1883-1971 Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel

[cheiby11]

thank you! I've always wanted to see dresses made directly by Coco Chanel... the pics are so rare!! thank you once again

 

[taperjeangirl]

I love the dress in #27 Thanks for posting those pics

 

[DosViolines]

My pleasure

I especially like all the art deco pieces, I'm a bit of a deco fanatic

 

[taperjeangirl]

I want the cape in post #40 Also loving the items in #31 and #35.

Karma

 

[DosViolines]

Thanks

Some pics from the Met exhibition book.
Sorry, there was no description of the clothing.


yalepress.yale.edu

 

[taperjeangirl]

I love the way that last dress is cut at the back

 

[Ghost]

what really awes me is the Coco is an orphan
she left the orphanage together with her sister with a peniless purse on a first class train...lol and never returned again......that's f***king cool

 

[taperjeangirl]

what really awes me is the Coco is an orphan
she left the orphanage together with her sister with a peniless purse on a first class train...lol and never returned again......that's f***king cool

I never heard that story, makes me respect her even more. Thanks for sharing that

 

[Ghost]

lol that's from the extract from the first page

 

[taperjeangirl]

Ha how shameful of me I always tend to skip to the pictures

 

[DosViolines]

Suit
ca. 1965
Worsted crepe, lined with silk

Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel (1883-1971) was a rigorous and uncompromising designer. For her, the total look was vital. This elegant ensemble is said to have been worn by Madamoiselle Chanel herself in Italy and Switzerland. After her success earlier in the century, Chanel's salon had been closed for 15 years. The re-opening in 1954 was greeted with lukewarm reviews. She revived her classic suits with the lines pared down to bare essentials, but only American Vogue magazine acknowledged their significance.

vam.ac.uk

 

[DosViolines]

Evening ensemble
1937-1938 (Designed)
Satin, embroidered with sequins, with satin panels and sashes

We usually associate Chanel's name with her practical classic suits, which first appeared in about 1917. She also created extravagant evening wear such as this sequinned dress and cape. The combination of glistening black sequins and scarlet satin panels is very dramatic. The rows of overlapping 'fish-scale' sequins emphasise the supple, falling lines of the outfit. The short, semi-circular cape has a scarlet satin lining. Mrs Leo d'Erlanger wore this ensemble, which forms part of the Cecil Beaton Collection. Sir Cecil Beaton was a society photographer. With great energy and determination Beaton contacted the well-dressed élite of Europe and North America to help create this monument to the art of dress. The Collection was exhibited in 1971, accompanied by a catalogue that detailed its enormous range.

vam.ac.uk

 

[DosViolines]

Evening dress
1922
Hand-sewn silk georgette, hand-embroidered with glass beads and golden thread

This ankle-length evening dress is made of black silk georgette embroidered with golden thread and bugle beads. It is sleeveless with a square-shape neckline and a straight long bodice. The dress is slightly larger from the hip level down. It has convoluted embroidered motifs on the bodice, and vertical stripes and motifs embroidered with golden thread on the skirt. Black silk drapes trim the side of the skirt, which is open from the knee. A black silk petticoat is attached at the bodice. Chanel designed it about 1922.

This evening dress of the early 1920s illustrates the transition between the romantic picture dress with its wide skirt and the more 'Cubist' straight and square shape of the mid 1920s. The stylised embroidered motifs were Chanel's trademark at this period. They witness her relationship with the Russian House of Kitmir, who embroidered exclusively for her.

vam.ac.uk

 

[Whitelinen]

If I could own even one of these pieces. Truly beautiful.

 

[DosViolines]

Evening dress
ca. 1932
Machine- and hand-sewn blue tulle and sequins

This long, sleeveless evening dress is made of saxe-blue silk, completely covered with small matching sequins. It has a wide V-neck in the front, which dips to the waist at the back. A large bow of matching material is applied to the front bust, and another below the waist at the back. The skirt is gored to flare from the knees in front and from the waist at the back.

During the first half of the 1930s, evening dresses were designed to wrap women in luxurious, body-hugging sheaths, replacing the short, flat square gowns of the 1920s. Evening gowns were mostly sleeveless, often displaying a bare back or a low neckline and inevitably touching the floor. White or pastel colours, fashionable in the 1920s and early 1930s, soon gave way to stronger, more acidic colours.


After championing the modern, sporty and androgynous woman of the 1920s, Chanel successfully ventured into a luxurious and more feminine fashion in the 1930s.

vam.ac.uk

 

[taperjeangirl]

That last dress is fabulous, would make anybody feel like a million dollars

 

[DosViolines]

Dress fabric
ca. 1929
Printed wool and silk

This lightweight wool and silk dress fabric was woven in France for Chanel about 1929. From the late 1920s designs were increasingly abstract. There are two further samples of this design in other bright colours in the V&A’s collection.

vam.ac.uk

 

[DosViolines]

Evening dress
1938-1939
Machine-sewn red grosgrain and red chiffon

This long evening dress is made of red grosgrain silk and red chiffon. The dress has a sleeveless and tight-fitting bodice made of red grosgrain. The bodice fastens down the front with hooks and eyes and is finished with a ribbon made of navy, white and red grosgrain. The narrow shoulder straps are made of navy, white and red grosgrain ribbon. The dress has a full skirt of red silk chiffon, which falls from double, inverted pleats.

This evening dress, obviously designed for the summertime, is a remarkable example of Chanel's skills in developing elegant sportswear for the evening, creating a simple yet stunning evening dress for the sporty, modern woman of the 1930s. The navy, red and white ribbon of grosgrain makes reference to Chanel's own love of sailing, and her inspiration from sports.

vam.ac.uk

 

[DosViolines]

suit

Chanel, Gabrielle (Coco)
France
1960-70
92 cm

manchestergalleries.org

 

[Whitelinen]

DosViolines, thank you so much for the ffort you are taking in creating this thread and posting more pictures and articles

My heart skipped a beat when I saw that blue dress. It's funny how fashion can almost make you feel as you are in love