Lisa ChaneyChanel: An Intimate Life

A very good, well-researched bio of the first modern fashion female icon of the 20th Century whose life sparked some controversy. Her life--from the convent to rubbing elbows with the elite, her ambition, her unfailing originality and the cast of unusual characters who surrounded her--all catalogued by the author in straightforward prose. Wisely, she let Chanel carry the narrative. Her energy, strength and creativity: hats, her little black dress, and borrowing styles from men's clothing for women I found fascinating.

though not specially beautifully written, this is one of the best accounts of Mademoiselle’s life. Although somewhat partial to her own account of her life, you can truly know who was Gabrielle Chanel and separate her from Coco’s legend

This biography is frustrating. The writing is not bad, but I find it tedious because even subjects normally of interest seem overwhelmed by an avalanche of facts, sidelights, digressions, comments, and on and on. There is too much of everything. Too much about everything.Even if the central figure were of real consequence, for instance a great artist or writer, this biography might seem overloaded, but I doubt it. The weakness at the core of this book is the fact that its central figure is really insignificant, nothing but a designer of clothing for the wealthy. The reader gets carried along until suddenly he remembers that this is all about a woman of no importance.I have tried again and again to discover something to keep me engaged, but Chanel was too unlikable. She was a hard taskmaster to her workforce and a truly selfish, shallow woman. I disliked her treatment of her brothers, whom she helped fiancially until one day she just decided to cut off their stipends without a word. And her firing of her entire workforce en masse when they went on strike during the Great Depression. She was forced to rescind that action, but she repeated it at the start of World War Two, without warning and without paying what she owed them. Those miserable acts really condemn her as heartless. But she was also secretive and lied always about her past.She was a collaborator during the Second World War. Her lover was a Nazi officer - and here again the author goes on and on about his entire history! Knowing that victory for the Allies would bring retribution, she made a hare-brained attempt to mediate an end to the war. I suppose the biographer was serious when she recounted this nonsense. After the liberation, her upperclass British friends saved her from being paraded with other female collaborators through the streets of Paris.If you want to know everything, absolutely everything, about rich and mostly useless people, about Chanel's lovers both male and female, this is your book. You will also learn about her funding of the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo and her kindness to the dying Serge Diaghilev. As a lover of ballet, I was pleased to discover this, but I found nothing else to admire.This biographer, to her credit, exposes Coco Chanel for the grasping, self-obsessed woman she was. Of course she follows each revelation with some excuse to weaken its impact on the reader, but it does not take more than normal perspicacity to see the truth.She had been addicted to morphine for decades and at the end of her life she required daily injections administered by a friend or an attendant. Lonely and bitter, she would wander the nighttime halls of the great hotels she lived in.At her death, she was worth several billion dollars but she left nothing to her few surviving relatives or to her faithful servants. Her fortune went to some corporation whose purpose no one knows.I have no idea why I bought this biography since I have no interest at all in the world of fashion. If I buy another such book, it will be about Gianni Versace. At least his tragic death offers some compelling interest.

I have been interested in the life story of Chanel for some time.Such a dark cloud hung over this woman it's surprising she maintainedher creativity.No holds barred pertaining to social stigmas, wealth and poverty.I'm finding it so detail oriented that it puts one in the era with aclear understanding of the struggles due to the customs and beliefsof that time.If you have an interest this is some what of a historical documentation.I'm glad to have found it.

This is an In -depth biography of Gabrielle Chanel with a more candid view of her than previous books about her. It does a good job of conveying the social and political norms of Chanel's times. Chanel was a fascinating yet tortured woman who helped shape the idea of womanhood in our modern era. She influenced much more than just fashion. She had the courage and instinct to risk the accepted norms of her time. She gave woman the freedom to dress and act without the restrictions of the stilted past.

I purchase this item for my living room decoration and I love it

Very interesting and well written. The thrust of the story has much to do with her life and the times in which she lives. The way both World Wars affected the French --I can almost understand why the French really gave up at the beginning of the German invasion of WW11 since WW1 was so close in time. Suprised to learn 65% of the French were content to be a German satellite until the Brits and Yanks joined the war

I enjoyed the book and the history of that period. She was a very interesting woman, ahead of her times. It did not 'grab' me however. The good side of that is that it's an easy book to read, put down and go back to without my feeling the need to drop everything else so I could read only this book and do nothing else.

Pour ma décoration, vraiment superbe !! Je recommande ! Écris en anglais.

Bin zufrieden sieht genau so schön aus wie auf dem Fotos

No me gusto mucho. La portada es literalmente una hoja, me llego golpeado y arrugado en las esquinas, la tapa no es ni siquiera semi blanda, es menos que eso!

A marvelous piece full of details and extra information. Quiet easy to read and really emotionally, specially at the end of the story. A way to know chanel's life and a really glamorous edition.

Livro maravilhoso, sensacional. Conta a história da Channel com detalhes impressionantes que ajudam a entender mais sobre o ser humano que ela foi.