I just finished reading Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life.  I don’t recommend it.  No doubt Chanel revolutionized women’s fashion in the 1930s and changed the notion of what can and should be considered feminine.  With that being said, the book was about her lovers and Paris contemporaries just as much or more than it was about Coco.  I don’t discredit the author for this.  The truth didn’t come easy for Coco, which I imagine makes it very difficult to write a biography about her.  The following are a few points that give you the gist of Coco’s life as we know it.

- Her parents were very poor, and after her mother’s death, her father dropped her and her sisters off at a monastery to be raised by nuns.  She never acknowledged her true caregivers during her adolescence, and most where led to believe that she was raised by her aunts.

- All of the classic Chanel symbols found in her clothes and jewelry are representative of artifacts from her past.

- She was never married, but was someone’s mistress for most of her life.  Most notable, the Duke of Westminster who had a fling with Coco throughout at least two of his marriages.

- She revolutionized women’s fashion by tossing out the popular corset and introducing women to comfortable, glamorous wear.  Most of her designs were inspired by the sport activities she enjoyed (horseback riding and fishing) and the clothes she would often borrow from the boys.

- She dallied with a German officer during World War 2 and was followed closely by numerous intelligence agencies.

- She closed her studio at Rue Cambon prior to the start of World War 2 and didn’t resume designing until the mid 1950s.  The comeback collection was a flop in Europe, but a huge success in the U.S.