Coco nuts!

Few people know that her real name was Gabriella Chanel and that she was born in the Puy-de-Dôme (Auvergne). In my opinion, if you want to be famous and respectable, you must follow her example.

Her life is pretty strange… Her mother died when she was a little girl. With her younger sister, she was educated in a convent. After her 18th birthday, she worked as a seamstress, but she didn’t want this, she wanted to create her own clothes. She sometimes visited her sister at the convent.

One evening, she met her future man, Etienne. A few weeks later, she quit her job and went to live with him. He was a wealthy man. She met lots of famous people; she discovered worldly life and the hypocrisy of some. One day, she joined Etienne on a hunt. She did not ride side-saddle, but wore a pair of trousers and rode the horse like a man. This was a bold thing to do at the time! Later, she started to create hats, encouraged by Etienne’s best friend, Boy, an Englishman. In the end, she was disappointed by this life, and she left Etienne.

She went to live in Paris and her life became difficult. She earned her living only with her hats, which was not lucrative. One day, Boy went to her home and he offered to help her. He found her a shop, where she could sell her hats. She made a name for herself in high society. Gabriella and Boy fell in love…

During a trip to Deauville, they discovered an old, empty shop. A few weeks later, she became the owner. Boy was called up to fight in the War. Gabriella had to live alone.

After the War, Gabriella bought a whole building in which to set up her fashion business. Boy left her, but they still loved each other. He was killed in a road accident and Coco was heart-broken. It was during this period that she created the little black dress that is still famous today.

Chanel was to experience more difficult times but, thanks to her strength of character, she became one of the most celebrated women of all time.

Where did she get her nickname from? Chanel worked for a while as a singer in cafés; on the evening she met Etienne, she was singing “Coco”, a very well known song at the time. Etienne thereafter always called her “Coco”, as did all her friends!

Why is her famous perfume called “Chanel number 5”? When she had to choose a name for her new fragrance, she didn’t have any ideas, and the fragrance which she had chosen was the fifth one, so she simply called it “Coco Chanel, number five!”

Article by Angélique B.