We specialize in hard to find items
All Categories
Coco Chanel: Pearls, Perfume, and the Little Black Dress
Share Tweet
*Price and Stocks may change without prior notice
*Packaging of actual item may differ from photo shown
- Electrical items MAY be 110 volts.
- 7 Day Return Policy
- All products are genuine and original
About Coco Chanel: Pearls, Perfume, And The Little Black
Product Description Award-winning author Susan Goldman Rubin introduces readers to the most well-known fashion designer in the world, Coco Chanel. Beginning with the difficult years Chanel spent in an orphanage, Goldman Rubin traces Coco’s development as a designer and demonstrates how her determination to be independent helped her gain worldwide recognition. Coco Chanel focuses on the obstacles Chanel faced as a financially independent woman in an era when women were expected to marry; as well as her fierce competition with the Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli; and some of her most memorable firsts for the fashion industry, including the little black dress, the quilted purse with gold chain, and the perfume Chanel No. 5. The book includes a bibliography, a list of where to see her work, and an index. From School Library Journal Gr 5–8—This slim work on the life and legacy of Coco Chanel begins in 1883, the year of her birth. Coco, née Gabrielle, was born into poverty and deposited at age 11 in a Catholic orphanage. It was there that she learned a sense of austerity that she later translated to the simple, clean lines of the clothes she designed. Chanel was an industrious self-starter who worked her way from seamstress to hat maker. As she expanded her range, she was credited with originating the little black dress, trousers made for women, costume jewelry, and—perhaps most importantly—liberating women from their corsets and girdles. Rubin's simple, straightforward writing conveys not only the high styles of wealthy European women in the 1900s but also provides a glimpse into the limitations women faced during that time. Though Chanel was immersed in the world of women's fashion, it was an industry dominated by male designers. Furthermore, she had to rely on men to finance her at the start of her career and, later, for the production of her iconic Chanel No°5 perfume. Rubin's work also depicts the broader historical context of European life for the upper class during and between the two world wars, including information on Chanel's anti-Semitism and rumors that she was a Nazi sympathizer. Photos and illustrations throughout visually complement Rubin's detailed descriptions of Chanel's designs. VERDICT A well-researched primer packed with details on a significant trailblazer. Give to readers interested in fashion, business, and history.—Melissa Kazan, Horace Mann School, NY Review "Well-designed biography of a fascinating woman." ― School Library Connection "A well-researched primer packed with details on a significant trailblazer. Give to readers interested in fashion, business, and history." ― School Library Journal "Rubin offers an honest account of Chanel’s success as a profoundly influential couturier." ― The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "Rubin’s biography is clear-sighted about Chanel’s faults while extolling her fashion genius. Her source notes and bibliography are meticulous, as is the book’s design . . . This will attract young fashion mavens eager to learn about design history." ― Booklist "Rubin expertly chronicles Chanel’s life in this biography . . . Rubin captures the authenticity of Chanel alongside her psychological need to portray a luxurious lifestyle." ― VOYA Magazine About the Author Susan Goldman Rubin is the author of many biographies for young people, including Diego Rivera: An Artist for the People and Hot Pink: The Life and Fashions of Elsa Schiaparelli. She lives in Malibu, California.
