#WCW: Coco Chanel…ooh la la!

#WomenCrushWednesday: Coco Chanel!

 

It’s #WomanCrushWednesday and because it’s the last day of the Paris Fashion Week I couldn’t resist doing a quick post about the first lady of French fashion herselfl!

 

I find Coco Chanel’s life super inspiring! She was a woman who fought fiercely for her independence and had a very strong sense of who she was. She was a also non-conformist in the way she went against what the society she lived in expected of women (she never married, for instance, and started her own business) and fashion (she gave women the first really comfortable and stylish clothes they’d ever had).

 

Coco was born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel in 1883 (she died in 1971) in the French countryside. She developed her sense of style early on and, since then, her unique take on fashion has ensured that her idea of “chic” is still relevant today.

 

These are what I think are probably the four fashion contributions Coco is best known for – and I’ll bet that either you or someone you know has been inspired by one or more of these go-to items…  

 

1.) The Little Black Dress (LBD). A timeless essential! Easy and chic!

2.) A Quilted Handbag – Those pretty quilted leather handbags with their thin chain straps – ooh la la!

3.) Perfume – Chanel No. 5 was a hit when first launched by Coco in 1921 – and it’s still one today! For its time it was extremely modern due to its chemical compound.

4.) The Jacket – The iconic Chanel jacket: tweed, fitted, chic. I wish I had one!

 

And, btw, if you happen to be on your way to Paris, don’t forget to stop by Chanel’s famous boutique at 21 rue Cambon. Fun fact: her ultra elegant apartment is still upstairs from the boutique and has been left exactly as Chanel kept it. (She slept across the street at her suite in the Ritz Hotel, however.) Fun fact  no.2: I mention this in Model Under Cover: A Crime of Fashion, when Axelle has her first ever modelling casting – at Chanel!

 

OOH LA LA!!!

 

Carina x

 

 

Gorgeous pic of Paris from my A Crime of Fashion Pinterest board. Click here to see more…!