Her name has become synonymous with elegance; the very stamp of glamor and sophistication. But iconic French fashion designer Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was above all a cultural pioneer and businesswoman who founded a timeless brand by overturning cultural norms surrounding women's dress. Gone were the tortured frills and constraints of corsets, aigrettes and hobble skirts. Under Chanel's influence, comfort and ease became the new language of feminine beauty and elegance, with trousers, jersey, suits and other traditionally male garments newly popularized as elements of a chic yet casual women's aesthetic.
It's not for nothing that Coco Chanel is the only fashion designer listed on TIME's 100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century. She understood that fashion was about more than just the fabric on our backs, and blazed a trail that revolutionized the way women dress, feel and behave in society.
Here are our Top 10 Coco Chanel Quotes to inspire you to be as irresistibly bold as she was.
My life didn't please me, so I created my life.
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.
In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.
Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.
Success is most often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable.
I don’t care what you think about me. I don’t think about you at all.
The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.
A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.
And here's a bonus quote (because we all like a good laugh!):
The best things in life are free. The second-best are very expensive.
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