Coco Chanel ~ Cutting Edge Chic

From her first hat shop, opened in 1912, to the 1920s, Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel rose to become one of the premier fashion designers in Paris, France, and ultimately, the world.

Her first customers were princesses and duchesses, but she dressed them like secretaries and stenographers in faux pearls, trench coats, simple knits, turtleneck sweaters and "little black dresses." By thumbing her nose at the haute couture styles of the 19th century, Coco Chanel freed women from the suffocating clutches of corsets and bustles and created a fashion revolution that would influence every designer that came after her. In fact, her signature suit ~ a collarless cardigan jacket trimmed in braid with an elegantly straight skirt - is the single most copied outfit of all time.

She claimed a birthdate of 1893 and a birthplace of Auvergne, but she was actually born in 1883 in Saumur. Her mother worked in the poorhouse where Gabrielle was born, and died when Gabrielle was only six, leaving her father with five children whom he promptly abandoned to the care of relatives. Chanel eventually spent much of her early life in a convent.


Saumer, France

When she was 17, the nuns who ran the convent helped Chanel get a job as a seamstress. But the beautiful young woman secretly yearned to escape the humdrum life of provincial France and ran off to the garrison town of Moulins to become a cabaret singer. She adopted the name Coco during a brief career as a café and concert singer from 1905-1908.

While she never found stardom as a chanteuse, she did find Etienne Balsan, a rich young playboy who took her in as his "back-up" mistress and moved her to Paris. Always the rebel, Chanel refused to dress the part. Instead of the extravagant satin dresses that were de rigueur for coquettes of the day, Chanel wore plain, dark-colored dresses that marked the beginning of the fashion trend that would make her name famous throughout Europe.


Coco and Etienne Balsan, her first boyfriend.

To keep her busy while he attended to his other mistress, Balsan helped Chanel open her own hat and dress shop in Paris. That arrangement led to bigger and better things when Chanel left Balsan for his friend Arthur "Boy" Capel in 1913. A wealthy English businessman, Capel, who is claimed to have been the true love of her life, provided the capital for Chanel to open two additional boutiques in the coastal towns of Deauville and Biarritz.

Chanel was so successful that she was able to pay back Capel in full, just four years after he set her up in business. Their affair continued, even after he married another woman, and did not end until Capel died in a car crash on his way to join Chanel for New Year's Eve in 1919.


Coco & Arthur "Boy" Capel, the love of her life.

Soon she was expanding to couture, and working in jersey, a first in the French fashion world. By the 1920s, her fashion house had expanded considerably, and her chemise set a fashion trend with its "little boy" look. Her relaxed fashions, short skirts, and casual looks were in sharp contrast to the corset fashions popular in the previous decades. Chanel herself dressed in mannish clothes, and adapted these more comfortable fashions which other women also found liberating.

Throughout the 1920s, Chanel's social, sexual and professional progress continued, and her eminence as a fashion designer grew to the status of legend. Her growing fame made her one of the "in crowd." She befriended Stravinsky, Picasso and other members of Paris' exclusive art clique, and she designed costumes for Russian ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev and French filmmaker Jean Cocteau. (Known for her generosity to her friends, Chanel paid for Diaghilev's funeral when he died penniless in Venice.)

"Those who create are rare; those who cannot are numerous. Therefore, the latter are stronger. " - Coco Chanel

In 1922 Coco introduced a perfume, Chanel No. 5, which is still wildly popular to this day.

Top Notes
Ylang-Ylang, Neroli, Aldehydes

Middle Notes
Jasmine, Mayrose

Base Notes
Sandalwood, Vetiver

"Luscious and chic, this stellar concoction still turns heads. It's unique, and instantly recognizable. This chilly and powdery scent smells like a cloud of soft ambery musk over which are scattered petals of pink and white roses and jasmine.

A proud iris enhances the sophistication of the middle part on the side of lily of the valley and this is the heart of a perfect balance of floral notes.

After few minutes of a slightly citrusy fickle blast this blend turns cool and glamourous with its initial floral whiff of sensual ylang-ylang.

Paradoxically, it does this with a retro and nostalgic touch. Think: high class ladies in white clothing strolling along the Royal Pavilion with their umbrellas under the sun.

There is also a woody mildness to the scent. A dash of patchouli, a rooty hint of vetiver and a subterranean aftertaste of orange rounds it out nicely. The milky effect is not creamy or resinous despite amber and vanilla but instead powdery and airy because of the fluctuating and aerodynamic effect of aldehydes which impress a sort of balsamic frosty substance to the smell anticipating the glamour talky temperament of many aromatic and balsamic powdery creations of the modern market.

This piece of history deserves respect."

[From Basenotes Perfume Reviews, Darvant, Italy]

"There have been several Duchesses of Westminster but there is only one Chanel!" - Coco Chanel ...Splurge a little. Life is short.


2.6K Crochet Lace 11C Chanel Stripe Cashmere Dress 40


VINT CHANEL BOUTIQUE Orange Boucle Blazer Sz 42 95 C


VINT CHANEL Ivory Blck Cashmere Pleated Dress Sz 44 99C


Chanel Black Patent Leather Sandals, Size 39 1/2 US Size 9.5

Coco Chanel introduced her signature cardigan jacket in 1925 and signature "little black dress" in 1926. Most of her fashions had a staying power, and didn't change much from year to year - or even generation to generation.

Photo, Right: Audrey Hepburn, wearing a Chanel "little black dress" in "Sabrina".

Nothing in fashion or design can outshine the Chanel Little Black Dress. Coco introduced it in a time between the wars, when the bright colors, prints and heavy embroideries dominated the fashion.

The long-sleeved black dress, which was initially made in wool, and for evening in crepe, satin or velvet, shook up the world of fashion. Later there were other variations: short, sleeveless, in a pleated black chiffon, in black lace...

In 1926 American Vogue named Coco's black dress "a Ford", forecasting its potential for an enormous and long-lasting success. It was this dress which inspired the famous remark of her competitor Paul Poiret: "What has Chanel invented? De luxe poverty."

The Chanel little black dress became a symbol of chic and sophisticated simplicity.

We thought so.


Authentic Chanel Quilted Flap Leather Bag


Chanel Pale Pink & White Leather Heels ~ Pumps ~ US Size 9, EU Size 39


RARE Exquisite Chanel 10P Fringed Cocktail Dress 36 NEW


CHANEL BOUTIQUE Black Boucle BEADED Jacket+Skirt Suit M

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening." - Coco Chanel

The best color in the whole world, is the one that looks good, on you!
- Coco Chanel

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Coco briefly served as a nurse in World War I. Nazi occupation meant the fashion business in Paris was cut off for some years. Chanel's affair during World War II with a Nazi officer also resulted in some years of diminished popularity and an exile of sorts to Switzerland. In 1954 her comeback restored her to the first ranks of haute couture. Her natural, casual clothing including the Chanel suit once again caught the eye - and purses - of women. She introduced pea jackets and bell bottom pants for women. She was still working in 1971 when she died. Karl Lagerfeld has been chief designer of Chanel's fashion house since 1983.

Photo, Above: Nicole Ritchie, wearing a gorgeous red Chanel Pea Coat.