Safari Tote

Era

cashinE2

Designer

bonnie-cashin

Confidence

tentative

Status

published

Lead

The Safari Tote is a Cashin-era Coach silhouette referenced in period vintage dealer listings (notably 1stdibs and similar marketplaces) as “Bonnie Cashin for Coach Safari Tote,” typically dated to the 1960s and characterized by a double-turnlock-pocket configuration. Designer attribution to Bonnie Cashin is likely — the form, hardware vocabulary, and dealer-consensus framing all sit consistently with her documented Coach work — but no Tier 1 or Tier 2 source has been located that attributes the specific model name “Safari Tote” to a Coach catalog entry. This entry is published as tentative for that reason.

Folklore caveat — read first

This entry sits at the edge of what the archive can responsibly document from free public sources. Specifically:

• The model name “Safari Tote” is not present in research/D-models.md. It does not appear in the Cashin-era table there alongside Cashin Carry, Dinky, Mailbox, Slimline, Musette, etc.
• The name surfaces in research/J-cashin-supplemental.md context only as a descriptor used in period dealer listings (1stdibs and comparable vintage-market sites), not in any catalog scan, museum caption, or UCLA Cashin papers reference yet retrieved.
• “Safari Tote” may therefore be a dealer-coined descriptor rather than Coach’s catalog name for the bag. The actual catalog name (if any) is unknown, and the bag may have been catalogued under a different name, a style number only, or as part of an unnamed group.
• The double-turnlock-pocket configuration is consistent with Cashin’s hardware vocabulary [vintagefashionguild-cashin] but is not unique to a single model.

Treat the model name itself as provisional pending a primary catalog or UCLA-papers cite.

Description

Per period dealer listings, the Safari Tote is a 1960s tote-form glove-tanned cowhide bag carrying two front pockets each closed with a brass turnlock — the diagnostic detail most cited by dealers calling the bag a “Safari Tote.” Solid brass hardware throughout. Dimensions, color list, lining detail, and the Coach catalog name (if different) are open verification items. No dated catalog appearance has been located in free public sources.

The 1960s dating sits inside Cashin’s Coach tenure (1962–1974 [wwd-coach-early-years]; 1961–1974 per maharam-cashin, disputed) and post-dates the 1964 turnlock introduction [vintagefashionguild-cashin], which is consistent with the double-turnlock-pocket form.

Authentication

Cashin-era diagnostics apply (cross-reference authentication/ for the full era-keyed matrix). The bag falls in era code E2 — pre-creed or early-creed Cashin-era construction:

• No leather creed patch on early E2 examples — small metal interior tag only on early-1960s production, transitioning to a leather stamp without a creed patch on mid-to-late-1960s production [coachbagrehab-dating]. A leather creed with a numeric serial is inconsistent with a 1960s dating and would push the bag into E3 (Classic NYC) territory.
• No serial number on most pre-creed examples [coachbagrehab-dating]. Absence of a serial is not a fake tell on a Cashin-era bag.
• Solid brass hardware, non-magnetic. A magnet that sticks indicates plated steel and is a strong reproduction signal. “COACH” stamping on turnlocks is not expected on Cashin-era pieces; absence does not indicate inauthenticity [vintagefashionguild-cashin].
• Double-turnlock-pocket configuration is the descriptor most cited by period dealers attributing this model name. The turnlock itself was introduced at Coach in 1964 [vintagefashionguild-cashin]; pre-1964 Cashin-era bags used kiss- lock or open-top closures and would not carry this configuration.
• Glove-tanned cowhide, raw or burnished edges. Painted/glossy edges are a strong reproduction signal.

Designer attribution

likely Bonnie Cashin — not confirmed. The reasoning:

• The form, hardware, and 1960s production window are consistent with Cashin’s documented Coach vocabulary [c-cashin §3, vintagefashionguild-cashin].
• Period dealers attribute the bag to Cashin under the “Bonnie Cashin for Coach Safari Tote” label.
• However, no UCLA Cashin papers cite, no dated 1962–1974 Coach catalog page, and no Tier 1/2 secondary source has been located attributing this specific model name to her. Per research/C-cashin.md §5, the over-attribution problem is severe in this domain — bags with Cashin-vocabulary hardware are routinely (mis)attributed to her even when introduced after her 1974 contract end. A 1960s dating here is plausible and the attribution is more defensible than for post-1974 bags, but the standard for confirmed is a primary cite the archive does not yet hold.

Open items

Top priority verification before promoting confidence:

• Coach catalog name — is “Safari Tote” the model’s catalog name, or a dealer descriptor for an otherwise-named model? A 1960s Coach catalog scan would settle this.
• Style number — none documented; pre-creed E2 production may predate Coach’s style-number system entirely.
• UCLA Cashin papers cite — would settle designer attribution definitively.
• Dimensions — none documented in free public sources.
• Color list — none documented in free public sources.
• Tier 1/2 source for the model name — currently the model name rests on dealer-listing convention only.

Sources

• yourgreatfinds-collectors-guide (D1) — general Cashin-era model reference. Does not name a “Safari Tote” specifically; cited here for the broader Cashin-era vocabulary it documents.
• vintagefashionguild-cashin — 1964 turnlock introduction and Cashin’s non-exclusive use of the hardware across Coach, Sills, Meyers, Crescendoe-Superb, HBA, and D. Klein. Establishes that the double-turnlock form is consistent with her Coach vocabulary.
• vintagecoachie — general Cashin-era reference and pre-1994 creed diagnostics. Does not name a “Safari Tote” specifically.

No source cited above attributes the specific model name “Safari Tote” to Coach. The model name is included on the strength of period dealer-listing convention only. Confidence: tentative overall, with the model name itself flagged as the weakest link.