COCO CHANEL: INTERESTING FACTS AND QUOTES

"I do not care what you think of me.
I don't think about you at all."
Coco Chanel

On August 19, the whole fashion world celebrates 130 years since the birth of Coco, and Passion.ru recalls the most significant facts from the life of this great woman, as well as her witty and very well-aimed phrases that have become aphorisms.

1. The desire to engage in women's outfits arose from Gabrielle Chanel under the influence of many years of living in an orphanage - the children there wore dull identical clothes, and when the girl had the opportunity to dress the way she wanted, she decided to make it her vocation.

2. The craving for minimalism arose as a counterbalance to the splendor of the outfits of the ladies of the “half world”. For some time, Chanel lived with her patron on the street, where there were many brothels, and in order to differ from their inhabitants, she began to wear strict restrained suits and small hats.

3. Gabrielle Chanel gained her first popularity by no means through the creation of clothes. Her "debut" was women's hats. One of her close friends helped her open a hat shop where she sold her creations. Reaction to the product has been mixed. Many accused Gabriel of being too avant-garde. However, very soon ladies from all over France began to come for hats "from Chanel".

5. The prototype of the world-famous clutch was invented by Coco Chanel. Someone loses gloves and umbrellas, and she always left her reticules everywhere. In addition, according to her, because of the need to carry a bag in her hands, her hands began to hurt. This great woman also found a way out of this situation by inventing a small handbag on a long chain, which has already become a fashion classic - the Chanel 2.55 model.

6. Coco Chanel did not part with scissors, they were always with her - in her purse or on a string around her neck. Once, at some reception, she literally shredded the outfit of one of her fashion models, who appeared there in a dress from another famous fashion designer. At the same time, Coco said that now the outfit looks much more elegant. This episode was included in the film "Coco before Chanel" with Audrey Tautou in the title role.

6. Coco Chanel did not recognize patterns. She created her creations, wrapping fashion models in fabrics and boldly cutting off the excess. Nevertheless, she became the first couturier who, having a direct relationship with high fashion, released her collection of clothes on an industrial scale.

7. In the guise of a woman, everything was important for Coco Chanel, which is why her interests extended not only to clothes, but also to shoes, and accessories, and hairstyles. However, there was something that occupied a special place in her life and in her work - perfume. She created her first fragrance by mixing 80 components in free proportions. And she received an unconditional masterpiece, which we know as Chanel No. 5.

True, there is an opinion that the author of these perfumes was not her, but a certain Russian perfumer who immigrated to France. He was developing the next collection and invited Coco to choose one version of the fragrance - Chanel preferred test tube number 5.

8. Coco Chanel valued freedom in everything - in movement, in choice, in worldview. She always acted as she herself wanted, and not as the public expected of her. She was not afraid to rid women of corsets, dress them in trousers and blazers, and forced them to cut their long hair. Her courage also manifested itself in an affair with a handsome German officer who helped free her nephew from Nazi captivity. She had to pay for her love with imprisonment and expulsion from France.

9. For 14 long years, Coco Chanel was cut off from the fashion industry - first the war, then emigration and life in Switzerland, but all these years this great woman dreamed of a triumphant return to France.

And she returned. At the age of seventy, with his collection of timeless Chanel classics. She was booed. But Koko knew what she was doing. A year later, Paris again bowed at her feet. And no wonder - couturiers come and go, but Chanel remains.

10. Coco Chanel played such a significant role in shaping world fashion that Time magazine included her one of all the fashion designers in the list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

28 Coco Chanel quotes about life and success

1. When caring for beauty, one must start from the heart and from the soul, otherwise no cosmetics, alas, will help.
2. Old age does not protect against love, but love protects against old age.
3. If you want to have what you never had, you will have to do what you have never done.
4. If you were struck by the beauty of some woman, but you do not remember what she was wearing, then her outfit was perfect.
5. A woman should be dressed in such a way that she wants to undress.
6. Perfume must be applied where you want to get a kiss.
7. Be a chrysalis by day and a butterfly by night, for there is nothing more comfortable than a cocoon and more lovable than the wings of a butterfly.
8. Remember, you won't get a second chance to make a first impression.
9. You can get used to an ugly appearance, never to slovenliness.
10. In order to be irreplaceable, you need to change all the time.
11. Nothing ages a woman like a too rich (luxurious) suit.
12. Fashion passes, style remains.
13. A woman who prefers light colors in clothes is much more difficult to get out of balance.
14. We make ourselves: if a woman is ugly at 18 - it's by nature, if at 30 - from stupidity.
15. Perfume says more about a woman than her handwriting.
16. The main thing for a woman is to constantly work. Only work gives courage, and the spirit, in turn, takes care of the fate of the body.
17. Everything is in our hands, so there is no need to lower them.
18. Freedom is always stylish!
19. A woman should smell like a woman, not like a dried bouquet.
20. If a woman listens to her friends in matters of fashion, and not to her man, she often becomes a laughing stock.
21. Men like women who are well dressed but not conspicuous.
22. Ruthlessly remove anything that is excessive.
23. Restrain yourself when it hurts, and not make a scene when it hurts, that's what a real (ideal) woman is.
24. Fashion has two goals - convenience and love. Beauty arises when fashion achieves its goals.
25. The worse things are for a woman, the better she should look.
26. Fashion, like architecture, is a matter of proportion.
27. Women with good taste wear jewelry. Everyone else has to wear gold.
28. If you were born without wings, don't stop them from growing.

10 commandments of style from Coco Chanel

As much as Mademoiselle Coco Chanel did for women, perhaps, not a single couturier in the world did. They tried to copy her, she is still admired, almost every lady has a little black dress in her wardrobe and tries to follow the precepts of the trendsetter of modern fashion. And all this happens because Chanel is always relevant.

Nadezhda POPOVA