The real Coco Chanel and Audrey Tautou who played Coco in the recent movie.

The fashion of the day for ballroom gowns were pastel and flowing, Coco designed hers to be black, long with no train.  What a classic, timeless gown – it could easily be worn today.

Once again look at the contrast between the Chanel fashion and the fashion of her day.  Chanel was ahead of her time!

Chanel No. 5 – still a much loved fragrance.

Loved seeing her mind ticking over when she saw the boys at the beach in blue stripes!

Practical – who rides a horse in a skirt?  Seriously

Last weekend I sat down and watched Avant Coco Chanel and loved it.  Definitely one of my favourite things or movies.  Check out the trailer You Tube clip above.  It was really inspirational to see the story behind the classic brand that is still popular today.  

Coco was a nickname that originated from a song, Coco’s real name was Gabrielle Bonheur.  She was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist philosophy, menswear inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th century fashion.  Founder of one of today’s most famous fashion brands, Chanel.  She had such extraordinary influence on fashion, so much so that she was made the only person in the couturier field to be named on Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century.

See more about Coco Chanel at Wikipedia

Chanel today is obviously still going strong.  See below You Tube clip of the 2011 Fashion Week