DG Top Ten: The Wisdom of Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel was a woman famous for her aphorisms. To cap off our week of Chanelore, Karen Karbo, author of The Gospel According to Coco Chanel: Life Lessons from the World’s Most Elegant Woman, compiled a Top 10 list of those she considers the most interesting, including one from someone Karen calls Chanel’s “compatriot in upsetting the apple cart.” Can you spot the ringer? (Answer below the fold.)

1. “To be irreplaceable one must always be different.”

2. “Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity.”

3. “Fashion fades, only style remains.”

 

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, French, 1883-1971. Evening Dress and Slip, 1928, metal sequins on silk tulle. Dress, 1925, crystal beads on lace, silk ribbon. Dress, 1925, crystal beads on silk chiffon. Phoenix Art Museum Fashion Collection. Gifts of Mrs. Wesson Seyburn.

4. “Elegance is refusal.”

5. “It’s always better to be slightly underdressed.”

6. “Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.”

 

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, French, 1883-1971. Dress and Jacket, 1960s, wool tweed with brass lion’s head buttons. Gift of Mrs. Nathan Cummings. And Jacket, Skirt and Blouse, 1959-1960, wool boucle and silk. Gift of Mrs. Peggy K. Colbentz. Phoenix Art Museum Fashion Collection.

7. “Success is often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable.”

8. “There is time for work, and time for love. That leaves no other time”

9. “Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty.”

10. “Anyone can be the duchess of Westminster, but there is only one Chanel.” (It remains a mystery whether or not the Duke of Westminster ever proposed to Chanel; it was beside the point for her.)

Number 6 is from Gore Vidal.

Read excerpts from The Gospel According to Coco Chanel: Life Lessons from the World’s Most Elegant Woman here, here, and here.

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