Do you want to know interesting facts about Coco Chanel?
Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel was born on August 19, 1883, and passed away on January 10, 1971. She was a businesswoman and fashion designer from France.
Chanel was the founder and namesake of the Chanel brand and is credited with popularizing sporty, casual chic as the feminine standard of fashion in the post-World War I era.
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Coco Chanel is one of the most famous and influential women in the world of fashion. Born in the French town of Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, she built her own empire in a world dominated by men. She was on par with them and sometimes even better.
To know more, see our list of the most exciting facts about Coco Chanel below.
Things you'll find in this article
- 13 Facts About Coco Chanel
- 1. Coco Chanel was a former cabaret singer
- 2. Chanel and her sisters grew up at an orphanage
- 3. The lion was her personal symbol
- 4. She entered the fashion industry by making and selling hats
- 5. Coco Chanel’s affairs
- 6. Her favorite color was black
- 7. Chanel created the first modern designer perfume
- 8. She influenced pants in women’s fashion
- 9. She revolutionized the women’s suit
- 10. Coco Chanel was critical of her contemporaries
- 11. Chanel became famous in America
- 12. She lived in a hotel for 35 years
- 13. Coco Chanel designed her own headstone
13 Facts About Coco Chanel
1. Coco Chanel was a former cabaret singer
At 18, Coco Chanel moved out on her own. She became a cabaret singer in the circus. This is also how she got the nickname “Coco.”
When she became known for the songs “Qui qu’a vu Coco” and “Ko Ko Ri Ko,” which were both big hits. Later, she told everyone that her father had given her the nickname.
She only made money from singing at a café-concert, where people gave her money when they liked her performance.
2. Chanel and her sisters grew up at an orphanage
Coco Chanel’s family was poor when she was born. After her mother died when Coco was 12, her father sent her two brothers to a farm to work there as farmhands. He then left her and her two sisters at the convent of Aubazine. The nuns taught her how to sew there.
Chanel never got married and isn’t known to have had any children of her own. Still, after her older sister died by suicide, she cared for her sister’s son, André Palasse.
3. The lion was her personal symbol
Gabrielle Chanel was born under the sign of Leo on August 19, 1883. She was a perfect example of her zodiac sign. She was proud, passionate, and brave. Probably one of the most interesting facts about Coco Chanel is that the lion, who is strong, courageous, and wild, became a personal symbol and the inspiration for Chanel’s most iconic perfume, Chanel No. 5.
Chanel had a lion statue next to her cigarettes and scissors her whole life. You can also see the lion on the bottoms of her tweed suits.
4. She entered the fashion industry by making and selling hats
Coco Chanel worked hard to get to the top and ran the world of fashion faster and better than anyone else. She started the company that she named after herself in 1909 by making and selling hats.
In 1910, she got a license to make hats and opened Chanel Modes at 21 rue Cambon in Paris. Her earliest clients were ordinary women, but soon they were joined by influential people.
5. Coco Chanel’s affairs
Boy Capel was an English polo player known for being Gabrielle Chanel’s lover. In 1909, they met when she was the mistress of his friend Étienne Balsan. Capel taught the young girl about books and gave Coco Chanel the money to open her first stores.
His style also inspired Chanel, helping to shape the Chanel look. In 1919, Boy Capel was killed in a car accident. Coco Chanel was seen crying for the first and only time.
Chanel had affairs with some of the most powerful men of her time, but she never married. She had close friendships with illustrator and designer Paul Iribe and poet Pierre Reverdy. Even though her relationship with Reverdy ended in 1926, they stayed friends for about forty years.
6. Her favorite color was black
Although white, beige, gold, and red are all associated with Chanel, the designer herself preferred the color black.
Coco Chanel believed wearing black made a woman look radiant and brought attention to what was truly important. She believed that an all-black ensemble, particularly a little black dress, was the epitome of sophistication.
7. Chanel created the first modern designer perfume
Chanel No. 5 is the most well-known perfume that she made. The perfume came out in 1921.
When asked what she wore to bed, Marilyn Monroe said, “Just a few drops of Chanel No. 5.” This made the perfume a part of history.
The name “Chanel No. 5” came from the fact that it was the fifth scent she tried out. The names of the things she sold were simple.
Ernest Beaux, a French-Russian chemist, and perfumer, mixed up the scent formula for the perfume. A big part of the product’s branding is how its bottle looks.
8. She influenced pants in women’s fashion
By mixing women’s and men’s clothes, Coco Chanel changed fashion for good. Because she liked to ride horses, she was the first woman to wear pants. She also cut her hair short, which was something only men did at the time. The famous clothes that Coco Chanel made were made with the working woman in mind.
She enraged the fashion world by wearing pants in Venice to make gondola travel easier. Coco Chanel determined that riding a horse in a long skirt was not a comfortable option. She was always a risk-taker, which led to her going places.
9. She revolutionized the women’s suit
Chanel freed women from the uncomfortable dresses, revolutionizing the women’s suit.
The iconic Chanel suit features a military-inspired jacket, with jewelry-inspired buttons and pad pockets.
Chanel debuted the original suit concept in 1925 at a small show in her salon on Rue de Cambon in Paris. Chanel, known for fusing traditional masculine and feminine ideas, drew inspiration from the sportswear and menswear worn by her then-boyfriend, the Duke of Westminster.
10. Coco Chanel was critical of her contemporaries
Coco Chanel was never shy about criticizing her contemporaries.
She criticized Christian Dior for dressing women like – of all things – armchairs. And although Chanel claimed to admire designs created by Balenciaga, she doubted his skill in cutting. She even said that Paul Poiret designed “costumes” instead of actual clothes.
11. Chanel became famous in America
On February 5, 1954, Chanel observed her models walking the runway while she was there. Her designs and her age were both mocked by the French press.
Despite this, Coco Chanel was destined to become famous in the United States. It happened when Chanel was 71 years old.
12. She lived in a hotel for 35 years
Coco Chanel lived a solitary life in her later years, residing at the Hotel Ritz in Paris, where she died in 1971 at 87. She spent the day at her apartment and the night at the Ritz.
After she left the hotel, the porter would summon an employee to spray the staircase in preparation for her arrival.
While most of Paris was being evicted during the German occupation, Coco lived in luxury for most of World War II, thanks to a questionable affair with a German aristocrat and Nazi propaganda officer.
13. Coco Chanel designed her own headstone
Her models took the front seats at her funeral, and her casket was draped in white flowers. She was an icon in the fashion industry.
Coco Chanel was laid to eternal rest in Lausanne, Switzerland. She designed her own headstone, depicting the lion, hers and her family’s symbol.
Hi, I’m Christine – a full-time traveler and career woman. Although I’m from the Philippines, my location independent career took me to over 40 countries and lived in 4 continents in the last 10 years, including France. A self-proclaimed Francophile, I love everything France.