Gabrielle Chanel Summary and Analysis

Following her fast-growing fame as a hat maker, Chanel turned her attention to the glaring impracticality of the fashions women were wearing to races, sporting events, and even the beach. She saw women dressed in the same restrictive clothing in contexts of sport and play that they wore for life in the city. Having found a bigger location and two young and very inexperienced assistants, Chanel opened a shop from which she would add skirts, sailor shirts, coats, and other revolutionary styles. She recruited her little sister Antoinette to follow Adrienne's example of wearing her fashions around town. This not only attracted scads of new business, but also helped her come to understand the value of the mannequin.

Another of her means of exposure was the unexpected respect of caricature artist Sem, who mocked the falsity of common fashion...