Dozens of books and movies, hundreds of articles, studies and quotes: no one talks about Coco Chanel the way they do. The legendary perfume, the importance of the little black dress, the elegant tweed suit and the quilted chain bag are the first things any girl who wants to join the world of high fashion learns about.
Gabrielle’s ideas of fashion were formed in childhood. She spent almost seven years in a convent, where she began to be inspired by the classic Baroque style and luxury. That’s also where her love for black and white was formed. Until 16, the fashion designer wore only a black suit. In the future, black in her images ceased to be associated with mourning – from her hand it came to be considered one of the most elegant and dressy shades.
Chanel introduced into fashion a monochrome coat, the classic khaki color and women’s belts. She urged women to wear accessories, saying that the simplest look can be completely transformed with accent details. The style icon herself adored beads, earrings, brooches, hats and bags. The latter were not just her predilection, but a real fashion rule. The designer argued that a women’s closet should have as many handbags as outfits.
Chanel left behind not only the Chanel House but also hundreds of scintillating statements, which are parsed into quotations even after 100 years. Of course, the rules of this great woman aren’t suitable for those who mostly sit at home working or enjoying live sports betting online, but they are still essential for those who love going out to luxurious events. Here are precepts of the great Gabrielle, still relevant today.
Classic
Coco espoused simple but important values. She didn’t follow fleeting trends, but always chose understated classics. Her image is a concise and elegant clothes with a small accent in the form of fashionable innovations, but not vice versa.
Black Dress
The calling card of Coco Chanel and her fashion house. At one time it became a real fashion salvation, in a word, solving the eternal problem of having nothing to wear. The first prototype of the black dress had a straight cut, the length covering the knees, a semicircular neckline and a long sleeve. Today, the number of variations of the dress has greatly increased, but it’s still the standard of sophistication and style.
Tweed Suit
At the time of Chanel, suits were popular, but all models were tight and constraining. So much so that it was difficult to even raise your arms in them. It was Gabrielle that made a fashion revolution, giving girls soft and perfectly tailored tweed suits.
The prototype of the famous jacket had a straight cut, without a collar and with hidden pockets. Colors were mostly basic: white, black and beige. Today the variety of shades and textures in tweed suits strikes – in the current collections you can find bright pink models and versions with prints.
Man’s Element
Coco managed to do the impossible. She was one of the first to wear pants, saying that the ideal image should combine not only women’s but also men’s closet elements. Her inspiration at the time were the typical post-war images of soldiers. Chanel confidently asserted that pants make a woman free.
Midi Length
It was Coco Chanel who created the “golden ratio” in the length of clothing. In the 60’s of the last century there was a fashion for long clothes – it was due to many, including social, reasons. But it just didn’t combine with the business rhythm of urban society.
The medium or, as they say, “normal” length was the best option between the skirt to the floor and the skirt, slightly covering the hips. It’s still popular today.
Two-tone Shoes
Chanel put an end to monochrome black shoes. She introduced a new fashion rule: shoes can and should combine several colors. Her favorite palette was black and white shades. Gabrielle was the first to mix these two colors in her shoes, introducing to the fashion industry the famous white shoes with a black toe.
The designer called shoes the second face and never ignored this attribute of the image.
Pencil Skirt
Throughout her life, Gabrielle was sincerely convinced that it was the knees that were the most ugly part of a woman’s body.
Based on her principle, she created the famous pencil skirt, emphasizing femininity and at the same time not restricting movement. In Gabrielle’s opinion, few women can wear a short skirt.
Perfume
The perfume isn’t just a fragrance, but an extension of your clothes. Sometimes five drops of good perfume is enough to make the image acquire the status of “expensive”. The right perfume can say more than words or presence, because the trail of fragrance remains even after you leave.
A “Boyish” Haircut
The uniqueness of Chanel’s contribution is that she influenced not only the change in clothing, but the whole of fashion. Her love for combining masculine and feminine gave the world a new way of looking at haircuts.
Gabrielle literally “allowed” fashionable women to wear boyish hairstyles: bob, page, hooligan carriage. At the same time, she always clearly understood that the difference between a boy and a lady is impeccable grooming.
Comfortable Luxury
Chanel adhered to one important idea in clothes: luxury should be soft and comfortable, otherwise it is no longer luxury. She never created clothes only for the sake of trends and she counted only on what her clients would feel free and natural in.
