1920s Claire Chanel

Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel

(19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971)

was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist philosophy, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of the famous fashion brand Chanel . Her extraordinary influence on fashion was such that she was the only person in the field to be named on Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century.

Chanel's spirit sums up the essence of the 1920s.

The Roaring Twenties were all about becoming "someone" - separating yourself from the old and "making life new" . Chanel set the stage for modern fashion by creating a signature style, a brand awar eness, and a social buzz around herself like no one had ever done before.

Chanel saw the needs and desires of women and designed her fashion around what women wanted. Women wanted freedom from the constraints fashion had placed upon them, women want beauty without shackles.

Chanel redesigned the young woman's role within society. making them more beautiful while, at the same time, separating them from the hoards of traditional "nobodies".

Chanels designs lent a previously unknown practicality to women's fashion.

Her elegant and versatile fashions were made from durable fabrics usually reserved for men's work clothes. Chanel stripped fashion of excess material, frilly lace, and the constraints of the past.

Rather than using more fabric, Chanel used beads and embroidery to decorate her clothes.

Chanel's "illusion jewelry": beautiful gemsto ne necklaces and other accessories fleshed out h er "simple modern" look.

The flapper look shaped the face of fashion in the 1920's and will forever be linked primarily the Coco Chanel.

"How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something, but to become someone."

--Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel

The House of Chanel would go on to not only redefine women's fashions, they also put out one of the most popular fragrances: Chanel No. 5.

Coco Chanel's fashion design company lives on today under the watchful eyes of style legend Karl Lagerfeld.

Chanel Designs on the

Cover of Vogue

Designs From 1928 Catalog

Chanel remains one of the bastions of women's fashion making great eyewear, perfumes, handbags, and of course haute couture.

The House of Chanel, more commonly known as Chanel, is a Parisian fashion house in France founded by Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel. Chanel is famous for its line of perfumes, clothing and fashion accessories. The Chanel logo is an overlapping double 'C' - one facing forward and the other facing backward. Originally it was not a logo that Coco Chanel came up with. The logo was given to her by the Chateau de Cremat in Nice.

This comes from the name Coco Chanel."Coco" is the nickname frequently used by Chanel founder, Gabrielle Chanel. The logo was not trademarked until during the first openings of Chanel stores.

http://www.1920s-fashion-and-music.com/Coco-Chanel.html

http://www.yournewfragrance.com/Chanel-s/1933.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3uoMKlSqS4&feature=player_embedded#!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_Chanel