Channeling Chanel
On the eve of Karl Largerfeld's final show for Chanel, I thought it would be fitting to take a look at what makes Chanel... well Chanel.
How can we channel a little bit of Chanel magic into our own well-considered wardrobes?
Coco herself was a fahion pioneer, pushing the boundaries in womens' fashion and establishing many items of clothing as modern wardrobe staples… including trousers for women!
She was profoundly inspired by menswear and her muses were the men in her life. She constantly ‘borrowed’ their suits, jackets, pants and shirts for her wardrobe, as well as using these items as the basis for many of her designs for Chanel.
From breton stripes to the tweed jacket, these items simply did not exist in women's wardrobes before Chanel interpreted them in a way that was relevent and uniquely female.
I've looked at a few key Chanel inspired items that are wardrobe staples for me. There are other obvious iconic Chanel looks like the white camelia, quilted bags and multiple strings of pearls but I've limited my scope to the itmes I actrually wear on high rotation (all those pearls look great on other people but my neck struggles just to keep my head up!)
So with the intention of avoiding a head to toe Chanel nock-off situation, here are some key items that will bring a little sprinkle of Coco into your wardrobe.
Wide-legged Trousers
Chanel began designing at a time when women only wore skirts. But rebellious as she was, Coco loved wearing trousers herself and often borrowed her boyfriend’s suits. She began designing trousers for women and soon they became an item in every daring woman’s closet. She famously said “I gave them back their bodies: bodies that were drenched in sweat, due to fashion's finery, lace, corsets, underclothes, padding”. The iconic shape of the wide-legged trouser still appears on runways every season.
Source: Getty
source: Chanel Resort 2019 Vogue.com
source: Chanel Ready-to-Wear Spring 2016
make it your own
The Tweed Jacket
The famous tweed fabric used for the Chanel jacket was not only inspired by menswear but by an actual man. Coco wore her boyfriend’s clothing (the Duke of Westminster) all the time. She soon realised the comfortable and readily available fabric would be great for her own designs. In 1924 a Scottish factory started producing the iconic tweed fabric for Chanel. Today the Chanel tweed jacket still radiates the same effortless elegance as it did almost a hundred years ago.
source: Richard Avedon, 1959
source: chanelishot.tumblr.com
source: glamsugar.com
make it your own
Breton stipes
After a trip to the French coast, Coco Chanel was so inspired by the sailors’ uniform that she incorporated the stripes into her 1917 collection. Since then the Breton top has become one of the most stylish items in the world, worn and adored by many of the biggest fashion icons in history such as Brigitte Bardot, Edie Sedgwick, Audrey Hepburn, Jane Birkin and Alexa Chung. With her love for sailor tops she forever changed the face of casual womenswear.
source: flickr.com
source: Chanel Resort 2019
source: the-atlantic-pacific.com
make it your own
The LBD
To say the Little Black Dress is an iconic item in women’s fashion is an understatement (what other item of cloting has it’s own universally recognised acronym?). Historians ascribe the origins of the LBD to Coco Chanel’s designs from the 1920’s. Vogue magazine published a sketch of Coco's LBD and dubbed it ‘Chanel’s Ford’, in other words it was simple and accessible to women of all classes. Spot on prediction… nice one Vogue.
source: Chanel Ready-to-Wear Spring 2019
source: Chanel Ready-to-Wear Spring 2019
make it your own
