CHANEL’S LIFE STORY

Born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, Coco Chanel’s life was literally a rags-to-riches story. Her father earned a small income by trading cheap bonnets and aprons at the markets, but the family consistently struggled to make ends meet. Chanel’s mother died when Gabrielle was still just a child, and of the five children, the boys were sent off to work, while Gabrielle was left with her sister on the steps of a Catholic convent.

Though the living conditions were pretty bonkers, Mademoiselle Chanel made the most of her situation, asking the nuns to teach her how to sew. In the end, though, she wasn’t a convent kind of girl. She earned the nickname “Coco” while performing in a cabaret. The name may have been a reference to the French word cocotte, meaning “kept woman.” At the cabaret, in the presence of admiring patrons sporting some serious ice, Chanel first got a taste for the opulent displays of wealth she pursued for the rest of her life. When the seamstress later flourished into an icon, she was embarrassed by the pretty pauper image and rewrote these early years of her history, claiming to have been raised by spinster aunts in an idealized version of the typical, well-adjusted household.

Unfortunately, Coco had one of those “don’t quit your day job” singing voices, and she relied instead on her “kept woman” skills (read between the lines) to fund her first shop, which opened in Paris in 1910. Her little hole-in-the-wall establishment was filled with simple but chic hats and knickknacks and was, at the time, the closest approximation to what today we would call a boutique. The House of Chanel slowly began to generate significant revenue. No longer financially dependent on schmoozy bankers, the couturier began selling dresses to match the store’s established aesthetic—no corsets needed, just easy, breezy cuts that flowed over the body. Her collections first caught the eye of ballet dancers, who were often kept women themselves, which led to the attention of businessmen who wished to carry her sophisticated and unfussy styles in their shops as well.

Coco Chanel is credited with the invention of countless fashion trends that have lasted through the decades, setting the industry standard for high-society women. The ubiquitous wrap dress, the Chanel suit, the quilted Chanel bag sporting the CC logo, little black dresses, and costume jewelry are all attributed to this mastermind. Anticipating war in 1939, she closed her shop, but reopened in 1953 after becoming alarmed by the restrictive fashions coming from places like Dior. Throughout her life, she sought to create couture that was tailored to real female bodies.

In 1971, Coco Chanel died in her sleep—at the Hotel Ritz.

THE STORY OF HER SEX LIFE

Coco Chanel never married—I mean, when would she have the time? That’s not to say she was too busy to have a love life, though. Without the means to earn a high enough income on her own, the style idol reeled in a series of financiers through love affairs, and then—voilà!—she was able to start her own business. Coincidence? History says not so much. Upon discovering that they were being pitted against each other to the benefit of Coco’s bottom line, playboys Etienne Balsan and Boy Capel amicably agreed to split the funds that she needed.

31 RUE CAMBON

The address of one of Chanel’s very first boutiques, 31 Rue Cambon, was also a fairly, um, unusual residence. How unusual was it? Let us count the ways …

Mirrors. Notoriously fond of both gazing at herself and spying on others without being seen, the designer covered the walls of her flat with dozens upon dozens of mirrors.

Doors. Never one to allow barriers between herself and others, Chanel was philosophically opposed to doors. Instead, she placed translucent Chinese screens in the entryways in the hopes, according to one archivist, that her guests would simply never leave.

Sleeping arrangements. The flat contained absolutely zero bedrooms. Coco always slept across the street at the Ritz.

In the course of her romantic acrobatics, Chanel became entangled with the Duke of Westminster—that is, until allegations surfaced about her being a potential World War I spy. Though our girl was most definitely sleeping with the enemy, she managed to avoid consequences by sleeping with the home team, too.

WHY SHE MATTERS

Women the whole world over have reason to be grateful to Coco Chanel. It’s due to her innovations that women no longer need to wear pounds of wool and suffocating undergarments to look presentable. She was the first designer to use knit jersey fabric in formal wear, and her suits were not only well cut but comfortable. The influence of Chanel’s brand of minimalist design can be seen in both contemporary fashion, from the Armani runway to Nike running gear, and fine art.

BEST FEATURE: Her integrity.

Even at the peak of her game, Coco Chanel was a no-frills kind of girl, often dressing in all black and in a noticeably childlike manner, with straw hats and unadorned shifts that wouldn’t weigh her down. Her fashion philosophy let the woman wear the clothes, rather than the clothes wearing the woman, and she designed her dresses to showcase the natural shape of the babe underneath.

HEAT FACTOR: Nothing’s hotter than the next big thing—and that’s what Coco Chanel was. (It’s also what she created for women throughout the twentieth century.)

This lady-turned-logo rocked girly chic like it was her job—because it was. She broke the hearts of some of the most esteemed members of British high society—politicians, soldiers, bankers, poets, you name it. Nor did she ever let this long line of men slow her down. Coco Chanel knew what she wanted and got what she wanted, with cigarette in hand—and then she kept on moving. If you’re looking for lasting love, you’re knocking at the wrong door, but if you want to run with the cool kids and look like a star, Coco’s the one for you (that is, if you’re the one for her).

IN HER OWN WORDS

“Fashion is not simply a matter of clothes. Fashion is in the air, born upon the wind. One intuits it. It is in the sky and on the road.”

“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.”

“I don’t care what you think about me. I don’t think about you at all.”

“My life didn’t please me, so I created my life.”