Birthdate and Place:
Gabrielle Jeanne Chanel was born into the poor countryside of Saumur, France on August 19, 1883
Family Members:
Gabrielle was the second child born to her mother Eugénie Jeanne Devolle with her father Albert Chanel; she had two brothers and two sisters. The family was really poor and when Gabrielle was only 11, her mother died of bronchitis, and her father sent her and her sisters to an orphanage in central France.
Childhood and School Life:
Gabrielle’s childhood was awfully rough, she was angry at all that happened in her family and the poverty they went through. After the death of her mother, Gabrielle was sent to an orphanage run by catholic nuns with strict rules and demanding of discipline, that is where she learned
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When she was around her 20s she was offered to start a millinery business with money from a man whom she was mistress. She did set it up and opened her first hat shop in the beginning 1911 in the Rue Cambon in Paris; then expanded the stores to other places. After once styling and old jersey into a dress, people seemed to have liked it and so she decided to start making clothes, which was a success. In 1921, she then continued to expand her creativity and launched her first perfume, Chanel № 5. Her fashion empire kept expanding and she later introduced new fashion trends like the suit and the little black dress. Her style was, and still is, highly demanded around the world.
Reason for Fame:
Coco Chanel ‘s fame started from the bottom, she became famous from her own creativity and sense of fashion. She reinvented the way women dressed and introduced a handful of fashion trends that still go on today.
Later Life/Old Age:
After World War II in 1954, Gabrielle made a tough comeback to the fashion world at the age of 71 years old. She disliked the present fashions and decided to reopen her couture saying that “Dressing women is not a man’s job. They dress them badly because they scorn them”. Many in France did not like her new material, however, it was a success in America and