Chanel Women

Few years back, when women were predominantly regarded as plain housewives and expected to be docile and weak, only a handful of valiant women have broken the mold and generated exceptional change in various fields of industry. In the world of fashion, one of the most impressive personalities would have to be Gabrielle ‘Coco' Chanel who has decisively risen to be one of the best fashion designers in the fashion Mecca of the world – Paris, France.

The Coco Chanel designs were specifically created to cater discerning women who wants to look their very best while still enjoying supreme comfort and ease in wear. At that time, the constricting corsets were at the height of fashion, with every girl and wife seen with stiffly cinched waistlines that were actually far from comfortable. Coco Chanel was the very first one to introduce casual elegance and superior wearability clothing that included some simple suits, women's trousers and dresses, costume jewelries and textiles. Needless to say, the Chanel Women line was met with a resounding success since the sophisticated lines and supremely comfortable fit of the cloth have been regarded to be a welcome alternative from the all too stiff dictates of fashion at that time.

A woman well ahead of her time, Coco Chanel was born in 1893 in Auvergne a poor girl left orphaned at a tender age of five. Gabrielle adopted the new name Coco during her brief stint as a café and concert singer for three years. She later became a mistress of a very rich military officer, and later to an English industrialist where she steadily drew resources to set up a small milliner shop in Paris. These two men who were prominent personalities of the society helped her find customer from the affluent groups of women. Her very first products were simple hats became a popular hit, which prompted her to expand to couture.

In her very first foray in the fashion world, Coco chose to use jersey in her first Chanel Women collection. This is quite a surprising choice since other far established designers at that time never used such material. However, this was also met with equal success that prompted her to expand her fashion house and product line. Among the reminiscently popular designs she introduced way back in the 1920's was the chemise with the distinct ‘little boy' design that have been quite a rage among women back then. All the designs included in her Chanel Women clothing line all featured a more relaxed style and decidedly casual look that presented a sharp contrast to the restricting corsets that were considered fashionable at that time. In fact, Coco herself chose to dress in rather mannish clothing, that soon many women found to be a refreshing and liberating choice. Such initiative and foresight truly set her apart from all the rest of designers who were content enough to design clothes that were considered as the current fashion trend.

Soon enough, she decided to try her hand in offering a fragrance line for women as well. It was in 19922, when she made a big hit with the introduction of Chanel No. 5, which is still quite popular up until today, and remains to be one of the most profitable products of the company today. Other significant contributions of Coco Chanel in the world of fashion are the signature cardigan jackets and the little black dress that still seems to be the fashion staple of every woman today. She was also the very first designer to introduce pea jackets and the popular bell-bottom pants for ladies.

However, her various achievements is far from being a runaway success, since her company also suffered a number of setbacks mostly triggered by the two world wars. The legendary fashion designer later died in 1971 and the famous Karl Lagerfield now takes the creative helm of the Chanel fashion house from 1983 up to the present.

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