Showing posts with label chanel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chanel. Show all posts

Wednesday 8 January 2014

Chanel: A Brief History


In 2014 Chanel is probably the best known and most iconic fashion house in the world. But how much do you really know about Chanel??

Coco Chanel(1883-1971)
Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel was the founder of the Chanel brand and the only fashion designer to be named in the Time's most influential people of the 20th century! She was unusual in the way that her influence spread beyond beautiful clothing to perfume, jewellry and bags.
Upbringing
Gabrielle Chanel was born to an unwed laundry woman in a charity hospital. Her mother "Jeanne" died when her daughter was only twelve years old. Later in life Gabrielle lied about her upbringing and origins as a laundry woman's daughter.
Career
By the time she came to work she had learnt how to sew but longed for a career on the stage. She sung in a cabaret and did a season in Vichy where she tried to find work as a performer. Although she eventually decided that a stage career was not for her, it was at this time that Gabrielle acquired the name Coco.
Coco the Mistress
Chanel and Balsan
Chanel returned to Moulins to the place where she first began her cabaret work and met the wealthy textiles heir Etienne Balsan. Aged 23 Coco became Balsan's mistress and his favourite as well. Chanel supposedly even had a child to Balsan who was claimed to be her nephew. The next few years were spent living up in the alps in luxury; spoilt by Balsan and his wealth.
However, in 1908 Coco then began an affair with one of Balsan's friends Captain Arthur Edward "Boy" Capel. Years later Chanel spoke of the two gentlemen who were "outbidding for my hot little body". It was in fact Boy Capel who financed Coco's first shops and her apartment. Later it was even said that Boy's style influenced Chanel's designs and was the main influence of the Chanel No.5 bottle.
Their affair lasted nine years but even after Boy married they never really lost contact. His death in a car accident in 1918 was the single most devastating event in Chanel's life.
Chanel in the War
Chanel going into her first ever shop bought
by Boy Capel
By 1939 Coco's empire had built up massively and Chanel now had different shops. However when war was declared all of these were closed because Coco said war was not a time for fashion. 3000 female employees lost their jobs because of this; reportedly because Chanel was retaliating towards her employees who caused the shops to close before when they striked for better wages and working hours.
A controversial part of Chanel's character was her strong hatred of Jews which was supposedly formed from her early life at a convent. Chanel used this as an excuse to make more profit on her best selling product Chanel No.5. Parfums Chanel was partly owned by a Jewish family called the Wertheimers. The Nazis said that any property like this that Jews owned now did not belong to them. Coco wrote a petition to the Nazis so that she could have sole ownership of this part of her company.
What Coco didn't know was that the Wertheimers had cleverly handed over the ownership to a Christian friend of theirs to keep hold of until war was over. 

The legal battle did not end there, however. Chanel and her co-owners of Parfums Chanel continued their precarious legal battle; if 
Chanel's anti-semitism was revealed at this time it could ruin the brand's reputation and damage profits for both parties.

Finally, in 1947 the two powerhouses came to an agreement, the same agreement that they had made all those years ago in 1924.Coco herself received only two 
percent of sales of Chanel No.5 worldwide but gained all the profit that came from the perfumes during the war which in today's money would be worth around nine million US dollars. Wertheimer also payed for all of Coco's living expenses.
Chanel was in fact earning the modern equivalent of 25 million dollars a year.
Coco the Spy
During the war Chanel reportedly had an affair with the German officer Baron Hans Guenther Dincklage. Supposedly through this relationship Coco managed to secure the release of her nephew from a prisoner of war camp in Germany. As well as this, Coco also used this to try to get the Nazis to listen to her petition over the rights to Chanel Parfums.
Chanel actually reported to only travel to Madrid to try and gain political  information but according to some German files she actually recieved very little information.
Later Life
Coco continued to work until her death in 1971 when she was aged 88. By this time she was living as one of the most famous and influential women in the world in her own private apartment in the Parisian Ritz. Not bad for a laundry woman's daughter.
Chanel in Pictures

A 1970s No.5 Campaign


Chanel SS14
Chanel 2013 Campaign

Chanel Tumblr Art
Penelope Cruz in Chanel at the Oscars
Karl Lagerfield Current Head Designer and Creative Director
So has this changed your opinion of Chanel? Are you the proud owner of any Chanel goods? What is in the future of Chanel??

Sunday 29 December 2013

New Year Make Up Ideas

I know I haven't been posting an awful lot recently but hey ho, quality not quantity?? Hope you all had a great Christmas! What did you get? 
Anyway, I don't know what you might be doing this New Year so I'll try to cover everything; these makeup ideas should work from an A-list party to the ball drop in New York!!
Orange Lips
Find your shade and have fun with this quirky trend!
Rag and Bone

D Squared
DKNY
Casablanca Satin Lipstick
Nars Satin Lipstick, Casablanca
Au naturale
Less is more, look beautiful and yourself

Chloe
Isabel Marant
Alexander Wang
Balmain
CHANEL Perfection Lumiere

Inky Eyeliner
Smudge it, make it grungey and have fun.
Carven
Cavalli

Versace
Pastels
Because it's so pretty, why should you wait until spring?
Antonio Marras
Burberry
Rochas
Prada

Ombres 5 Lumières - Eye Shadow
YSL Ombres 5 Lumieres



Hope that's helped! Let me know what you're doing wearing and doing with your makeup for New Year!!

 

Monday 22 July 2013

A Guest Post from ClosetDiamonds

Hello! This is not Sazzly Glimmer today this is Eleanor (aka Ellie or Elz or whatever you want really). Sazzly (aka Sarah to me) started Framecake a few months before I started 'ClosetDiamonds' (my little fashion blog) and we have kept a continuous interest in each others blogs. It was Sarah who came up with the bright idea (she usually has the ideas) to do a guest post, in an interview style, on each others blogs. So here it is!

Sarah has sent me a list of questions and I have sent her some back.


How did you start ClosetDiamonds?

Well, as I said, Sarah started blogging a few months before me and I loved Framecake. I thought it was really cool that people all over the world  listened to her fashion advice/inspiration/critique etc. I also have loved fashion ever since I was tiny and I can't think of anything better to do than shop (except blogging of course)! Blogging helped me channel my love for fashion into something other people could read. Researching designers also helped me to pick up ideas as I am thinking that maybe one day I would like to have a career in Fashion. I typed blogspot into google and I suppose it all just carried on from there.


Who are your biggest style idols?

Ohhh this could go on for pages. I love Cara Delevingne, she is so cool but without trying too hard; not forgetting that she wears the coolest beanies this planet has ever seen. I really love her new campaign for DKNY, you should check it out. I also love Miranda Kerr, Taylor Swift, Mollie King and Lily Collins.



What is your favourite high street shop?

Probably Topshop because it's affordable and does some really nice clothes. I got some new shoes from there just the other day...
I also like Miss Selfridge when I am feeling really girly.


Who is your favourite designer?

Sophia Webster designs amazing accessories that are really quirky, she is definitely one of my favourites. I also love Marc Jacobs, his Spring collection for Louis Vuitton in 2012 is beautiful and his 2013 collection did not disappoint. He is a genius when it comes to designing clothes. And of course Coco Chanel is one of my favourites too, no explanation needed!



How would you describe your style?

This is a difficult one for me as I have so many different styles. I haven't got one particular style but I dress according to how I feel, if you know what I mean. However I especially like flower garlands and boho/festival pieces. I am also loving graphic tees at  the moment; check out these ones...







£30.00 at Urban Outfitters  
























          £22.00 at River Island



















£15.00 at River Island












What is your favourite make up brand?

I like Benefit, Bobbi Brown and L'Oreal when it comes to makeup but I'm not too fussy (as long as it does the job then I don't really care). However my must have beauty product has to be L'Oreal's long lasting liquid eyeliner. It is, as it claims, long lasting and very easy to use (even for novices like me). It is also quite difficult to smudge unlike other liquid liners that I have tried.

What products do you use skincare-wise?

I try to stick to quite a strict skincare regime. In the morning I wash my face with Clearasil rapid action gel wash and then use Garnier Pure active Blackhead Clearing Scrub. At night I use the Clearasil product again and then apply Duac once daily cream (prescription only).


What is your perfume of the moment?

I am a bit of a perfume hoarder if I am honest. I love to keep them all on my dressing table and if the perfume has a nice bottle then I am more likely to buy it. My favourite is Purr by Katy Perry (very nice bottle) and I also like Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift and Fuel for life by Diesel.








<<Purr by Katy Perry (told you it was a cool bottle)














Well that's all from me but if you liked this post then please take a look at ClosetDiamonds 

Thanks guys xx

(P.S Sazzly Glimmer: If you fancy doing a guest post leave your email below!!)