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Coco Chanel
History of Women's Fashion in the Twentieth Century Upper class people dominated fashion during the period from1900 to 1909. Only rich people enjoyed high fashion because the tradition of hand craftsmanship was slow, detailed work, and it was expensive. Therefore, most people could not afford trendy clothes. Rich people controlled fashion because fashion was a symbol of social status. The formal style was extraordinary, and ladies wore many clothes--for example, chemise, corset, corset cover, drawers, a flannel petticoat, and one or more cotton petticoats. About 1908, a new style of fashion began. The concept of the new style was the natural woman's figure. The new fashion expressed the new status of women. Women started to enter a variety of careers and new ways of living. During World War I, women took over men's jobs, and the traditional pompous clothes disappeared. After the war, the development of fashion was influenced by the new attitude of women. Chanel's Childhood Gabrielle Chanel was born in France, on August 19, 1883. The Chanel family did not have money, and they lived in a poor house in a narrow street. In the big cities of France, the industrial revolution had brought about a modern lifestyle, but the Chanels did not live in a modern city. When Gabrielle was twelve, her mother died, and her father disappeared. She had two sisters and two brothers, and she and her sisters went to an orphanage, and her brothers went to a farm and became child laborers. Gabrielle had been staying in the orphanage for six years. She was a fierce, pretty, and restless girl, and she knew that she was different from others. The Life Work of Coco Chanel
Written by Mizuho Inoue
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Chanel
was a woman of ambition and determination. She introduced simple, elegant,
relaxed, and functional clothes that express the aspirations of women in
the Twentieth Century. She borrowed ideas from men's clothes and created
clothes for modern women. In May, 1916, Chanel introduced jersey suits.
A jersey is a soft and elasticated knit that was used for undergarments
before she introduced her suits because its appearance and its weave were
difficult to handle. Because of war time circumstances, Chanel adopted
a jersey as couture fabric. The suits eliminated the waistline, and had
a simplified elegance. For the first time in women's fashion, women showed
their bare ankles in the streets. People were surprised by the new style,
but the revolutionary use of jersey was successful. The Chanel suits fitted
in people's lifestyle, and it was not just a trendy fashion. Chanel said,
"I make fashion women can live in, breath in, feel comfortable in and look
younger in." The concept of her fashion was the antithesis of the concept
of high fashion in the past. Her unique sense of fashion also guided her
jewelry designs. She combined real and imitation gems. Her famous perfume,
Chanel No.5, was the first designer's brand perfume.
Chanel
lost her parents when she was young, and she did not spent childhood in
a rich and elegant environment. However, she escaped from poor circumstances,
and she created revolutionary women's clothes. She was an inspirational
person because she broke the traditional forms of women's clothes, and
she contributed to a change in women's sense through her clothes. We can
learn something from her life. For example, we can overcome poverty, and
listen to our instincts. Chanel knew that she was different from others,
so it is important to believe in yourself and try hard to make your dreams
come true. Chanel created basic forms of modern fashion, and many designers
had inherited the basic concept of simplicity and elegance from Chanel.
After she got old, she said, "I must tell you something of significance.
Fashion is always of the time in which you live. It is not something standing
alone. The problem of fashion in 1925 was different. Women were just beginning
to go to work in offices. I inspired the cutting of the hair short because
it goes with the modern woman. To the woman going to work, I said to take
off the bone corset, because women cannot work while they are imprisoned
in a corset."