13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

Coco Chanel, Lisa Chaney

1. You read about an entrepreneur:

What surprised me the most about Coco Chanel was that she was born illegitimate and poor in the Loire to Eugenie Jeanne, a laundrywoman, and Albert Chanel, a market trader, who wasn’t present for her birth. What I most admire about Chanel is how hard-working and ambitious she is, from being born into an impoverished family, difficult childhood at an orphanage, to her years struggling as an apprentice seamstress. What I least admire about the entrepreneur is her perception of men, especially in her earlier years. She became Etienne Balsan’s, a French ex-cavalry officer, mistress and had affairs with numerous men, including Boy Capel, and the Duke of Westminster. Coco Chanel encountered adversity and failure through her rough childhood and competing in an industry that was dominated by men at the time. Chanel’s workers also participated in a strike, resulting in her shutting down the House of Chanel three years later and refusing to design for the next 15 years.

2. What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

The competencies I noticed that Coco Chanel exhibited include being hardworking and her determination. She was able to adapt to any challenges that she faced, pushing boundaries and forging new ones, despite her background. During that time period, Chanel was aware that men were critical to her advancement and worked her way up to the top, in a rags to riches method. Arthur “Boy” Capel helped her establish her first shops and heavily influenced and inspired Chanel’s classic designs. As a child, Chanel had aspirations of fashion and utilized dreams as a way to escape reality. She held onto those dreams growing up, persevering and building the life she always wanted. Chanel went to Paris in the 1920s, as it was the center of cultural and artistic life, and almost continuously occupied the place until her death. She was beautiful, provocative, and witty, and is remembered for her classic designs to this day. Her influence extends beyond clothing, going into bags as well.

3. Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
One part of the reading that was confusing for me was how Chanel managed to destroy a majority of the documents relating to her early life in order to prevent people from finding out about her poor upbringing. With such a busy lifestyle, I was wondering how Chanel managed to find the time to locate that many documents about herself, along with why she tried so hard to hide her background. After her death, some of the documents that were not destroyed were found and shared with the general public regarding her life. One of her friends claims that Chanel tried to hide her origins because she was ashamed of her roots, despite overcoming all of life’s barriers that she faced. Chanel never admits that she was influenced and shaped by the nuns who raised her, but there are subtle implications such as her designs being predominantly focused on the three colors black, white, and beige which are colors that are worn by the sisters who were at the orphanage Chanel was at.

4. If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

·      What skills, according to you, are necessary in order to be a successful fashion designer?

·      What do you think about work ethic, and what kind of ethics do you believe in following while working with fashion?

I chose to ask these two questions to Coco Chanel because it would be interesting to hear what skills, from Chanel’s perspective, she values in a successful fashion designer based on the time period she was an entrepreneur in. For example, supply and demand in the market are skills that appear to be more beneficial in the modern-day fashion industry, while skills such as artistic vision and focus on the art are more heavily valued during the time period she was alive. Chanel was extremely hardworking during her lifetime and asking her about what she thinks of work ethic may reveal what motivated her to be a better designer, and what differentiated her from others. She inspired and still inspires many people around the world with her timeless fashion designs and strong work ethic, along with ingenious thoughts on life, fashion, money, love, feminism, love, and men. Chanel was and still is a symbol of feminine power, due to her brilliant mind and the empire she managed to create.

5. For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

I think Coco Chanel’s opinion of hard work is that she greatly values it, because through her own hard work and determination, she was able to become successful and an influential fashion icon with timeless designs. When she first became a designer, Chanel was facing the hardships of World War I on top of competing with other designers. In the United States, her fashion line was very well received, and she became the most acclaimed designer in the twentieth century. I share that opinion that hard work is valuable and leads to success. By working hard, experience is earned, which enables one to critically think in order when faced with solving a problem. If success was free or easily attained, everyone would have it but there are few individuals who are successful, and each of them have put in hard work to be where they are today. When working hard, you begin to understand its true value and strive to move forward every week, creating and opening up new opportunities daily.