Gabrielle Coco Chanel has lived the life of a true rags to riches story. Chanel was born in a poorhouse on August 19th 1883 as the illegitimate daughter of Albert Chanel and Jeanne Devolle, who did get married shortly after her birth however Chanel still feared she would be discovered as a bastard child. Chanel was brought up in an orphanage run by nuns after her mother died when Chanel was only twelve and her father disappeared. Her family moved a lot, living in poor areas in crowded streets. As a young child Gabrielle often played on her own, she would spend a lot of her time in a nearby cemetery where she would talk to herself and to the graves. Her parents tried to stop her from going there, however Chanel believed she did this because she was unloved at home. Even as an old woman, when Chanel felt unloved she was seen by journalists in cemeteries talking to the graves. Due to Chanel’s unconventional life and what she thought of as a shameful past, Chanel used to lie and make up stories and tell different people different versions of the events in her life.
It was during Chanel’s life in the orphanage where she learned to sew and by the age of eighteen she left the orphanage and found work as a tailor. Chanel worked in a shop called A Sainte Marie, “specialists in trousseax and layettes”. Chanel’s work was quickly noticed and admired by many women. It is stated by Charles-Roux, ‘She was no ordinary shop assistant…She dreamed of something different” (57-58). Soon after many months the women who used to come into the shop began to go straight to Chanel at her home where she would tailor their outfits. While working Chanel met a man named Etienne Balsan who was a millionaire that she began having an affair with. Being with a man with an endless amount of money is what influenced Chanel and gave her the drive to start her own business. Chanel started her company in 1913 and designed raincoats and hats. However the business fell through and the shop had to be shut down. Eventually Chanel met Etienne’s friend who she immediately fell in love with. With the help of her new partner Chanel was able to open another shop which was very successful and many famous people including actresses were buyers of her clothing. Chanel was famous for the elegance of her designs and the way she used fabrics to represent fashion and luxury. Chanel states, “Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance”, which shows how her simple and clean cut designs were so popular. Chanel also created her perfume ‘Chanel no. 5’ which was the first fragrance to have the designers name on it.
Throughout Chanel’s life she continued to have relationships with very wealthy men. However her affair with a Nazi during World War 2 drew the most attention to her. She was found to be living with the Nazi spy in a hotel and was arrested and sent to prison. The British Royal family supported Chanel throughout the trial and she was eventually released. Chanel then moved to Switzerland to continue work on her business there. Despite the trouble she got herself into with her affair, her business still thrived and people still loved her work. It was in 1971when Chanel died of a heart attack at age eighty seven. However even today Coco Chanel’s business is still growing and admired by many around the world. Chanel brought herself up from nothing and created a company that has set a style and chic fashion that is still alive today.
Dragon, Greg. "Hotties of History: Coco Chanel". Hall of the Black Dragon. 17 Aug 2009.
Charles-Roux, Edmonde. Chanel: Her life, her world, and the woman behind the legend she herself created. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1975.
Madsen, Axel. Chanel: A Woman of Her Own. Ontario, Canada: Henry Holt and Company, 1990.
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