Where to See the Work of Coco Chanel
Museums throughout the world have collected and preserved Coco Chanel’s designs, from hats and handbags to suits, shoes, and gowns. These are some of the places where her work can be seen.
North America
Kent State University Art Museum, Helen O. Borowitz Collection, Kent, Ohio
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Costume and Textiles, Los Angeles
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Costume Institute, New York
Museum of the City of New York, New York
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Costume and Textiles Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona Costume Institute, Phoenix, Arizona
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada
Europe
Deutsche Kinemathek, Museum für Film und Fernsehen, Marlene Dietrich Collection, Berlin
Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris (Palais Galliera), Paris
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Musée de la Mode et du Textile, Paris
Victoria and Albert Museum, Fashion Collection, London
Asia
Kyoto Costume Institute, Kyoto, Japan
Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China
Chanel’s Fashion Firsts
This book is focused on Coco Chanel’s contributions to the world of fashion and art. She introduced many “firsts” that are still popular today.
• The little black dress
• Chanel No 5 perfume
• Quilted handbag with chain strap
• Two-tone sling-back pumps
• Trousers for women
• Striped sailor’s shirts for women
• Men’s sweaters for women
• Men’s ties for women
• Straw boater hats
• Short hair for women
• Large pockets on jackets for women
• Tweed collarless suits with braid-trimmed jackets
• Chains sewn into hems to make jackets and skirts hang perfectly
• Signature buttons
• Velvet hair bows
• Costume jewelry: fake pearls, as well as brooches, necklaces, and bracelets with glass stones
• Bright red lipstick in a push-up case
• Camellias made of fabric, leather, metal, and glass as accessories
Source Notes
Introduction
“I make . . . comfortable in.” Picardie, Justine. Chanel: Her Life (Göttingen, Germany: Steidl, 2011), p. 324.
“Chanel is . . . greatest figure.” Morand, Paul. The Allure of Chanel, trans. Euan Cameron (London: Pushkin Press, 2008), p. 181.
“All her . . . into women’s.” Koda, Harold, and Andrew Bolton. Chanel (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005), p. 38.
Sell Her to the Gypsies
“Chasnel.” Madsen, Axel. Coco Chanel: A Biography (London: Bloomsbury, 1990), p. 4.
“Gabrielle.” Madsen, p. 6.
“Little Coco.” Haedrich, Marcel. Coco Chanel: Her Life, Her Secrets, trans. Charles Lam Markmann (Boston: Little, Brown, 1972), p. 23.
“No childhood . . . serious matter.” Morand, p. 22.
“For the first . . . the gypsies.” Morand, p. 23.
“I was . . . secret garden.” Picardie, p. 21.
I Am Not an Orphan!
“I Am Not an Orphan!” Haedrich, p. 125.
“My aunts . . . their house.” Picardie, p. 26.
“Chanel’s anti-Semitism . . . often embarrassing.” Vaughan, Hal. Sleeping With the Enemy: Coco Chanel’s Secret War (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011), p. 4.
“We cut . . . all together.” Chaney, Lisa. Coco Chanel: An Intimate Life (New York: Viking, 2011), p. 22.
“Those novels . . . my pride.” Morand, p. 20.
“It had . . . or sixteen.” Madsen, p. 16.
“Vichy was . . . of them.” Morand, p. 28.
Who Has Seen Coco?
“I’ve lost . . . seen Coco?” Madsen, p. 26.
“la petite Coco.” Madsen, p. 26.
“You won’t . . . a trombone.” Charles-Roux, Edmonde. Chanel: Her Life, Her World, the Woman Behind the Legend, trans. Nancy Amphoux (London: MacLehose Press, 2009), p. 76.
“How lucky . . . have racehorses!” Morand, p. 29.
“too young . . . from home.” Picardie, p. 46.
“I had . . . miserable childhood.” Picardie, p. 46.
“She was . . . on horseback.” Chaney, p. 47.
“Whoever makes your hats?” Charles-Roux, p. 117.
“I can’t . . . to work.” Madsen, p. 47.
“Forgive me . . . love him.” Madsen, p. 50.
“I lied . . . a bit.” Madsen, p. 55.
“He really . . . you imagine?” Haedrich, p. 86.
“I just . . . at you.” Madsen, p. 57.
“The more . . . to sell.” Morand, p. 37.
“Coco is . . . a businesswoman.” Madsen, p. 57.
“Paul Poiret . . . in costumes.” Morand, p. 51.
“We ought . . . of shock.” Picardie, p. 92.
I Was My Own Master
“best man.” Madsen, p. 54.
“Gabrielle Chanel.” Garelick, Rhonda K. Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History (New York: Random House, 2014), p. 68.
“trendy new boutique.” Garelick, p. 68.
“Where did . . . in Deauville.” Madsen, p. 69.
“Everybody wanted . . . as stars.” Madsen, pp. 69–70.
“The jersey . . . on top.” Morand, p. 46.
“I created . . . new silhouette.” Garelick, p. 86.
“Mademoiselle was . . . exceedingly simple.” Madsen, p. 80.
“Chanel’s charming chemise dress.” Madsen, p. 80.
“By inventing . . . the waist.” Morand, p. 45.
“slim like Coco.” Morand, p. 46.
“Our workrooms . . . veritable rainbow.” Chaney, p. 113.
“I took . . . braid off.” Picardie, p. 105.
“a young . . . little shepherd.” Morand, p. 46.
“In 1917 . . . into raptures.” Morand, p. 46.
“I was . . . myself alone.” Picardie, p. 96.
“His death . . . to me.” Morand, p. 54.
“1919 . . . lost everything.” Garelick, p. 104.
Black Wipes Out Everything
“Obviously I . . . completely bewitching.” Picardie, p. 116.
“I tried . . . distract her.” Vaughan, p. 13.
“Because she . . . our age.” Picardie, p. 124.
“All those . . . in black.” Morand, p. 47.
“the little black dress.” Picardie, p. 129; Madsen, p. 117.
“I imposed . . . else around.” Morand, p. 47.
“little black dress.” Bott, Danièle. Chanel: Collections and Creations (London: Thames & Hudson, 2007), p. 164.
“Ford dress.” Bott, p. 168.
“You have . . . achieved this.” Garelick, p. 151.
Lead Them by the Nose
“Women wear . . . you like.” Picardie, p. 135.
“I don’t . . . is composed.” Madsen, p. 133.
“with a passion.” Chaney, p. 187.
“That’s what . . . ever made.” Madsen, p. 134.
“Now I . . . sell this.” Picardie, p. 136.
“You’ve got . . . the nose.” Picardie, p. 136.
“You mean . . . my perfume?” Madsen, p. 135.
“gold liquid within.” Fiemeyer, Isabelle. Intimate Chanel (Paris: Flammarion, 2011), p. 82.
“We experimented . . . lottery ticket.” Madsen, p. 135.
“I let . . . be swindled.” Chaney, p. 228.
“that bandit . . . bloody woman.” Madsen, p. 137.
Go and Fetch My Pearls
“naked.” de la Haye, Amy, and Shelley Tobin. Chanel: The Couturiere at Work (Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 1994), p. 101.
“Go and . . . my neck.” Bott, p. 109.
/> “I couldn’t . . . false ones.” Madsen, p. 153.
“Expensive jewelry . . . remain so.” Morand, p. 122.
“Slav period.” de la Haye and Tobin, p. 31.
“This unusual . . . right time.” Marie, Grand Duchess of Russia. A Princess in Exile (New York: Viking Press, 1932), p. 160.
“I watched . . . the pins.” Marie, pp. 172–73.
“Stand straight, girl.” Madsen, p. 161.
“No one . . . of anybody.” Marie, p. 173.
“began to . . . out loud.” Marie, p. 177.
“The Peasant Look.” de la Haye and Tobin, p. 32.
“It is . . . look prosperous.” Marie, p. 190.
“a giant . . . her head.” Garelick, p. 150.
“When she . . . degree presentable.” Marie, p. 190.
“Come to . . . you can.” Madsen, p. 295.
“It’s disgusting . . . be rich.” Wallach, Janet. Chanel: Her Style and Her Life (New York: Doubleday, 1998), p. 87.
“The famous . . . looping, etc.” Chaney, p. 244.
“Coco is . . . an Empire.” Chaney, p. 244.
“Tweeds have . . . beautiful practical.” Garelick, p. 196.
“the light . . . English woman.” Garelick, p. 196.
“There have . . . Coco Chanel.” Picardie, p. 202.
“vulgar.” Fiemeyer, p. 143.
“Salmon fishing . . . to leave.” Garelick, p. 216.
“She wears . . . for walking.” Picardie, p. 211.
Take Off the Girdle!
“elegant.” Haedrich, p. 65.
“Chanel did . . . best-known women.” Wallach, pp. 91–92.
“Women think . . . absolute beauty.” Picardie, p. 217.
“There are great Jews.” Vaughan, p. 70.
“glared furiously . . . a girdle.” Picardie, p. 231.
“Take off . . . rubberized undergarment.” Picardie, p. 231.
“Lose five . . . try it.” Madsen, p. 193.
“It took . . . into it.” Picardie, p. 231.
“her dresses . . . a lady.” Picardie, p. 232.
That Italian
“Poor Chanel . . . the back.” Madsen, p. 200.
“that Italian . . . making clothes.” White, Palmer. Elsa Schiaparelli: Empress of Paris Fashion (London: Aurum Press, 1996), p. 92.
“that dreary little bourgeoise.” White, p. 92.
“Mme. Schiaparelli . . . most often.” Chaney, p. 277.
“There was a . . . soda water.” Ballard, Bettina. In My Fashion (New York: D. McKay, 1960), p. 140.
“terribly sedate . . . bit dull.” Madsen, p. 218.
“The couture . . . no tricks.” Garelick, p. 253.
I Detest Giving In
“I decided . . . the rebels.” Morand, p. 123.
“I detest . . . humiliating myself.” Garelick, p. 257.
“perfectly proper.” Charles-Roux, p. 323.
“My staff . . . work is.” Morand, p. 125.
“most delicate . . . holiday camp.” Charles-Roux, p. 323.
“The first . . . at Mimizan.” Vaughan, p. 105.
“cheerful and . . . yearning heart.” Morand, p. 125.
“Imagine women . . . girls were!” Garelick, p. 258.
A Mistake
“We flitted . . . of splendor.” Picardie, p. 290.
“Everyone thinks . . . so pretty.” Madsen, p. 219.
“the most . . . linen lace.” Stuart, Amanda Mackenzie. Empress of Fashion: A Life of Diana Vreeland (New York: HarperCollins, 2012), p. 85.
“clustered around . . . of Hitler.” Fiemeyer, p. 169.
“In those . . . good time.” Picardie, p. 291.
“This is . . . be killed.” Fiemeyer, p. 169.
“I thought . . . the war.” Haedrich, pp. 141–142.
“the prestige of Paris.” Chaney, p. 288.
“Me! . . . You . . . be joking!” Charles-Roux, p. 331.
“I had . . . an era.” Garelick, p. 305.
“The city . . . sent away.” Picardie, p. 292.
“We listened . . . wept bitterly.” Picardie, p. 294.
He Isn’t a German!
“Idiots!” Haedrich, p. 152.
“He often . . . in uniform.” Picardie, p. 296.
“He isn’t . . . is English!” Haedrich, p. 152.
“Still the . . . of priority.” Mazzeo, Tilar J. The Secret of Chanel No 5: The Intimate History of the World’s Most Famous Perfume (New York: HarperCollins, 2010), p. 152.
“legal and correct.” Mazzeo, p. 154.
“bad cold.” Madsen, p. 256.
“Everyone was . . . everyone else.” Picardie, p. 307.
“and would . . . her head.” Vaughan, p. 211.
“There had . . . Chanel No 5.” Herndon, Booton. “Paris Was Yesterday.” Virginia Quarterly Review 70, no. 4 (1994), www.vqronline.org/essay/paris-was-yesterday.
“an awful . . . the perfume.” Mazzeo, p. 149.
“after a . . . from Churchill.” Fiemeyer, p. 177.
“Don’t lose . . . of France.” Vaughan, p. 210.
What a Horror!
“She was . . . bored.” Fiemeyer, p. 180.
“Coco could . . . the spot.” Vaughan, p. 235.
“Your dresses . . . new look!” Chaney, p. 352.
“Dressing women . . . man’s job.” de la Haye and Tobin, p. 88.
“Fashion has . . . natural shape.” Garelick, p. 370.
“She has . . . woman friend.” Morand, p. 65.
“Just take . . . at me.” Chaney, p. 354.
“looking as . . . clock back.” Fiemeyer, p. 184.
“What a . . . a comeback.” Madsen, p. 281.
I Will Show Them
“I thought . . . has come.” Vaughan, p. 237.
“Mademoiselle Chanel . . . to say.” Vaughan, p. 237.
“come quickly.” Garelick, p. 372.
“One by . . . to work.” Wallach, p. 144.
“Once la pose . . . all fours.” Madsen, p. 306.
“You’re already tired?” Madsen, p. 306.
“A sleeve . . . lifts easily.” Shaeffer, Claire B. Couture Sewing: The Couture Cardigan Jacket: Sewing Secrets from a Chanel Collector (Newtown, CT: Taunton Press, 2013), p. 87.
“Coco was . . . absolutely crazy.” de la Haye and Tobin, p. 31; Stuart, p. 86.
“the underside . . . the outside.” Wallach, p. 144.
“worshiped at . . . Chanel deplored.” Picardie, p. 377.
“antagonism . . . pro-Nazi activities.” Garelick, p. 378.
“Chanel Dress . . . a Fiasco!” Chaney, p. 363.
“How sad . . . the spotlight.” de la Haye and Tobin, p. 90.
“At 71 . . . the first.” Garelick, p. 378.
“I wanted . . . for myself.” Picardie, p. 326.
“Mark my . . . new thing.” Chaney, p. 365.
“I want . . . and win.” Madsen, p. 289.
“Paris Has . . . Again Chanel!” Garelick, pp. 382–83.
“graceful and easy.” Garelick, p. 379.
“Chanel has . . . look elegant.” Garelick, p. 383.
“I thought . . . the better!” Chaney, p. 368.
“go down . . . of splendor.” Picardie, p. 290.
A Very Bad Dead Person
“la pose.” Madsen, p. 306
“Now there . . . Chanel Look.” Chaney, p. 371.
“Never was . . . new clothes.” Picardie, p. 337.
“[Yves] Saint . . . he displays.” Madsen, p. 298.
“I must . . . working tomorrow.” Chaney, pp. 389–90.
“I would . . . over again.” Morand, p. 175.
Bibliography
Books
Ballard, Bettina. In My Fashion. New York: D. McKay, 1960.
Bott, Danièle. Chanel: Collections and Creations. London: Thames & Hudson, 2007.
Caron, Vicki. The Path to Vichy: Antisemitism in France in the 1930s. Washington, D.C.: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, 2005. www.u
shmm.org/m/pdfs/Publication_OP_2005-07-02.pdf.
Chaney, Lisa. Coco Chanel: An Intimate Life. New York: Viking, 2011.
Charles-Roux, Edmonde. Chanel: Her Life, Her World, the Woman Behind the Legend. Translated by Nancy Amphoux. London: MacLehose Press, 2009.
de la Haye, Amy. Chanel: Couture and Industry. London: V&A Publishing, 2011.
de la Haye, Amy, and Shelley Tobin. Chanel, the Couturiere at Work. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 1994.
Fiemeyer, Isabelle. Intimate Chanel. Paris: Flammarion, 2011.
Flanner, Janet. Paris Was Yesterday, 1925–1939. Edited by Irving Drutman. New York: Viking Press, 1972.
Garelick, Rhonda K. Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History. New York: Random House, 2014.
Gilbert, Martin. Churchill: A Life. New York: Holt, 1992.
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Madsen, Axel. Coco Chanel: A Biography. London: Bloomsbury, 1990.
Marie, Grand Duchess of Russia. A Princess in Exile. New York: Viking Press, 1932.
Matthews, Elizabeth. Different Like Coco. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2007.
Mazzeo, Tilar J. The Secret of Chanel No 5: The Intimate History of the World’s Most Famous Perfume. New York: HarperCollins, 2010.
Morand, Paul. The Allure of Chanel. Translated by Euan Cameron. London: Pushkin Press, 2008.
Picardie, Justine. Chanel: Her Life. Göttingen, Germany: Steidl, 2011.
Rubin, Susan Goldman. Hot Pink: The Life and Fashions of Elsa Schiaparelli. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2015.
Shaeffer, Claire B. Couture Sewing: The Couture Cardigan Jacket: Sewing Secrets from a Chanel Collector. Newtown, CT: The Taunton Press, 2013.
Stuart, Amanda Mackenzie. Empress of Fashion: A Life of Diana Vreeland. New York: HarperCollins, 2012.
van Haeringen, Annemarie. Coco and the Little Black Dress. New York: NorthSouth Books, 2015.
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