2. How It All Began * she was born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel in 1883 * she later claimed her birthday was 1893 making her 10 years younger *1910 - Coco Chanel turned eighteen, she left the orphanage and took up work for a local tailor *left her first seamstress job to become a signer
6. -she met rich, young French textile heir Étienne Balsan, to whom she soon became an acknowledged mistress, (upper class Prostitute) *keeping her day job in a tailoring shop -Chanel began designing hats as a hobby, which soon became a deeper interest of hers STARTING OUT
10. She was also the first to make costume jewelry socially acceptable. --She popularized the use of "fake" jewels by lavishly using rope upon rope of imitation pearls and other other fake stones to enhance her simple, understated clothes. --- The simplicity of her designs made them easy to copy in the factory and she is credited with being the designer who had the greatest effect on the early development of American mass production . Until her retirement in 1939, Chanel was the one of the world's most influential pre-war designers. ---- Her retirement was not permanent, however. In 1953 she was prompted into a comeback by her distaste to postwar fashion. In opposition to the cinch-waisted, full-skirted styles being presented by Dior and other designers, -----she reintroduced her simple, comfortable shapes. By 1959, her famous Chanel Suit had become the "uniform" of well dressed women all over the world. ****Chanel died in 1971 at the age of 88 , ---under the talented designer Philipppe Guiborge, her business continued producing clothes which reflect the classic look of Chanel. The famous numbered Chanel fragrances also continue to be produced, including the legendary No.5, named by Chanel for her lucky number. In 1977, the management of Chanel departed from Chanel's preference for numbers and introduced Cristalle. ----In 1983, Karl Lagerfeld took over the House of Chanel as Artistic Director.
