Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History
by Rhonda K. Garelick
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"Little black dresses. Fake pearls. Jersey knit. Blazers. Ballet flats. Today--and for nearly the last hundred years--we all see some version of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel every time we pass a woman on the street. But few among us realize that Chanel's role in the events of the twentieth century was as pervasive as her influence on fashion, or how deeply she absorbed and then brilliantly reimagined the historical currents around her. Here, with unprecedented detail and ambition--and through show more fascinating, thoroughly researched portraits of Chanel's lovers and friends--Rhonda Garelick shows us the Chanel who conquered the world . . . a woman who thirsted to create others in her image, who ruthlessly and innovatively borrowed from her famous (and infamous) intimates, who understood the idea of branding and image well ahead of her time, who created "wearable personality." This is Chanel at the nexus of history: a woman of daring, passion, and legendary vision, in a wonderful biography that gives her long-awaited due"-- show lessTags
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Member Reviews
COCO CHANEL AND THE PULSE OF HISTORY, the biography does justice to Coco. There have been many many biographies of her over the last decade some of which I read and most of which I liked. This book adds the economic, political, and social context in which Coco was operating. I don't think she was a nice woman and an unhappy woman. Her early life was awful but she was determined to make something of herself. Her big disappointment was the failure to marry and have a child. She dated a Romanov prince and imagined herself as the Empress of All Russia until that affair petered out. She had an affair with the enormously wealth Duke of Westminster and she saw herself as finally a Duchess but that didn't work out. Rich and famous men were show more fascinated by her but in the end didn't want to wed someone they viewed as below their class. She certainly was a huge success in fashion and perfume but not in life. The terrible blight on her record was that she was a Nazi and even a agent. I highly recommend this book if you have any interest in Coco and her times. show less
Extremely well-researched book and eye-opening about French history and the 20th century; informative even if you're not especially interested in fashion. Chanel was a fascinating, albeit somewhat unlikeable, personality and well worth meeting.
Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History by Rhonda K. Garelick is an over 600 page biography of Coco Chanel. The book focuses on Coco Chanel the person not the businesswoman who created a world-renowned luxury brand. It feels like it gives more of an opinion on the life of Coco Chanel rather than just the facts of her life.
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/09/mademoiselle-coco-chanel-and-pulse-of.h...
Reviewed based on a publisher’s galley received through NetGalley
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/09/mademoiselle-coco-chanel-and-pulse-of.h...
Reviewed based on a publisher’s galley received through NetGalley
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Author Information
3+ Works 157 Members
Rhonda K. Garelick is professor in the department of English and at the Hixson-Lied School of Fine and Performing Arts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
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- Genres
- Nonfiction, Art & Design, Biography & Memoir, General Nonfiction, History, Home & Garden
- DDC/MDS
- 746.92092 — Arts & recreation Drawing & decorative arts Fashion Design / Weaving, Knitting, Embroidery Other textile products Biography
- LCC
- TT505 .C45 — Technology Handicrafts. Arts and crafts Handicrafts. Arts and crafts Clothing manufacture. Dressmaking. Tailoring
- BISAC
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- 119
- Popularity
- 270,632
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.50)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 3
