• FASHION DESIGNER
• Born into poverty and raised in a convent, where she learned to sew
• Got her nickname while working as a nightclub singer
• Started selling hats in 1913 in her own Paris store, then expanded into selling clothes she designed
• Her signature fragrance, Chanel No. 5, was launched in 1922 and was the FIRST perfume named after its designer
• Forever altered women's fashion, freeing women from corsets and bulky skirts by designing comfortable yet fashionable dresses and pantsuits
• FIRST to design practical sports- and sleepwear for women
• INVENTED the iconic "little black dress"
• Championed by superstars Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly

Not So Awesome

During the World War II occupation of France, Chanel ingratiated herself to the Nazi forces so she could continue her lavish lifestyle, dating a Nazi German officer and perhaps even working as a spy for them. After France regained its independence, Chanel fled to Switzerland to avoid retribution, and never faced any consequences for her actions.

Bibliography: Burling, Alexis. Women in Business. Minneapolis: Abdo Publishing, 2017. Print.
Caldwell, Stella, Clare Hibbert, Andrea Mills, and Rona Skene. 100 Women Who Made History: Remarkable Women Who Shaped Our World. New York: DK Publishing, 2017. Print.​
Doyle, Caitlin. Girls Can Do Anything: From Sports to Innovation, Art to Politics, Meet Over 200 Women Who Got There First. Buffalo: Firefly Books, 2016. Print.
(1971, January 11). Chanel, the Couturier, Dead in Paris. https://www.nytimes.com/1971/01/11/archives/chanel-the-couturier-dead-in-paris-chanel-the-fashion-spirit-of-the.html
Zeitz, Joshua M. (2005, May 8). The Nazis and Coco. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/arts/design/the-nazis-and-coco.html?searchResultPosition=1

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