Twenty9: Miss Chanel

Today it's time for Fashion..Lately I noticed that people wear Chanel, LV, Prada..but they aren't familiar with the stories behinds these brands. I know there are so much brands out there! And that's why I use this day to look back to designers and the brands I like! And ofcourse all the stories behind them..

Starting with:

Miss Gabrielle Coco Chanel

The house of Chanel was founded in 1909 by Gabrielle Coco Chanel. Coco was the nickname she got when she sang in several cafes in Paris. It is a French haute couture fashion house, located on the rue Cambon in Paris.

Chanel started with a small accessory shop with women's hats. Later she began designing clothes in comfortable materials like jersey, tweed and flannel fabrics at that time only men were used. This new approach to women's clothing was a great success.

Chanel went for comfort and fit especially, a woman had to move easily. The fitting yet flexible sleeves in her famous tailor, which consisted of many different pattern pieces was one of its flagships. Chanel was so famous for its innovative cut: the typical luxurious but comfortable suits in a hand-woven tweed.

She was also the one who introduced jewelery, jewelery made from base metals and artificial pearls and preferably carried in large quantities

The perfume Chanel No.. 5 (her lucky number) was the first perfume that didn't smell like flowers, then what was usual. Chanel found that a woman should smell like a woman, not a flower. No.5 was the first perfume ever compiled by a fashion house and was partly due to its simple and timeless bottle a true classic. No.5 is today still the world's best selling perfume.

Chanel closed her doors during the Second World War but in 1953 opened her fashion house again. This was not an instant success and the critiques of the French press were reluctant. In the United States, however, her collections were well received and contributed to her "new start".

After several successful collections the fashion house was known all over the world as producer of haute couture and fashion of Chanel were worn by the beau monde of London, Paris, Rome and New York. Coco Chanel lived most of her life at the Hôtel Ritz, where she had her own apartment, to this day is to keep these (Coco Chanel Suite), in her own distinctive style.

The German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld waves since 1983 with great success the affairs of the fashion house, he blew the brand new life through a contemporary vision of the brand. The "heritage" of Chanel appears to be an inexhaustible source for his collections. Lagerfeld also succeeded in a young and trendy audience and charged with the dusty image that Chanel had then. His interpretation of the brand Chanel made sure that one of the most coveted and recognizable brands of the moment.

The famous logo of Chanel with the intertwined C's is the monogram of Coco Chanel. It is sleek, timeless and very recognizable. Only after the opening of the first pair of Chanel stores, the logo was registered by Chanel. For years, the fashion house involved the illegal use of their logo fight. Such abuse includes mainly the known models of the brand handbags. Vietnam, Thailand and the People's Republic of China are among the top 3 countries that produce most of the replicas. An authentic Chanel handbag often costs more than 900 euros, but an imitation is much less for sale. Despite the illegal use Karl Lagerfeld sees the copies as a compliment.

A factory in Spain made such good quality copies that Chanel and bought up the factory now manufactures under official license.

The famous Chanel house is composed as follows: the ground floor, ready-to-wear Chanel, at first, floor, the space reserved for haute couture, the second floor, the famous Gabrielle Chanel apartments and on the top floor, workspace of Karl Lagerfeld.