DosViolines
far from home...
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My pleasure!
1883-1971 Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel
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elegantly_wasted
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She was a pretty average looking individual but I imagine her presence must've been phenomenal..
I saw the movie about Coco last night on the Lifetime Channel. I was really impressed by the way Shirley McClain portrayed her character. It was an eye opener for me....I knew so little about Chanel and now I am digging around all over the internet and also the library to find out more about her.
I saw it too, and was pretty impressed...I thought they stuck to the real story for the most part- it's a very involved story; I've read all the books and she endlessly fascinates me! And the girl that played her when she was younger is so adorable!! 
lotusgreen
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i saw it too. i thought it was pretty well done. i wrote about it just now in my blog.
i immediately ran to get my biography of misia sert (but you can find it way cheaper), chanel's best friend (and bitterest enemy!) for over 30 years. many details about chanel's life, all omitted from the movie, but that didn't make the movie a lie. the "secrets" reflected her character, and i think the movie showed her character without much shame.
i found a lot of contradictions in on-line bios. she was complex.
i immediately ran to get my biography of misia sert (but you can find it way cheaper), chanel's best friend (and bitterest enemy!) for over 30 years. many details about chanel's life, all omitted from the movie, but that didn't make the movie a lie. the "secrets" reflected her character, and i think the movie showed her character without much shame.
i found a lot of contradictions in on-line bios. she was complex.
^^ Yup...One of the fascinating things about reading up on Coco is that she evidently intentionally changed her life story several times when talking to writers and friends...It is a very complex tale, involving many famous people and events...Such as it appears that Winston Churchill had DeGaulle drop the collaboration changes against her after WWII due to her romance with the Duke of Westminster and her supposed secret communications with the German High Command trying to broker a peace deal...High level intrigue, indeed! What a woman!! B)
lotusgreen
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how interesting. while the misia book has much trivia that wouldn't be found elsewhere (inclucing the chapter misia wrote about coco that coco made her take out of her memoir), it might be time to read a chanel book itself. too bad she didn't write the autobiography she threatened to write.
which bio do you recommend?
which bio do you recommend?
Hummm- tough question- I have over twenty books about her now, many out of print...I guess either of Edmonde Charles-Roux's books are the most complete (she was the editor of French Vogue). Her book "CHANEL" is very complete and staggering in it's detail; she later published "Chanel and her World", which has many pictures and is vastly more entertaining (and a fortune- my copy was over $75.00!!). The other one I found recently is Marcel Haedrich's "Coco Chanel" (very possibly out of print now) which is kind of unique because he was a friend of her's and came the closest to getting her own version of events down on paper (much of it not true, btw...). She had actually hired two or three writers to help her with an autobiography over the years; all of them quit in frustration when it became clear that she would not level with them about the facts!!
For general reading, my all time favorite, which I flip through all the time, is "Chanel: The Couturiere at Work" by DeLa Haye and Tobin.
Sorry you asked!!??
M
Muse_Views
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Hummm- tough question- I have over twenty books about her now, many out of print...I guess either of Edmonde Charles-Roux's books are the most complete (she was the editor of French Vogue). Her book "CHANEL" is very complete and staggering in it's detail; she later published "Chanel and her World", which has many pictures and is vastly more entertaining (and a fortune- my copy was over $75.00!!). The other one I found recently is Marcel Haedrich's "Coco Chanel" (very possibly out of print now) which is kind of unique because he was a friend of her's and came the closest to getting her own version of events down on paper (much of it not true, btw...). She had actually hired two or three writers to help her with an autobiography over the years; all of them quit in frustration when it became clear that she would not level with them about the facts!!
For general reading, my all time favorite, which I flip through all the time, is "Chanel: The Couturiere at Work" by DeLa Haye and Tobin.
Sorry you asked!!??
She may be sorry to have asked, but I am glad she did. Now I know what to read next. Thanking you.
lotusgreen
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thank you! two out of three to start are now on reserve at the library!
sorry! of course not!
sorry! of course not!
^^ It was pretty good! I recorded it and gave copies to a couple of friends, hopefully they'll start sharing my obsession...
It was simplified of course, and I caught one or two minor in corrections, but over all pretty good! The actress who played her as a younger woman was so adorable!!
Oh, and Lifetime seems to be replaying it every other day- you should be able to catch it again!
It was simplified of course, and I caught one or two minor in corrections, but over all pretty good! The actress who played her as a younger woman was so adorable!!
Oh, and Lifetime seems to be replaying it every other day- you should be able to catch it again!
Has anyone else out there on the lunatic fringe seen the book about Bendor, the Duke of Westminster? I finally found a copy but it is a bunch of money...I have the Misia book now and it is quite good- I guess I'll just have to get the $ up for the Duke's book too...but it would be good to know if it is worthwhile... 
^^ It was pretty good! I recorded it and gave copies to a couple of friends, hopefully they'll start sharing my obsession...
It was simplified of course, and I caught one or two minor in corrections, but over all pretty good! The actress who played her as a younger woman was so adorable!!
Oh, and Lifetime seems to be replaying it every other day- you should be able to catch it again!
Thanks!! I'll check to see what day and what time it's going to play.
From RadioRiviera yesterday...
Chanel film in Grasse, perfume capital of France
In Grasse, the perfume capital of France, a film is being made about the life of Coco Chanel. Directed by Jan Kounen, it is set in the 1920s, when Coco Chanel created her famous Number 5 scent in Grasse. The film also focuses on the fashion designer's romance with the Russian composer, Igor Stravinski. Chanel and Stravinski will be out in cinemas next spring.
Chanel film in Grasse, perfume capital of France
In Grasse, the perfume capital of France, a film is being made about the life of Coco Chanel. Directed by Jan Kounen, it is set in the 1920s, when Coco Chanel created her famous Number 5 scent in Grasse. The film also focuses on the fashion designer's romance with the Russian composer, Igor Stravinski. Chanel and Stravinski will be out in cinemas next spring.
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Boomer, thank you for all the book recommendations!
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