Introduction

Chanel No. 5, the Little Black Dress, Interlocking C’s, leather bags with a chain strap, pearl necklaces, short hair, and blood-red lipstick – these are just some of the trends that Coco Chanel pioneered in the fashion industry.

Have you wondered who Coco Chanel was, or if she come from a rich family? Have you heard she was a mistress and a Nazi sympathizer? Have you considered how she created the most popular fashion trends in the world? This book summary answers those questions.

Coco Chanel was a passionate entrepreneur, lover, fashion designer, and an extraordinary woman. In this book, you learn about her incredible life story.

I am not an Orphan

Coco Chanel was born in the town of Saumur, France, in 1883. Her father was a peddler, and her mother was a housewife. The day Coco was born, her father was not around. Only representatives from the charity hospital documented her birth. No one knew how to write her true surname “Chasnel” and the mayor had misspelled it “Chanel.”

Coco's real name is Gabrielle, but she never used it in her adult life. She did not bother to correct her surname either. Coco did not want people to know that she came from a very poor family. Throughout her adult life, she made up stories about her complicated childhood.

Coco's family travelled from town to town in a horse-drawn buggy so her father could sell bonnets in markets and fairs. Coco had an older sister, Julia, a younger brother, Alphonse, and a younger sister, Antoinette.

When Coco was six years old, her mother became very sick with asthma. An old uncle invited them to stay at his house in the countryside. However, once there, Coco’s father became bored and restless and ran away to drink at taverns and flirt with other women.

Coco’s mother became worried and went away to look for their father. Leaving Coco and her siblings to the care of other relatives. When she misbehaved, they would tell her that they would sell her off to Gypsies.

A few years later, Coco's parents came back together and had two more children, Lucien and Augustin. One cold, harsh winter, when Coco was eleven years old, her mother suffered from bronchitis and passed away.

None of their relatives could take care of Coco and her siblings. It was decided that the boys would be brought to a farm to work, and the girls were brought to an orphanage to be raised by nuns.

Coco never revealed the truth that she was an orphan. She always made-up stories about her past. She told the other girls in the orphanage that her father went to America to look for business opportunities. He would come back for Coco when he became rich. This was a lie, her father left her and her sisters for the nuns, and she never saw him again.

Prayers and silence, prayers and silence – Coco despised this routine. She hated kneeling for confession with the priest. Often, she made up stories about her sins. Coco also despised wearing the same plainclothes every day.

On holidays, she and her sisters were permitted to visit their grandparents in Moulins and their aunts in Varennes. Coco became close to her Aunt Louise and her Aunt Adrienne, who was only one year older than her.

Coco and Adrienne treated each other like sisters. They shared the attic bedroom and would talk until dawn. When they were teenagers, they read romance novels together as the chapters were published in the newspaper.

Coco and Adrienne would cut out each new chapter and sew the pages together. One of their favorite stories was “Two Little Vagrants” which was about poor girls who grew up to be wealthy elegant ladies. Coco was inspired by the beautiful dresses that the characters wore.

Aunt Louise was an expert seamstress. She taught Coco and Adrienne how to sew tablecloths, how to make pleats, and how to put sleeves in the fabric. Aunt Louise bought simple hats from the fair and would improve them with her decorations.

Coco turned eighteen in 1901. She and her older sister Julia were too old to stay in the orphanage unless they wanted to become nuns. Their grandmother enrolled Coco and Julia at Notre-Dame, a school for young ladies in Moulins.

Coco and Julia became charity cases once there. To pay for their boarding and education, they had to do household chores such as cleaning and helping in the kitchen.

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Who has seen Coco?

When Coco was 20 years old, she left the boarding school and started to work as a seamstress with her Aunt Adrienne. In Moulins, they worked for a lingerie shop from Monday to Saturday and worked in the tailor’s shop every Sunday.

Army officers and soldiers often had their uniforms altered and mended at the tailor’s shop. They would flirt with the young dressmakers and even took Coco and Adrienne out on dates. Coco was short and thin compared to other women, but the men were captivated by her unique charm. One afternoon, Coco and Adrienne were invited by a few lieutenants to a café in La Rotonde.

The officers teased Coco to go up on stage and sing a song for them. She obliged and sang a famous French song. It was about a Parisian lady who lost her dog in the amusement park.

“I’ve lost my poor Coco. Coco, my lovable dog. Who has seen Coco?” She sang.
The officers and other men in the audience loved her voice. They asked her to sing it once more. The men shouted, “Coco! Coco!” From then on, Gabrielle became “la petite Coco” or “Little Coco.”

Etienne Balsan was one of her admirers. He was a cavalry officer from a brigade of aristocrat gentlemen. Balsan was young, rich, and high-class, and he was taken by Coco’s charm. Balsan became one of her lovers and benefactors in her fashion brand.

When Balsan was relieved from the army, he bought a country estate in Royallieu. It had a vast land area, an elegant chateau, several racehorses, and stables. Balsan invited Coco to live there for several years.

Coco knew that she would never be Balsan's wife. He was an aristocrat, and he would marry a woman from a high social background just like himself. After all, Coco was a seamstress with a mysterious past.

This did not stop Coco from enjoying her time at the chateau. She learned how to ride horses, and she spent her days riding in the woods. Traditionally, women would wear long skirts and ride their horses seated sideways. Coco was different. She wore tailor-made riding pants and matched them with one of Balsan’s collared button shirts and rode a horse like a man traditionally would.

One day, Balsan took her to the Longchamp Horse Race Course in Paris. All the high-class women there wore ball gowns and huge feathered hats, which was the fashion of Parisian ladies at the time. Coco stood out, she arrived wearing a schoolgirl outfit matched with a straw boater hat, which she had decorated with a black bow tie ribbon.

As she learned from her Aunt Louise, Coco bought a simple hat from the department store and glammed it up herself. Several wealthy ladies asked her where she got her hat from. That was when Coco’s business idea began to take shape.

Coco enjoyed Balsan’s company in the chateau, and she improved her horseback riding skills. She soon realized she didn’t want to live her whole life depending on men. Finally, Coco told Balsan that she wanted to go to work.

She told him about her business idea of customizing hats for women. Balsan supported her, and he offered his apartment in Paris to use as a boutique.

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