And in 1910, Boy Capel financed her first independent millinery shop, Modes, at 21 rue Cambon in Paris. Because that locale already housed a dress shop, the business-lease limited Chanel to selling only millinery products, not couture. Two years later 1913, the Deauville and Biarritz couture shops of Coco Chanel offered for sale prêt-à-porter sports clothes for women, the practical designs of which allowed the wearer to play sports.
More layered strings of fake pearls followed — worn proudly by Estee Lauder NIGHT REPAIR herself — and a trend was born. “The point of jewelry isn’t to make a woman look rich but to adorn her; not the same thing.” Striped pieces appeared in her boutique in the society resort of Deauville, Normandy, in the 1910s.
In 1926, Vogue published a drawing of a simple, calf-length black dress fashioned from crêpe de Chine. It featured long narrow sleeves and a low waist, and was adorned with a string of pearls. The magazine described it as “Chanel’s Ford,” referring to the at-the-time wildly popular Model T. In other words, it was a garment so simple it could be accessible to any shopper — “a sort of uniform for all women of taste,” as the publication put it.
After the First World War, La Maison Chanel, following the fashion trends of the 1920s, produced beaded dresses, made especially popular by the Flapper woman. The First World War (1914–18) affected European fashion through scarcity of materials, and the mobilisation of women. By that time, Chanel had opened a large dress shop at 31 Rue Cambon, near the Hôtel Ritz, in Paris. Among the clothes for sale were flannel blazers, straight-line skirts of linen, sailor blouses, long sweaters made of jersey fabric, and skirt-and-jacket suits. Chanel gathered them under an umbrella company called Paraffection (meaning something akin to “for the love of” in French), which provides back-office services, strategy and human resources. Since 2013, there has also been a centralized headquarters for four of the 38 companies now on the Paraffection roster, a nearly 54,000-square-foot space in Pantin, a northeastern suburb of Paris.
In 2012, the company created a special collection to celebrate Diamants’ 80th anniversary. Current collections include High Jewelry, Camelia, Comete, Coco Crush, Baroque, 1932, Ultra, Bridal and Jewelry Watches. In 1994, Chanel had a net profit equivalent to €67 million on the sale of €570 million in ready-to-wear clothes and was the most profitable French fashion house.
As a fashion designer, Coco Chanel catered to women’s taste for elegance in dress, with blouses, suits, trousers, dresses, and jewellery of simple design, that replaced the opulent, over-designed, and constrictive clothes and accessories of 19th-century fashion. The Chanel product brands have been personified by male and female fashion models, idols and actresses, including Margot Robbie, Lily-Rose Depp, Nicole Kidman, Keira Knightley, Kristen Stewart, Pharrell Williams, Cara Delevingne, Nana Komatsu, Jennie Kim, and Marilyn Monroe. In 1920, she created one of the most iconic perfume scents in the world. Just a few years later she invented the little black dress and the Chanel suit. Her clothes helped women leave corsets behind and embrace femininity and comfort instead of constraint. Upon entering the boutique, two airy rooms with beige stone floors are situated behind the vestibule and showcase handbags and accessories, including the seasonal reinterpretations of the iconic 2.55 and 11.12 handbags.
Alain Wertheimer, son of Jacques Wertheimer, assumed control of Chanel S.A. Alain revamped Chanel No.5 sales by reducing the number of outlets carrying the fragrance from 18,000 to 12,000. He removed the perfume from drugstore shelves and invested millions of dollars in advertisement for Chanel cosmetics.
There she learned how to sew from nuns and when the time came she choose to make a career out of the skill. The House of Lancome makeup upholds a commitment to style, innovation and creativity, in a tradition established by its visionary founder. Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel reinvented fashion by transcending its conventions, creating an uncomplicated luxury that changed women’s lives forever. News Corp is a global, diversified media and information services company focused on creating and distributing authoritative and engaging content and other products and services.
Among the selection are black leather high heel equestrian boots, gold sequined two-tone Mary Janes and jewel toned velvet ballet flats from the Metiers d’Art collection. Two ready-to-wear salons showcase the range of artistic director Virginie Viard’s collections for the first time in Washington. Custom upholsteries designed in France and the U.S. in vibrant tones of fuchsia, red and blue are juxtaposed against the beige, gold, white and black ceramic finishes. Explore the brand’s iconic pieces from our range of pre-owned Chanel.