The Fashion History of Coco Chanel

      Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel was one of the most influential fashion designers the world has ever known. Coco Chanel was born in Samur, France, in 1883, and had a very tough childhood. In 1895, Chanel's mother died when she was only twelve years old and shortly thereafter, her father left the family. With no one left to care for Coco and her many siblings, they were sent to live in an orphanage until they reached adulthood. Coco Chanel was raised in an orphanage of the roman Catholic monastery of Aubazine, where she learned the trade of a seamstress. When Chanel turned eighteen she left the orphanage and pursued singing. During this time, she preformed in bars in Vichy and Moulins where she earned herself the nickname "Coco." Many say she acquired her nickname from one of the songs she loved to sing. Chanel herself once said that it was a, "shortened version of coquette, the French word for "kept woman."

     Chanel realized that she would not be able to support herself on her modest earnings as a singer and soon afterwards, began designing hats as a hobby. Chanel soon realized she had a passion for design. Chanel's modest career quickly grew once theater actress Gabrielle Dorziat modeled her hats in the popular play, Bel Ami in 1912. A man who admired Chanel, Arthur Edward Capel, provided her with key financial assistance to open up her first boutique in 1913. When her boutique first opened in Deauville, France. it sold luxe casual clothing as well as many hats that could be worn for both leisure and sport. Chanel's designs were simple, practical, and often inspired by menswear. Chanel frequently used a fabric called jersey for its low cost and its ability to drape well.
   
 (I absolutely love the picture below because it just has such a wonderful whimsical feel to it btw: all of the pictures I have used are not creations of my own and may be found at google.com) 

Chanel quickly opened a second boutique in 1915, named Chanel-Biarritz. Her boutique flourished. Many women found themselves drawn to Chanel's clean and uncluttered styles, with their boxy lines and shortened skirts, her unique style permitted women to no longer wear their corsets and freed them for the practical activities that had been made necessary by the war. In 1924, Chanel made an agreement with the Wertheimer brothers, Paul, and Pierre, directors of the famous perfume house Bourgeois, and created the very successful perfume, "Parfums Chanel."

Chanel's personal interests often provided inspiration for her fashion lines. Her clothing often followed her favorite color palette, varying shades of beige, black, and white. Many of her favorite elements from her art collection, and theatrical interests inspired her new designs and collections. Chanel was known for her relentless drive for perfection, every part of her clothing had to be perfect in her eyes. In 1926, Chanel introduced the famous "little black dress" and showed the world how an article of clothing can be used universally and for many different occasions. The concept of a dress that was suitable for both day and evening soon became a staple in Chanel's future clothing lines. Chanel also used bright and colorful fabrics for chiffons for daytime wear. For evening clothing Chanel created clothing that made a sliming silhouette but, the clothing was often embellished with lace, tulle, and decorative pieces to soften and romanticize the ensemble.

Even though Coco Chanel had experienced great success with her clothing and perfume franchise, she closed her boutiques in 1939, when France declared war on Germany. Other shops moved to different countries, but  Chanel stayed in France, and waited to see what the future held for her. Following the end of the war, Chanel realized that she could no longer sit and watch as the other designers created beautiful clothing and found great success. Chanel decided to open her boutiques once more. However, Chanel ran into many difficulties when trying to accomplish this task such as: securing finances, finding new fabrics, hiring a completely new staff, and competeing in the fashion world as the age of seventy against new, young designers. 

Chanel's comeback collection made its debut in 1953. Even though Chanel's collection was not a huge success, she began to work even harder to perfect her clothing. She updated her classic looks, reworking her classic tweed designs until women from all over France desired her new fashion lines. Within three seasons, Chanel had found success and respect in the fashion world once again. The Chanel suit quickly became a status symbol for a new generation of high fashion. The suit was made of lovely solid or tweed fabric, had a slim skirt and collarless jacket trimmed in braid, gold buttons, patch pockets, with gold-colored chain sewn into the hem to ensure it hung properly from the shoulders.

Chanel also reintroduced, with great success over the years, her unique shoes, jewelry, and handbags, along with many new scents of perfume. 

Chanel passed away in 1971 and several of her assistants designed the couture and ready-to-wear lines until Karl Lagerfeld was able to take over as the new head of the company. Lagerfeld lookd to past designs for future inspiration for clothing, as Chanel had done for him. His designs incorporated signature Chanel details including tweed fabrics, gold chains, jersey fabrics, quilt-stitched leather, and the famous "CC" logo.

Lagerfeld's ability to take cues from Chanel's past fashion lines, re-work them, and bring them to life in the twenty-first century continously testifies to the importance of Gabrielle Chanel's contributions to women's fashion all over the world.