# Coco Chanel

Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel (19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist philosophy, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of the famous fashion brand Chanel.

## Quotes

* He will soon be claiming that the Resistance has liberated the world.
** On Charles De Gaulle from the 1944 interview with, the then MI6 agent, Malcolm Muggeridge. Read the full interview here.
* There is nothing more comfortable than a caterpillar and nothing more made for love than a butterfly. We need dresses that crawl and dresses that fly. Fashion is at once a caterpillar and a butterfly, caterpillar by day, butterfly by night
** Statement in the 1920s as quoted in Chanel (1987) by Jean Leymari
* Fashion is made to become unfashionable.
** As quoted in LIFE magazine (1957)
* How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something, but to be someone.
** As quoted in Contemporary Quotations‎ (1954) by James Beasley Simpson
* In 1919 I woke up famous. I'd never guessed it. If I'd known I was famous, I'd have stolen away and wept. I was stupid. I was supposed to be intelligent. I was sensitive and very dumb.
** As quoted in Coco Chanel : Her Life, Her Secrets (1971), p. 95
** In 1919 I woke up famous and with a new friend who was to give its full meaning to my success.
*** Statement to Salvador Dalí, about herself and her friendship with Misia Sert, as quoted in The Persistence of Memory : A Biography of Dali (1992) by Meredith Etherington-Smith
* Youth is something very new: Twenty years ago no one mentioned it.
** As quoted in Coco Chanel : Her Life, Her Secrets (1971)
* Fashion is architecture. It is a matter of proportions.
** As quoted in Coco Chanel : Her Life, Her Secrets (1971) by Marcel Haedrich
* Nothing is ugly as long as it is alive.
** As quoted in Coco Chanel : Her Life, Her Secrets (1971) by Marcel Haedrich
* In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.
** As quoted in Coco Chanel : Her Life, Her Secrets (1971) by Marcel Haedrich
* As long as you know that most men are like children, you know everything.
** As quoted in Thinking Through the Essay (1986) by Judith Barker-Sandbrook and Neil Graham, p. 158
* Women think of all colors except the absence of color. I have said that black has it all. White too. Their beauty is absolute. It is the perfect harmony.
** As quoted in Chanel (1987) by Jean Leymarie
* Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.
** As quoted in Chanel : A Woman of Her Own (1991) by Axel Madsen, p. 124
* Success is often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable.
** As quoted in Believing in Ourselves (1992) by Armand Eisen, p. 15
* The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.
** As quoted in Believing in Ourselves (1992) by Armand Eisen, p. 39
* Fashion fades, only style remains the same.
** As quoted in Architectural Digest (September 1994), p. 30
* Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.
** As quoted in You've Got Style : Your Personal Guide for Relating to Others‎ (2000) by Robert Rohm , p. 29
* Ask me who I don't dress!
** When asked who she dressed, as quoted in Paris, Paris : Journey Into the City of Light‎ (2005) by David Downie, p. 93
* I was a rebellious child, a rebellious lover, a rebellious couturière — a real devil.
** As quoted in Paris, Paris : Journey Into the City of Light‎ (2005) by David Downie, p. 93
* A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.
** As quoted in The Gospel According to Coco Chanel : Life Lessons from the World's Most Elegant Woman (2009) by Karen Karbo
* The best colour in the whole world is the one that looks good on you.
** As quoted in Beauty in Bloom : A Collection of Beautiful Inspirations‎ (2009) by Natalie Bloom, p. 23

## Quotes about Chanel

* Chanel, General De Gaulle and Picasso are the three most important figures of our time.
** André Malraux, as quoted in Paris, Paris : Journey Into the City of Light‎ (2005) by David Downie, p. 87
* Throughout her long life, Chanel moved between two worlds, one real the other imaginary. Unloved, she lived for love. Despite her countless conquests, from English noblemen to Russian dukes, she spent years alone, work her only solace.
** David Downie, in Paris, Paris : Journey Into the City of Light‎. (2005), p. 87
* Despite the work of a dozen biographers … Chanel remains an enigma.
** David Downie, in Paris, Paris : Journey Into the City of Light‎ (2005), p. 88

## External links

* Official Site of Chanel
* Interactive timeline at Victoria and Albert Museum