{"id":127,"date":"2015-12-08T17:26:02","date_gmt":"2015-12-08T17:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.fau.edu\/lifelongexchange\/?p=127"},"modified":"2015-12-08T17:45:06","modified_gmt":"2015-12-08T17:45:06","slug":"coco-chanel-and-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.fau.edu\/lifelongexchange\/2015\/12\/08\/coco-chanel-and-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Coco Chanel and me"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/del>According to Coco Chanel (1883-1971), the silhouette of flapper fashion was born more of chance than design. She told us: \u201cOne day in Deauville, I put on a man\u2019s sweater because I was cold. I tied it with a handkerchief at the waist. Fellow vacationers asked, \u201cWhere did you get that dress?\u201d \u00a0I responded, \u201cIf you like it, I will sell it to you.\u201d \u00a0Ten dresses later, the signature Chanel frock was born. This scenario describes just how fashion trends begin.<\/p>\n

After that, Chanel seized the opportunity to design for this new adventurous woman whose day combined work, sport, and leisure. She began to blur the lines
\nbetween masculine and feminine, and between costume and real jewelry. Recognizing the evolution from Victorian Society to a more streamlined Modernism, Chanel began to do a brisk business in navy blue blazers, turtleneck sweaters and other loose-fitting garments she created out of knit, flannel, and the new sexy rayon material that no other dressmaker had ever dared to use. Her main objective was to make every women feel comfortable and attractive.\"preview\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Chanel opened her Paris fashion house in 1921 at the very start of the Jazz Age. The most familiar ingredient of her flapper fashion was the shortened hemline with skirts that were fourteen inches above the ground. The New York Times<\/em> reported from the French fashion shows: \u201cDisplay of Spring fashions shows them barely long enough to cover their knees.\u201d \u00a0Women bobbed their hair short and began to wear skirts in which they could jump onto a bus easily, or even better, do the Charleston. Chanel\u2019s innovation of the little black dress has been called \u201cthe Ford of Fashion.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0Everybody had one (and most women still do)!\u00a0 This trend scandalized defenders of the old order who were alarmed at the sight of bare legs. Silk stockings, created by Pierre Poiret, became a feature of the look. Many took the \u201cNew Woman\u201d in stride – and even the conservative Ladies\u2019 Home Journal<\/em> wrote, \u201c\u2026American women are now noted for their pretty feet and ankles.\u00a0 It is pleasant to
\nknow that skirts are going to be short\u2026though one must adjust length to becomingness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coco Chanel encouraged women to use what they already owned in clothing and accessories, but she encouraged them to add modern touches to their outfits like a brightly colored scarf, a handsome hat, an attention-getting brooch, or fantastic footwear.<\/p>\n

When I was a student studying design at Pratt Institute, I would to go to the old Metropolitan Opera House and sketch the subscribers as they arrived for opening night. The parade of society ladies was a feast for the eyes in color, fabrics, and shape with each diva attempting to outdo all the others. How delicious it was to see this panoply of extravagance and consumerism!\u00a0 There will never be its equal.<\/p>\n

In my career as a designer, I embraced Chanel\u2019s ideas in order to make my own creations timely. \u00a0I always attempted to bring a new look into my work – but not an extreme one. The women who bought my clothes wanted to look attractive – not weird. I think back in pleasure at how Chanel, my muse, influenced my thinking and my love of French Couture. Coco Chanel was High Fashion herself!<\/p>\n

\"lawrence\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Terryl Lawrence, Ed.D.<\/strong>, earned her doctoral degree in art and education from Columbia University and has had many exhibitions of her paintings and photographs in New York and Florida. She has written several published articles, was a New York fashion designer and photographer and wrote the preface to Chaim Potok\u2019s \u201cArtist in Exile,\u201d has taught photography and art at C.W. Post College and SUNY Empire State College. She is an NEH Fellow in the Humanities. Professor Lawrence currently teaches Art History and Mythology at Palm Beach State and Broward Colleges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to Coco Chanel (1883-1971), the silhouette of flapper fashion was born more of chance than design. She told us: \u201cOne day in Deauville, I put on a man\u2019s sweater because I was cold. I tied it with a handkerchief…<\/span><\/p>\n

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