Today I will tell you a story about a woman who helped shape the world in a very unique way. With the New York Fashion Week just having passed and the Fashion Week in Paris coming up by the end of September, I think this is just the time for some style talk here on Bunny got Blog.

The woman I am going to tell you about is of course Coco Chanel. I believe it is not far fetched to say that she was the greatest leader in fashion and someone who changed the way we women dress until today.

There are many different stories told about Coco since she changed the story of her humble beginning to fit in with high society. Coco was a a very proud and intelligent woman. Many of her early experiences left her determined to make it on her own, which in her days was next to impossible: she was a woman with only the skills of a willful creative, the talent for making things simple, and an eye for design. That’s an entrepreneur’s mindset, making her a woman before her time. Coco would elaborate on her humble beginnings in order to be accepted in the aristocratic society she found herself in. The people around her learned to admire her ways and her style. Later on, no one questioned where Coco came from anymore; only where could they find her hats. Yes, Coco started making hats as a hobby then decided to sell them.

So get yourself a cup of tea and let’s read on together. This is not a shortie, but rather an amazing and very colorful story that I’m sure you will enjoy very much.

Here is Coco’s story.

Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel

Coco’s given name was Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel. She was born on August 20, 1883 in Saumur, France. She was the  second-born illegitimate daughter of Albert Chanel and Jeanne Devolle, after her older sister Julian – her parents married in 1883 after Gabrielle’s birth and had four more children.

Gabrielle Chanel at very young age

In 1895, Gabrielle’s mother died of tuberculosis at the age of 32, when Gabrielle was 12. Unfortunately, Albert could not provide for his children, nor could any of their relatives. A week after her mother’s death, Gabrielle and her sisters were placed in the Roman Catholic monastery of Aubazine. Their father promised he would return for them but never did. Her brothers were farmed out for child labor.

However, the girls were able to visit their maternal grandparents on a holiday. Gabrielle was very close to her aunt Adrienne, who had been born 20 years after her sister Gabrielle’s mother. The two girls were the same age. Adrienne stayed in contact with the Chanel children.

At the orphanage, the nuns taught Gabrielle to sew and work hard. When Gabrielle turned 18, she and Julie, her only older sister, left the monastery to attend a boarding school in Moulins. At 20, Gabrielle went to work at a hat shop where Adrienne worked as a shop assistant. The boutique was called The House of Grampayne.

Gabrielle goes “Coco”

The following summer, Gabrielle and Adrienne moved together into an apartment in Moulins. Both girls started to date French lieutenants. At an out-with-friends evening at La Rotonde,  an opera house, Gabrielle was encouraged to sing. She sang Qui qu’a vu Coco (“Who has seen Coco”), which she continued to sing among other songs for three years – that’s how long Gabrielle’s profession as a singer lasted. What remained though was her new nickname, which was given to her due to the song she loved to sing so much: “Coco”.

Skills vs. Status

Coco, Etienne, and Boy

It was 1903. At this time, it was unacceptable for an aristocrat to marry someone who wasn’t of the same status. Women without status would never be considered marriage material, and Coco belonged in this demographic.

Etienne Balsan was the first man who Coco loved, and the first man she lived with. She met him when she was 21 and lived with him for 5 years. Etienne was a lieutenant in the French military, and a polo player. His true passion was raising and breading horses. His family were wealthy industrialists. During the relationship, Etienne introduced Coco to many people and ravished her with expensive gifts. The couple would host lavish parties and hunting events at their home. This gave Coco more exposure: the elite saw her wear her own creations. She started to wear pants and dress more casual.

Although Coco had believed Etienne was going to marry her someday, there was still the stigma that she was an orphan coming from a poor family. Etienne was an aristocrat who had no intentions of marring her. The couple split on good terms. Etienne loaned her his Paris apartment and he traveled to Argentina. Coco and Etienne remained lifelong friends and she always wore a ruby ring on a chain around her neck that he had once given her.

The First Order

Using her millinery skills, Coco started to create hats which she would wear to sports events and parties. Very soon, she was being asked by influential aristocrat women where she had purchased her hats. “Mademoiselle Chanel – Hats and Dresses in Paris”, she replied.

The actress Emilienne d’Alencon

One of the first women to order a hat from Coco was the actress Emilienne d’Alencon, whom Coco met through Etienne Balsan. This was long before she had established her first shop. Soon, more hat orders came in for Coco, even from royalty like Princess Charlotte.

Coco found herself surrounded by people that were intrigued by her charisma and independence. Because Coco believed in herself so much, she dared to be different; she made a fashion statement, and this impressed people even more. She was ahead of her time and was inspired to make fashion more comfortable and simplistic for women. The fashion in those days was elegant, but inclined to have several layers underneath long dresses, including a corset with a bone structure to enhance an hourglass shape.

Coco took her ideas and started to create simple designs for women, which she wore herself. What a marketing strategy! Today, we have the so-called celebrities who get sponsored by fashion designers to wear the newest creations at public events. In the early 20th century, Coco made a celebrity out of herself. She dared to be different, and she stood out. She replaced the corset and made dresses shorter and less frilly. She wanted her own shop and was already selling her hats.

Coco’s Next Man: Named Boy

Coco and Adrienne standing outside Coco' s first boutique

After the lieutenant, a new man moved into Coco Chanel’s life: Boy Capel. He was a good friend of Etienne Balsan, a business man and polo player. Coco met him while he was visiting Etienne and immediately made good friends with him. Unlike Etienne, Boy encouraged Coco’s dreams. After Coco moved into Etienne’s Paris apartment, she found herself getting buried in debt. Even with the wolves at the door wanting to take her hats and her to surrender all her properties, Coco did not give up, but became more determined.

Boy Chapel visited Coco shortly after and became her silent partner and first investor. Coco’s talent and his money were the perfect team: Boy financed her first shop, Gabrielle Chanel. Not too long after, in 1913, Coco opened her second shop in Deauville, a beach resort town.

Sun Tan & Sporty Fashion… For Women!

Coco loved the beach and would often holiday at Deauville during her affair with Boy. It was here where she started making her clothing designs. At the beach, Coco would tan herself, which was another first for ladies at that time. Coco made it her mission to change the fashion for women. Boy gave her inspiration for some of her jacket designs and the long belted sweater. He encouraged her passion to create and design.

Coco had become a great lover of hunting, and even enjoyed fishing. So she started designing a woman’s sports line. Including trousers and loose blouses inspired by sailors and fishermen. Comfortable jackets with material to keep the shape. Quilted fabric for purses inspired by the jockeys’ attire she had seen at horse races. Simple straw hats for such occasions as attending sport events and fox hunts. Later on she would even design a fish and tackle set.

Coco’s designs were becoming very popular and in the 1920s, she found herself designing costumes for the theater and ballet. She also made her fashion line unique by using basic beige, gray, navy blue, black, white, and red.

Starting To Shape An Empire

In 1915, Boy advanced Coco money to open another boutique in Biarritz. This was a typical holiday spot for the rich and the powerful. Coco was receiving orders swiftly and started working at full capacity. By the end of the year, she was back in Paris, busy overseeing the beginning of her fashion empire. By early 1916, Coco had over 300 employees and was able to pay Boy back all he had invested in Chanel. The company continued to thrive throughout the 1920s and 30s. 1919, at the age of thirty-two, Coco enjoyed huge success, with clients around the world. Soon after, she relocated her couture house in Paris to 31 Rue Cambon, which remains the center of operations for the House of Chanel today.

In November 1927, Coco was featured in Vogue magazine. The article stated,

Mademoiselle Chanel’s dresses are peculiarly free from mistakes, either in taste or execution.

- Vogue, November 1927

If the Vogue says this about a brand, you can be certain that you’ve really made it in the fashion world.

Coco Chanel's early designs worn by her sister Antoinette and Adrienne, her Aunt

Big Names And Men

In 1918, Boy, Coco’s sponsor and lover, married the aristocrat Diana Wyndham. Coco and Boy would still remain lovers until his untimely death in a car accident the same year. Coco had become financially independent long before his death though.

Coco Chanel

• Coco took in the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky and his family for the summer. Stravinsky and Coco Chanel began a brief affair. Only a side note; there is a movie made about this relationship that should be out soon.
• Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster in Great Britain: Coco and Hugh met in Monte Carlo in 1925. Their affair lasted from 1925 to 1930. When asked why she hadn’t married the Duke, Coco replied,
  

  There have been several Duchesses of Westminster. There is only one Chanel.

  It is said that the Duke of Westminster painted “CC” and a part of his crest in gold on all the lampposts in London.

• In 1925, Vera Bate Lombardi started to work as the public relations manager of Coco’s lines to the British royalty and society. She became Coco’s muse.
• Paul Iribe was a journalist and fashion illustrator in Paris. He started dating Coco in 1932. They eventually became engaged, but never married.
• Then there was Grand Duke Dmitri of Russia, Dmitri Pavlovich. Yes he was part of the Romanov family who were murdered by the Bolsheviks. He was supposedly involved in the murder of Grigori Rasputin. Dmitri came to France to escape the Russian Revolution. In Paris, he entered the fashion industry, meeting Coco in 1921 and having a brief affair. He continued to do work for Chanel and was included in the development of her perfume line. It is said he is responsible for introducing Coco to the perfume creator Ernest Beaux.
• During World War II, Coco had an affair with a German officer named Hans Gunther von Dincklage. This relationship allowed Coco to stay at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, and be protected during the war. The Ritz had been her home for over thirty years.

During the war, Coco had closed her shops. When the war ended, Coco’s affair with the alleged Nazi spy Hans Gunther proved to be damaging for her and the House of Chanel. She was arrested for war crimes; but the British Royal family intervened and she didn’t have to go to trial. She was released.

In 1954, nine years after the war had ended, Chanel returned to the fashion world. At first, the brand was rather unsuccessful in Paris due to Coco’s relationship to Hans Gunter; it was a huge success though in both Great Britain and the United States.

Chanel No. 5

Coco's perfume Chanel No. 5

Chanel No. 5 was introduced in 1921 and it was exactly as Coco had envisioned it. Coco had hired Ernest Beaux for this task – Beaux was the creator of perfume to the czars of Russia. He presented two series of numbered samples from 1 to 5 and 20 to 24. When the sample bottles arrived, Coco loved the bottle marked No. 5 – hence the name.

Chanel No. 5 is a floral scent that has a woody jasmine base. The fragrance has been described as “the world’s most legendary fragrance”, and remains the company’s most famous perfume. Coco would give samples away, and the fitting rooms were sprayed with Chanel No.5.

Pierre Wertheimer became her partner in the perfume business. Wertheimer had extensive experience and business connections, which Coco Chanel needed to market the perfume. The Wertheimer family continues to control the Chanel perfume company today.

Chanel Perfume Bottles

Coco designed the original bottle, keeping it a simple design  because what was inside the bottle itself was more significant. The label was white with black letters.

Marilyn Monroe for Chanel No.5

In 1954, Marilyn Monroe was giving an interview. When asked what she wears to bed, she answered,

What do I wear in bed? Why 5 drops of Chanel No. 5 of course!

Once said, Marlyn Monroe was asked to be the spokesperson  for Chanel No.5.

Below is a late commercial for Chanel No. 5 that uses digitally enhanced captures of the original Marilyn Monroe back in the 50s:

Andy Warhol's pop art poster of the Chanel No. 5 perfume bottle

In the 1980s, Andy Warhol painted the now famous Chanel perfume bottles pop-art poster. It is said that a bottle of Chanel No. 5 is sold every 30 seconds somewhere around the world.

The Little Black Dress

Chanel 's Little Black Dress in 1926

In 1926, Chanel introduced the famous little black dress. Coco Chanel had published a picture of a short, simple black dress in Vogue. It was calf-length, straight, and decorated only by a few diagonal lines. Vogue called it “Chanel’s Ford”.

Like Ford’s Model T, the little black dress was simple and accessible for women of all social classes. Vogue also said that the little black dress would become “a sort of uniform for all women of taste”. We all know this is true!

The Chanel Style

Coco gave us tweed skirts, long belted sweaters, pea jackets and rain coats. Bland, everyday items were made fashionable by her:

• Coco introduced her signature cardigan jacket and overhauled the women’s undergarment into a chemise set;
• The collarless cardigan jacket with braid trim, accessorized with patch pockets and worn with a knee-length tweed skirt is one of my favorites;
• The simple chemise dress with a round or straight neckline, hung loosely to mid or lower calf and worn with the belt at the waist or below;
• Over-sized flat black bows, not one of my favorites but gilt buttons on blazers, sling-back sandals, handbags with gilt chains and costume jewelry;
• Many of Chanel’s creations were inspired by men’s designs. Coco introduced trousers and added chain straps on quilted purses.
• With her comeback in 1954, Coco introduced pea jackets and bell bottom pants for women.

These were all Coco Chanel’s creations.

Coco certainly stirred up quite the commotion with the women at this time. During World War I, so many women were working for the first time. Coco believed women needed to change their style. Since most of the men were off at war, women could dress for comfort instead of how men wanted them to. Coco decided to start using jersey for her fashion. This was a huge success for her, not only since the price on jersey was low and she could keep her pricing affordable.

The famous Coco Chanel suit

Chanel Necklace

jersey sundress

Coco's grave

Coco Chanel died of a heart attack at her suite at the Hotel Ritz Paris on 10 January 1971, at the age of 87. She was buried in Lausanne, Switzerland. Her memorial stone has five lions carved at the top. The lions represent her zodiac sign and five was her favorite number. Coco’s success was self-made by her strong personality, desire to be independent and her need to prove herself different.

Chanel Headquarters, Place Vendome, Paris.

I am not one to buy a label. As a matter of fact, I hate to shop. But I have to admit that Coco has influenced me with my wardrobe, especially with my business apparel.

Coco was tall and thin and did amazing things with dropped waists and the different lengths of jackets and skirts. She really designed for all body shapes. Early on in her career, she even made it possible to let out the seams when pregnant.

Coco contributed so much to fashion and it is still replies today. She is a legend to fashion and to all women who enjoy simple, basic, casual clothes.

Chanel Coin

In honor of Coco, a limited edition 5 Euro coin was released by France on the 125th anniversary of her birth. It was designed by Karl Lagerfeld, who is today’s head designer and creative director for Chanel.

Coco Chanel had a dream to be someone and not some thing. This made her an entity and naturally, an entrepreneur. Key qualities included knowing the right people, believing in herself, learning from her mistakes, and never giving up on herself.

So how many of you ladies have been influenced by Coco Chanel, and how many of you guys like the simple lines and the fragrance of Chanel No. 5?