Autocross Blogs - Chrls Iicey

ABOVE: CHANEL by Gripoix, Camellia tiffany necklaces on sale, 1930-1941. Multicolored enamel, stone, glass, ceramic, rhinestones in gilt metal mounts. Courtesy of Mark Walsh, Leslie Chin. Image by Karl Lagerfeld for the exhibition catalogue CHANEL. BELOW, left: Gabrielle Chanel, Evening dress and bolero, 1937. Black cotton lace with black silk grosgrain ribbon ties and black rayon underslip. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Yann Weymouth, 1981. Image by Karl Lagerfeld for the exhibition catalogue CHANEL. BELOW, right: evening dress of black tulle, attributed to Chanel, mid 1930s. Estimated value: $550-$1,450. To be auctioned by Christie's, London on September 29th, 2005. Photo courtesy of Christie's Images Ltd., 2005. Her taste for simplicity was to come to the fore during the 1920s "flapper" period. Sleeveless evening dresses that were slim yet elegant and often embroidered with designs that reflected the Russian émigré influence were particularly fashionable in Paris society at the time. In 1923, Harper's Bazaar magazine described a CHANEL evening dress as "little more than a breeze." Many of the designs from this period can still be seen in the costume galleries of museums today.Gabrielle's career reached its zenith in the 1930s, tiffany rings on sale a Depression-ridden world, hungry for elegance and romance, could only glimpse it while viewing a Hollywood film. In keeping with the Art Deco period, gowns were often designed in silks and satins. To accentuate the body line, primary colors, such as black, white, and red were used. Shoulder padded bolero jackets could be worn to complete the entire ensemble. For many of Gabrielle's devotees, it was her suits that have become synonymous with the CHANEL label. She believed that a woman should be able to wear a suit with the jacket opened, thus she had made the blouse a significant part of the ensemble. A first at the time.

Chanel's "Little Black Dress" is another one of her trademarks. These dresses were deceptively simple, and were all about cut and proportion. "Each frill discarded makes one look younger," Chanel is quoted as having said. Even today, collectors eagerly seek these classic garments. A women with a discerning eye can recognize a CHANEL worn by another woman, even if it is 50 years old or more. In September 1993, a CHANEL suit dating from the 1960s, tiffany pendants on sale at auction for approximately $800. It was resold in November 1999 for more than $3000!The Russian émigrés who came to France after the Russian Revolution included the handsome, Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich (a cousin of Nicholas II). He had managed to bring a quantity of precious jewels with him when he was forced to flee the country, having been implicated in the assassination of Rasputin. He and Gabrielle became lovers. Through Dimitri, she came under the influence of Slav design, including multi-colored beaded peasant patterns that appeared on tabards, and incorporated them into her own designs.

While she was happy to wear Dimitri's jewels, she believed that it was ostentatious to parade around wearing real gems. She then had the idea to diversify her own business in costume jewelry, once again demonstrating that she was a shrewd businesswoman. Her own personal taste was to design jewelry that used real stones mixed in with imitations. Even today, some of CHANEL'S early jewelry creations are out there somewhere; their owners unaware that their gaudy piece of costume jewelry may contain genuine precious stones. Never assume that an older piece of costume tiffany bangles on sale is made with imitation stones until you have had a professional look at it. Mixing cheap stones with the real deal is one way to hide your valuables, thus avoiding unwanted attention from a potential thief.Gabrielle's marketing ability took her into the world of perfume as well. "I want to give women an artificial perfume," she said. "Yes, I really do mean artificial, like a dress, something that has been made. I don't want any rose or lily of the valley, I want a perfume that is a composition." The official CHANEL website (www.chanel.com) notes that Ernest Beaux found the "olfactory inspiration" for CHANEL N°5 around 1920, on his return from a military campaign that had taken him inside the Arctic Circle. "During the midnight sun, the lakes and the rivers give off a very special fresh fragrance, which the perfumer was determined to recreate."