Posts with tag CocoChanel

In the last month there have been two jewelry collection launches that have knocked our socks off – Kate Spade and Chanel.

We love us some Chanel and are smitten with the idea of a slew of biographies about Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel's life. And first up in the series, was the Lifetime biopic titled Coco Chanel. Though the girl playing a young Gabrielle Chanel was believable, all American Shirley McClaine was not. Bummer!

Shirley MacLaine was a delight in the recent Wifetime movie about Coco Chanel. It was amazing how the character's accent transformed, over the course of her life, from Young French Femme to Tough Old Broad Who Isn't Taking $h-- From Anyone, with her ubiquitous Gauloises never smudging her perfect lipstick!

Coco Chanel seems to be a bit of a theme lately. There are movies and books coming out about Mademoiselle's life seemingly every hour, on the hour, and for good reason -- the woman led an incredibly interesting life, wholly deserving of being chronicled. We recently had a chance to review one of the more unique books about Coco Chanel -- Coco Chanel: Three Weeks/1962.

Rather than retell the story of how Chanel became a success, this book is filled with pictures (and a few select phrases) taken when the icon was 79 years old, when Douglas Kirkland (a very young-looking 27-year-old American photographer at the time) had the opportunity to spend three weeks taking pictures of Paris, Chanel fashion, and, of course, Chanel herself.

Stuck on what to get dad for Father's Day? For almost $18 grand, you can get your dad that Chanel fly fishing rod that he's always dreamed of. OK, we doubt that anybody's father has been dropping hints about a set of Chanel lures in a quilted black case adorned with the famous double 'C' logo. In fact, we kinda doubt that most anglers would be caught dead with a Chanel rod -- but if Armani can make roller skates, then I guess Chanel can make an $18,000 fishing rod. But why?

Needless to say, we don't think these rods will be flying off the rack at your local Bass Pro Shop. Heck, we seriously doubt any of these babies will ever see the water. So why even bother? Apparently, Coco Chanel was actually a big time angler. During the 20's, while she lived at the Ritz, Coco used to fly fish with the Duke of Westminster. Guess that explains it, sort of. Still, we doubt that there's a big market for outrageously fashionable fishing gear.

[via Jezebel]

Last year, Variety reported that Shirley MacLaine would be playing Coco Chanel in an upcoming biopic that would be airing on LifetimeTV this fall. The miniseries will chronicle Chanel's later years returning to Paris, after exiling herself in Germany and Switzerland during World War II.

Well, W magazine has obtained the first picture of Shirley MacLaine as Mademoiselle Coco Chanel. In the photo, Shirley has temporarily hidden her fire engine red locks under a brunette wig and wears the iconic pearls and tweed suit that Coco made fashionable in the 20s.

According to the fashion magazine, MacLaine took the role because of some advice an old friend once gave her -- the one and only Audrey Hepburn: "When we worked together, she said to me, 'You should think about doing Coco Chanel when you're older,'" recalls MacLaine. "That was in my 20s. I said, 'You should do Coco Chanel.' She said, 'No. You.' I've thought about it all that time, and then this came up. I couldn't believe it."

Meanwhile, the French actress Audrey Tautou is playing Coco in an upcoming Chanel feature-length film.

The handbag didn't become an accessory for women until the early 1900's (hard to believe huh). Prior to that only men carried handbags, and women had to ask for her belongings when she needed them. Once women began heading out on their own they need their own bags. So a handbag, something that may seem silly to some, is actually a symbol of independence for women.

In 1955, Coco Chanel's quilted handbag with a chain shoulder strap made its debut, and took the fashion world by storm. Since then the quilted handbag (and everything else Chanel touched) has become a fashion classic. Whether you carry the Chanel version, which was sewn with her "secret" quilting pattern, or another designer label – you are sure to look classic and put together.

Today Marc Jacobs has dominated the black quilted bag market with his now famous "Stam bag." Buying a designer quilted handbag will cost you quite a pretty penny but you can be sure that it will always be in style, and you can pass it down to the next generation.

When I think of Chanel I can't help but get a little emotional. I mean its Chanel people!

Coco Chanel revolutionized the fashion industry and the way women thought about clothing. Before Chanel women were binding themselves in uncomfortable corsets and were dragging pounds of fabric behind them in extravagant dresses. Coco Chanel took women out of their corsets and into cardigans, suits, and little black dresses.

One of her more famous designs is the "Chanel suit" which is composed of classic tweed (Coco Chanel first introduced us to classic tweed) knee length skirt and boxy jacket, with black trim and gold buttons. This look was the uniform of elite high society women all over the world. That particular look made the label "Chanel" synonymous with wealth and class – something that never goes out of style.

The Chanel suit is and always will be in style for women of all generations. No other suit can make a statement of classic beauty, elegance, money, and power. Many have mimicked the Chanel suit but there is only one Chanel.

French actress Audrey Tautou has signed on to play the role of Coco Chanel in a upcoming film about the visionary designer. The as-of-yet-unnamed film was announced earlier this week at the Cannes film festival. Directed by Anne Fontaine, the feature film will chronicle the early life and young adulthood of the celebrated fashion house matriarch.

Obviously, this is a great role for Tautou, and I'm sure she'll knock it out of the park. But I have to wonder if Audrey is getting a little sick of playing the same role in all of her films. Wide-eyed, precocious French gamine has to get old after a while.

Back in the Victorian era, women worshiped pale skin. Now, 100 years later, women spend millions of dollars each year trying to look sun-kissed and tanned, either by natural or artificial means.

I've often wondered when and why our relationship to the sun changed. Was it the leisure culture of the 1950s? Was it the California-ization of America -- groups like the Beach Boys, and the aesthetic of the Gidget films?

At least according to a BBC report, our we owe our modern preoccupation with suntans to Coco Chanel. In 1923, while cruising around the French Riviera, Chanel accidentally got a sunburn. The sunburn faded into a tan, and the tan started a revolution.

Owning a Chanel suit is the dream of every aspiring fashionista. But owning a Chanel outfit actually worn by the divine Coco? Now that's almost too much fashion glory for one woman to handle! Should you have an extra £2,300 ($4,362) burning a hole in your pocket, an original Coco-owned Chanel dress can be yours! A black bouclé wool dress, which was originally auctioned off as part of Coco Chanel's personal estate in December 1978 at Christie's, somehow found its way to the posh vintage clothing store One in London. This particular dress was actually worn by Coco in a photograph that was used for the cover of one of her autobiographies, so you know it's the real deal.

[Via Vogue.co.uk]

Coco Chanel once said that a woman without a scent is a woman who is going nowhere.

Of course, when Coco said that, I'm sure she was referring to the women who never actually wore perfume. I doubt that she would have ever anticipated the gaggle of famous women who boast 7-figure salaries and their own scent line.

For those of us who dream whistfully of six figure salaries, well, we'e going to have to settle for the scent of fame. With this in mind, I've compiled seven celebrities scents to wear everyday of your unfamous week:

Sunday: You're going to a Dukes of Hazzard-style picnic. Spray on your Jessica Simpson perfume Dessert Beauty and suck in that gut -- those Daisy Dukes won't fit you any other way.

Monday: It's back to the office for you, girlie. So you want to flirt with the cute guy who looks like Pete Doherty by the water cooler? Supermodel Kate Moss's scent would be just the thing.

Tuesday: Arg! You just bounced a check. Now is the time that you need a boost of confidence with spritz of Jewish mysticism. Pour on the Madonna perfume!

Wednesday: Your mother called (again). She's worried that you haven't met a nice young boy (again). She voiced concern that you will most certainly end up a cat-owning spinster (again). Show her you can "Work it Out!" with Beyonce's perfume, "True Star Gold".

Thursday: For some reason, you are starting every sentence with a ponderous "I can't help but wonder...." (Newsflash: you're totally having a Carrie Bradshaw moment.) Try "Lovely" by Sarah Jessica Parker.

Friday: Finally! It's Friday. TGIF and all that jazz! You are totally ready to PARTY! And who parties better than Paris Hilton? Nobody! That's why you should be wearing "Paris Hilton"!

Saturday: Last night was rough. You look miserable. You spray on J. Lo's "Glow." Suddenly, the world is right. (Don't ask why.)