browser, and cash back will be applied to your account automatically.
Coach and Coach Outlet typically offer 2% cash back thought Rakuten with each purchase. But every now and again they will run a promotion with up to 10% cash back. And these savings add up.
Best of all, new users can earn an addition $30 in cash back when they make a qualifying purchase in 90 with Rakuten.
That would be about $50 off the Soft Empire 40 for new Rakuten member. So be sure to check them out.
Lipstick Index and Recession Core Fashion
With both global markets and local economies being all over the place as of late, many financiers and academics have struggled to say if we’re in a recession or not.
As a fashion lover and observer of trends I use the “Lipstick” index to gain a better understand of where we are when it comes to looking at the future for style and beauty trends.
In a nutshell, the idea of the Lipstick index is that during an economic rough patch consumption of affordable luxury rises whereas ultra luxury stays stagnant or even see dips (read about that here).
This trend towards more affordable luxuries also affects aesthetics and styling.
As the trend towards affordable luxury raise we see styling become more simplistic and oversize.
This “recession core” as some are calling it, showcases the wearer in a more utilitarian light.
The focus shifts to practicality for everyday use and work wear, as people start to look and value longevity and cost per wear more.
Less emphasis is placed on logos and fanatical designs, and simpler, more timeless designs arise.
Classic handbag styles that have stood the test of time such as the Alma, Kelly, Jackie, Birkin and more recently the Neverfull, were all designed and released during economic recessions.
Shop Coach Empire 40 at Dillard’s
Affordable Luxury in Coach
With the Coach brand balancing itself perfectly on the line of obtainable and luxury, Coach is uniquely poised to do well–if they can continue to create premium products that can capture the attention of fashion lovers and average shoppers a like.
I’m betting that Coach will come out okay, because if there’s one thing that Coach knows how to do well, it would be giving their customer base value.
While Coach recently experienced a flatting in sale for their fourth quarter, all previous quarters this year saw a steady amount of growth.
On paper Coach had an outstanding year with the success of their quilted Tabby’s, which felt like a response to consumers complaining about the rising cost of the Chanel Classic Flaps.
Now on the heels of 2025, it seems that Coach is coming for the likes of the Birkin and the Margaux with the Soft Empire.
About the Carryall
Within the Coach brand, a Carryall style bag is generally a tote with higher walls that is typically geared for work, travel and generally life use.
While the term “Carryall” implies that the bag is designed to carry all of your things (which it is), I think its important to at the entomology and the brands history with this term as well.
The whole Coach branding evokes the American expansion West aesthetic; with the horse drawn carriage–a Coach, as the brand logo. The term “Carryall” was also used to describe a large carriage for travel during this historical period.
I’m choosing to believe that this is intentional. If so,I really love how Coach continues to weave American heritage throughout its product line.
Coach offers a variety of Carryalls, both on their main and outlet site. The Carryalls also come in a variety of sizes with their mini’s being some of the most popular ones.
That might be changing thought with the release of the Soft Empire 40 and 48, as these sizes have taken the internet by storm.
Soft Empire 40
The Soft Empire 40 drips luxury with a vintage inspired silhouette, top quality leather and rich fall colors.
The interior is made up fabric lining of a contrasting color. It features a pocket with a button closure but no other internal organization.
Aged brass hardware contrast against beautifully varnished leather and includes a zipper, 2 D rings for the included strap and 4 feet.
At 15.75″ long and 11.5″ wide, this tote is big enough to comfortably hold a 13″ laptop along with my water bottle, agenda and a few of my small leather good or SLGs
The side straps on this bag can be adjusted in the interior of the bag to make it a tad more wide or tight depending on what you prefer.
This bag is designed to be worn cross body or over the shoulder with the included strap or top handle/ over the shoulder with the sturdy handles.
The Empire 40 was released in 4 colors– The Merlot (which is currently available here), Navy, Maple and Black: with Merlot and Navy being varnished.
The Soft Empire 40 retails for $695.00, however Coach has been encouraging customers to make their bags personal through charms, tags and twillies. While you can find some Coach charms for as low as $25.00 on their outlet site, the charms related along side the Soft Empire start at $95.00 and go up to $295.00
I have a bunch of Coach charms and tags already that I LOVE on this bag, however I couldn’t resist and got the pretzel and taxi cab as well.
How The Bag Wears
As you can see from these photos, this bag is large with a long strap to boot.
I have to have the strap at the shortest setting if I wish to wear it crossbody or over the shoulder, else wise this bag feels like it’s dangling at my knees.
This bag is also very heavy on its own. So adding anything to the bag makes it feel like you’re lugging around weights.
The interior being made of textile really benefits this bag as it helps reduce the weight and helps the bag be more supple and squishy.
The suppleness of this bag is also really nice when it comes to wear, because it will almost collapse into your body.
If this bag was more structured, it would be bounding off your hips and even more difficult to maneuver with.
My preferred way to wear this bag this would be top handle or over the crook of my elbow. It just feels easier to control that way to me.
But when worn this way, you probably want to pare down as much as possible because again, wearing this bag is life lifting weights.
I honestly think that the best way to wear/ use this bag would be as a travel bag.
Since purchasing this bag, I have used it on road trips, planes and trains; its prefect for holding all of your necessities.
What’s especially nice for me is the length of the handles; they are long enough to hook over the handle for a carry on roller bag.
What Fits
This bag is going to comfortably fit most everything the average person would need for work.
As mentioned earlier, this bag easily fits a 13″ laptop, a water bottle, my notebooks and agenda, small wallet, mini pochettee and my pen pouch.
For travel, I can again fit my laptop and water bottle, but I can also carry an extra set of clothes, snacks, a small toiletries case and small makeup bag
Final Thoughts
I personally love this bag. I think this bag fills a gap that I had in my wardrobe, both with color and size.
And the construction and the materials used to craft this bag is immaculate. This bag looks like a treasured piece that your mother passed down to you, and I honestly hope to pass this piece down to my kiddos.
I’m also really into this movement of personalization. Something about chunky charms, chains and twillies just adds so much character to the bag. But I also feel like you have to be careful because they can add even more weight to an already heavy bag.
I feel like the price point for this bag is also a great selling point. $695.00 is a lot of money. But it’s still more obtainable than the $5k+ for the Margaux and the $11k+ for the Birkin.
I don’t think this bag is for everyone though. While I do enjoy using this as a work bag, I wouldn’t want to use it this on days where I’m moving around a lot.
I also probably won’t use this as a mom bag. While it has the right amount of space and a zipper to keep things secure; once again, the bag is just really heavy, so it will be hard to maneuver around quickly with this bag.
All things considered thought, I love this bag and despite the weight issues, I have still been enjoying using it.
Is the Coach Soft Empire 40 a bag that you’re thinking about adding to your collection? I would love to hear your thoughts down below!
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Love, Monnii.
