Thursday, July 12, 2007

A Tribute

To the one who made me so passionate about fashion...


She featured on the list of Time's 100 most important people of the century, long after she died.

She was, is, and will always remain mine, and countless other people's fashion icon and idol, inspiring generations to come.

"A woman can be over-dressed, never over-elegant." She knew very well that style comes not only from apparel, but also from attitude.

Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel (1883-08-191971-01-10) was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist philosophy, menswear-inspired fashions and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her arguably the most important figure in the history of 20th-century fashion.

Image Courtsey: ©Man Ray Trust / ADAGP Paris 200


She created not only the little black dress, but also the beige slingback with black toecap, the total look, N°5, N°19, the tweed suit, the jersey dress, the chain belt, costume jewelry, the topstitched bag with gilt chain, the cashmere cardigan... a business, a style, a spirit. Her work is unquestionably part of the liberation of women. Replacing the corset with comfort and casual elegance, her fashion themes included simple suits and dresses, women's trousers, costume jewelry, perfume and textiles. No other designer has given so much to the society, and helped so much to free the women.

One of her first successes was the loose-fitting sweater, which she belted and teamed with a skirt. The influential Chanel suit, launched in 1923, was an elegant suit comprising a knee-length skirt and trim, boxy jacket, traditionally made of woven wool with black trim and gold buttons and worn with large costume-pearl necklaces. Coco Chanel also popularized the little black dress, whose blank-slate versatility allowed it to be worn for day and evening, depending on how it was accessorized.

But probably the one creation that ensured her success and fame, even during her bad phase is not a piece of clothing but a form of liquid gold — Chanel No. 5, in its Art Deco bottle, which was launched in 1923. It was the first perfume to bear a designer's name, just one of the numerous firsts by the highly talented designer. A bottle of Chanel No. 5 is sold every 30 seconds.


And she was, always, styllish, elegant, bold, and quotable...

"If you want to be irreplaceable, you have to be different. "

"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."

"A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous."

20 comments:

  1. aww Coco Chanel!!! :) I loved some of her quotes which I found on about.com....

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  2. and yup I wud love to see some stuff on Indian Fashion.. as mentioned in ur "why this blog happened" section..

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  3. I have no idea what you are talking about...lol. But, so good to see you passionate about fashion. I never knew you were so into it but then looking at your pictures, I don't doubt that you have an awesome fashion sense :-)

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  4. @Red Soul... i know!! coco chanel was AWESOME!
    and ya, I am going to put up posts on Indian fashion now... though this being my first post, it had to be on Coco.
    It will be after massive research though :P

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  5. @Ricki... lol.. its gud that u came n read n commented :P
    and ya, my Rain readres had seen just one aspect na.. :)time to show the other..

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  6. lovely post and COCO indeed is an icon in every sense ......gr8 change in the style of blog look forward to more!!

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  7. Great. Looks like you are a big fan of this lady. I never knew about this. Just knew Chanel is a big French brand of fragrances and other highly overpriced accessories. Chanel 9 :D I promised to give one to Sona when she grows up :P She has to eat a lot to grow up :D

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  8. earth bound misfitJuly 17, 2007 at 11:04 AM

    hmm... i like it. i am indeed liking it. so finally i have some hope of resuscitating (i hope i have got the spelling right) my long dead sense of fashion!!!

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  9. Hi,Payal..:)Great look to the new blog..:)Though,frankly,I'm not too much of a fashion-conscious guy..but,always feels good to read about people's fav. fashion and accessories.

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  10. am like..gosh! super duper impressed..if i may say so:P
    great and suuch an informative blog :)

    when r u goin to take me shopping O!diva!;)??

    n aww..pranshu..u still rem:)

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  11. hey, good to see a fan of Chanel...i never looked so closely to this brand, now would give a deeper look...

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  12. @pranshu:
    n what about me? :P n yes.. m a HUGE fan of chanel.she made me mad abt fashion...

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  13. @virus...
    all u gotta do is wear ur pilot uniform man;) u will rock!!

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  14. @Amitl... welcome, my purana blog pal :)

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  15. @sonaa.. aaja always ready to take u shopping..n grr..m jealous!u getting a No.5 haan? :P

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  16. @sorabh...heyy!! welcumm to da world of fashion :P

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