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This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 16 March 2020 and 1 May 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Imani Florence. Peer reviewers: Acook4, Meghan mouton.
Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT ( talk) 17:55, 16 January 2022 (UTC)
I updated the depiction in song section to list Ana Silvera as the singer of Notes from the Opera instead of Annabelle Silvertree who doesn't appear to be an actual singer. I also updated the youtube link to a link to Ana Silvera's song Notes from the Opera.
However, listening to the song I'm not sure it is inspired by Chanel's life (as this article states and the Ana Silvera article states). The song mentions Chanel fashions, but the character in the song doesn't wear Chanel, because it reminds her of her lover's mother.
I don't know anything about this page, but was reading about Chanel and saw this problem so thought I would fix what I could. Hope it helps.
Tdferro ( talk) 07:35, 3 January 2010 (UTC)
The Nickname Coco came from her Father because he used to Wake her up screaming "KO-KO-RI-KO and was signing Qui qu'a vue COCO, COCO? and along came her famous nickname.
Just an interesting thought: north of the northern Andaman islands is a corridor named "Coco Channel". Is it prossible that the nickname was derived from this straight? I'm serious, really. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.83.51.78 ( talk) 13:20, 4 April 2010 (UTC)
The entry states that the German lover she had during WWII was an intelligence agent, but it's unclear whether he was a member of the German intelligence services or worked for the Allies. Its also unclear whether she was aware of this or not. It would be good to clarify. patrickw 04:36, 22 May 2006 (UTC) true but she was first a man then turned a female —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.242.247.94 ( talk) 20:09, 4 November 2007 (UTC)
I think this article, and the accompanying book, explains much of what the current article doesn't really cover at all: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/books/review/sleeping-with-the-enemy-coco-chanels-secret-war-by-hal-vaughan-book-review.html?scp=2&sq=coco%20chanel&st=cse — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.184.106.49 ( talk) 02:20, 7 September 2011 (UTC)
Did she not design Nazi and SS uniforms? I was told this by a 'historical clothes dealer' - max rspct 14:54, 5 December 2005 (UTC)
i have also heard this (that either she herself or the house of chanel designed ss uniforms, which is one of the reasons she was able to live in paris during the occupation). either it's a popular rumor/error or fact. hmmm. -- 66.65.56.199 00:21, 18 October 2006 (UTC)
I am beginning to wonder whether there is confusion with Hugo Boss who designed SS uniforms. I will keep looking and maybe ring up a fashion school heh. - maxrspct ping me 04:36, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
It's almost 100% certain that you're thinking of Hugo Boss. See http://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/15/business/hugo-boss-acknowledges-link-to-nazi-regime.html for more information. 86.148.104.159 ( talk) 18:35, 18 August 2009 (UTC)
It looks to me like most of this article was taken verbatim from one of the links at the bottom of the page. A possible copyright issue? Does anyone have any further information!
Which "Duke of Westminster" was she linked to? The article on this title indicates more than one man held it during her lifetime. I was trying to find out so that I could clarify it in the articles on Wendy and Emery Reves, who later bought a villa the Duke had built for Chanel. Lawikitejana 23:04, 22 October 2006 (UTC)
Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster. See Wikipedia article on him here:
[1]
Mr K ( talk) 03:25, 23 December 2007 (UTC)
From the research I have found it can be said that she was never in a orphanage and was raised by two aunts in auvergne. From these aunts is where she learned her talent, not from a catholic monastary.
Why is "I am Coco Chanel" remotely interesting as a quote? 86.136.252.60 16:45, 1 November 2006 (UTC)
also it states in two different parets that her mother died when she was 4, she died when she was twelve am i right?? and her mothers name wasnt brigette or whatever is down it was jeanne or something —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.72.30.137 ( talk) 05:28, 6 March 2008 (UTC)
I removed the insanely large list of quotes, and copied them to wikiquotes. I left the top three. If anyone thinks there should be other quotes on this page, that's fine, but I don't think there should be more than three. risk 00:46, 14 November 2006 (UTC)
If Coco was born in 1883, and her sister in 1882, her parents having married in 1880, then how would this make the girls illegitimate? Perhaps the parents married in 1890? Sharkford 03:39, 22 November 2006 (UTC)
Coco Chanel and her sister were born as illegitimate children. Their parents got married in 1883 after the birth of their second child Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.178.184.181 ( talk) 00:14, 15 May 2010 (UTC)
What on earth has happened to the content of this page? Despite my relative lack of knowledge about Chanel, even I know this is not the correct biography.
Ingvar
14:52, 24 September 2007 (UTC)
A shocking amount of this article seems to be based on a very recent book by Vaughn, and the quality of that book, at least according to the very few reviews on Amazon, seems dubious at best. I dont know that i can trust what i read here. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.39.121.21 ( talk) 07:47, 31 December 2011 (UTC)
This article was automatically assessed because at least one article was rated and this bot brought all the other ratings up to at least that level. BetacommandBot 02:56, 27 August 2007 (UTC)
"In 1913 she opened up her very first shop which sold a range of fashionable raincoats and jackets. Situated in the heart of Brittany it wasn't long before the shop went out of business.With the aid of Balsan and another rich lover Arthur "Boy" Capel (d. 21 December 1919 in a motor accident), Coco was able to acquire the property and financial backing to open her second millinery shop in Deauville. Her hats were worn by celebrated French actresses, which helped to establish her reputation. Chanel introduced in 1913 women’s sportswear at her new boutique in Deauville, France, in the Rue Gounaut-Biron; Martkhe, Countess de Gounaut-Biron, (daughter of American diplomat John George Alexander Leishman) was Chanel's first aristocratic client."
1st shop in 1913 in Brittany. where in brittany?...a sizeable region. 2nd shop in deauville (but no date of opening) back to "introduced in 1913...at new boutique in deauville"
doesn't make sense. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.173.2.68 ( talk) 11:12, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
article indicates that little black dress premeired in 3rd-ever edition of playboy. thus, sometime in the 50s?
3rd issue? or 3rd year?-- 68.173.2.68 ( talk) 11:22, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
article indicates her return to fashion world in 1954 was not accepted by Parisians, but that the French applauded her and bought her designs.
seems disjointed. difficult to imagine that rest of france was all over her stuff but the parisians snubbed.
recasting of section needed by someone with better knowledge/sources than i.
-- 68.173.2.68 ( talk) 11:42, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
more on "later years." article reads "In 1939, at the beginning of World War II, the designer closed her shops." at 1939 what shops did she have other than the 31, rue Cambon location? article earlier indicates that the brittany shop folded quickly. article is silent about continuation of deauville shop. i would be surprised that in 1939, there was more than the one shop at 31, rue cambon.
--
68.173.2.68 (
talk)
12:53, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
No mention of the circumstances of her death here... seems to be a glaring omission...? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.54.250.11 ( talk) 17:26, 13 September 2010 (UTC)
bottom of references indicates
"Maurice Raspberry of saint Louis Missouri and Breon Brown are the official Chanel Models. Kareemah Moment is the Midwest Chanel CEO"
what's this doing in references? what's it trying to say?-- 68.173.2.68 ( talk) 11:53, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
Questions--as I understand it, the Wertheimer family 'owned' Chanel lock and stock; therefore some business history might be an important addition rather than stating blandly that she was 'wealthy.' As for the German officer, and I always thought it was Walter Schellenberg, so who is Dincklage? I understand he was a military attache in the German Embassy, which isn't necessarily being a spy. Since the French government accommodated the German forces in a corridor through France to the Channel ports to guard against a British attack, and Paris was an 'open city,' for whom and on whom would Dincklage have been 'spying'? The Bolshevik terrorists in Paris who took over and arrested Chanel after the Allies occupied the city? If so, would that be 'spying' or 'Intelligence'? And in para. 1, who was married to 5 different men? German officers and officials stayed at the Ritz, but management was in charge of the hotel, with a philosophy, being French, of whoever can pay can stay. So please clarify why a world renowned French woman in a residential suite at a world renowned French hotel would have any need whatever for 'protection.' From whom? 72.81.97.152 ( talk) 17:15, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
... so I've removed it from there and put it here:
Question: The (above) paragraph says Chanel's Little Black Dress (LBD) premiered in third-ever edition of (Hugh Hefner's) Playboy mag. Wikipedia's Playboy link says Hefner's first edition of Playboy was published December 1953; I'm guessing the third issue came along sometime in 1954. Wikipedia's Little Black Dress link (listed in Chanel article) states the LBD was published in Vogue 1926 by Chanel. If I am missing the obvious please forgive me and set me straight. Either the LBD was (first) published (premiered) in Vogue 1926, or Hefner's Playboy in 1954. Thanks for your help!
The article on suntans says that suntans first became fashionable because of her, and I saw the same claim on a radio program recently, but it is mentioned nowhere in this article.-- 69.149.227.173 ( talk) 03:00, 15 July 2009 (UTC)
The article states: "The film hints at Chanel's rumoured lesbian affairs." Having just seen this film I have no idea what section this is referring to. I saw no such hint. [User:Davidjxyz|Davidjxyz]] ( talk) 23:29, 6 September 2009 (UTC)
According to the book "Chanel and her world" by Edmonde Charles Roux, the Father was Albert Chanel (With no S). Gabrielle Chanel's birth certificate appears with an "S". Also, the birth certificate shows she was born on AUGUST 20 1883 at 4am. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ctc1980 ( talk • contribs) 14:21, 4 August 2010 (UTC)
"She was the second daughter of traveling salesman Albert Chanel and Jeanne Devolle.... No one knew how to spell Chasnel so the mayor improvised and recorded [her name] without an "s," making it Chanel.
This is contradictory. It would make sense only if her father was Chasnel rather than Chanel. So is her father's name wrong or is the story spurious? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sluggoster ( talk • contribs) 08:45, 5 January 2010 (UTC) hei —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.60.75.2 ( talk) 08:49, 8 April 2010 (UTC)
Before the 1920's, sun tans were thought of as being something only the lower classes did. Then Coco accidentally got a suntan and it caught on like wildfire. To this day, the fad of suntanning is alive and well, even though prior to Coco it was thought of as being completely tasteless. Maybe this fact does not deserve a mention, but it seems important enough to include in the article to me. See the wikicode for the references to this: [1] [2] [3] The refs immediately preceding this sentence are fully formatted and should be adequate for the addition of her starting the suntan fad. Please feel free to add this to the article if you think it worthwhile of including. Unfortunately, I'm about to head out on long term leave and so cannot edit the article myself. — Eric Herboso 04:28, 21 September 2010 (UTC)
French trend-setter Coco Chanel had an accidental sunburn when visiting the Riviera. Her fans liked the look..., and the fad began to gain popularity. Parisians also loved Josephine Baker, the american singer, and wanted to darken their skin to look more like her. So these two women basically changed the image of a tan into something desirable, healthy, and luxurious.
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By the 1920s, the therapeutic effect of the sun was being widely promoted, and two well-publicized French personalities gave "tanning" a fashion boost. Coco Chanel, of designer fame, returned to Paris after a cruise on the Duke of Westminster's yacht with a tan that became the rage. And the natural caramel skin color of singer Josephine Baker made women all over the world try to emulate her skin tone.
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In 1920s France, the caramel-skinned entertainer Josephine Baker became a Parisian idol. Concurrently, fashion designer Coco Chanel was "bronzed" while cruising on a yacht. A winter tan became a symbol of the leisure class and showed you could afford to travel to exotic climates.
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The citations attributed to "Tilar" should be corrected to read "Mazzeo," because it is the custom to cite the author's family name, not given name. HIM Nguyen ( talk) 11:45, 22 August 2011 (UTC)
Cite #26 (Mazzeo.) needs a page number. A future task. HIM Nguyen ( talk) 12:43, 22 August 2011 (UTC)
For the second time, some individual has made changes, usually only by inserting a single word of an inflammatory nature into existing, referenced entries, leading the reader to assume the entire statement is true. Only yesterday someone edited the section on Chanel's early life to infer that her father sent her out to sell her body upon the death of her mother at age 12,....the word "prostitute" was inserted, and it is not part of the verified information referenced by footnote. This vandal (or vandals, there may be more than one) seems to have an obsession with trashing Chanel. The documented facts of Chanel's life stand on their own. No one needs to fabricate negative, or sensationalist information. The truth of who Chanel was as a human being is damning enough and needs no embellishment. She was a monster. Hey, you out there...you don't have to make stuff up! Betempte ( talk) 18:04, 17 November 2011 (UTC)
her favourite name in english was and still is even though she is dead was Tilly-mae. she have 10 delmations named lucky, tilly, claire, dipstick, mason, emma, naima, keala, iris mae, jamie,,(all translated into english. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.218.181.35 ( talk) 18:22, 29 November 2011 (UTC)
There seems to be a lot of emphasis in this article on Vaughan's intepretation of Chanel. Whilst I'm sure she wasn't a very nice lady, it's like every other sentence is a Vaughan reference, with a lot of emphasis on her Nazism/anti-semitism/prejudices so this may need to be balanced out with references from other biographers as per Wikipedia guidelines. I also have to note that whilst I'm sure his investigations into her life are sound, Vaughan appears to have an appalling grasp on fashion history and is too credulous regarding Chanel's fashion inventions. If the fashion notes in here represent Vaughan's writing, then he is neither a credible nor a reputable source for the fashion side, worse and sloppier than most fashion journalists! For example, Chanel invented ethnic influences? Easily disproved by a quick Google - I've already quickly cleaned up and referenced that section and need to look into referencing and cleaning up the rest... Mabalu ( talk) 12:03, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
I've removed some of the aggrandized wording, which I believe prompted insertion of "text box alert" on the top of this page. I feel the estimation of Chanel’s design career (particularly in the “Legacy” section is adequately represented with inline citations and references; i.e. constituting and “imparting verifiable information.” Betempte ( talk) 20:15, 18 July 2012 (UTC)
Not sure how you add to Talk correctly, but quite a ‘come on’ it seems to me from the latest edition of the Sunday Times, London:
'The secrets of Chanel's complex life are as intriguing as ever - and I have continued to make discoveries in various archives, finding documents relating to her controversial actions during the Second World War, when she had an expedient affair with a German spy in occupied Paris while also offering significant support to the French Resistance. I cover this period in great detail in an updated edition of my Chanel biography, which will be published this week …
Certainly I hope that my detailed examination of Chanel's war record provides some further perspective.
But I also wonder if Chanel is judged for her personal life in a way that a man might not have been.
Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto opens at the V&A on September 16; book tickets at vam.ac.uk.
The new edition of Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life by Justine Picardie (Harper Collins £35) is published on Thursday (31 August).' — Preceding
unsigned comment added by
C.cohen (
talk •
contribs)
16:35, 29 August 2023 (UTC)
Thank you to Mabalu! We lost one (not very good image) but got a much better one in its place, thanks to your contribution. The new image is sharp, and illustrates the text marvelously. Again, many thanks! This is for you! Betempte ( talk) 18:32, 24 July 2012 (UTC)
The Good Heart Barnstar | ||
message For Mabalu---Much appreciated! |
Could we have some consistency on the address of the Paris boutique, variously 21 rue Cambon vs 31 rue Cambon? Macdonald-ross ( talk) 09:06, 25 September 2012 (UTC)
This article is, in my opinion, written in a way that is unacceptable for any fact-based encyclopedia. Here is an example of the exaggerated, seemingly fan-written passages, taken just from the lead:
"A woman of French peasant stock, convent bred, Chanel adhered to one constant in her life—a determination to rise above her humble origins. Her indefatigable energy and talent in her chosen trade combined ultimately to achieve both the business success and social prominence she had so striven to realize. Her professional life brought her in contact with the upper echelons of society and personages noteworthy in the arts. She herself became an art patron, supplying funds to support individual artists and their work."
This type of passage might be suitable on a fansite or opinionated biography, but not on a encyclopedia that relies on a neutral viewpoint (especially in articles about specific people). And, as I said, this is just from looking at the lead, the entire article is interspersed with this kind of language. I tagged the article for examination, but it was removed only a few hours later, so I am not sure what to do at this point. Do any other editors have some input? Thanks. Stelpa ( talk) 18:46, 21 February 2013 (UTC)
Sorry, I'm not a Wikipedia regular, so I know I'm not doing this right. However, I wanted to point a few things out: --There is a comma splice somewhere in the first third of the page. --"Vaughn" is consistently misspelled. It should be "Vaughan."" --Givenchy, not Chanel, pioneered the "little black dress" (through Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's.") It is misleading to give this garment a section on the page attributing it to Chanel, especially with such sparse documentation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.73.129.205 ( talk) 20:18, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
I've corrected the misinformation in the paragraph about Diaghilev, the Ballets Russes, Stravinsky, and Chanel. I've also set the final couple of sentences in "comment" protection as they are clearly inaccurate. (Diaghilev was not a choreographer; Nijinsky was confined to a mental institution during the period it is suggested Chanel worked with him (!). In the next day or two, I'll provide corrected information about Chanel's participation as costume designer of Ballets Russes projects. Yankeecook ( talk) 00:05, 21 May 2013 (UTC)
Stelpa has already remarked on the neutrality of the article as a whole, which I would agree with, but one particular sentence in the summary leapt out to me as problematic. Yesterday, I marked the following sentence as not being written from a neutral point of view. It's since been undone by Mabalu, so I decided to elaborate on it here.
However, Chanel's highly competitive, opportunistic personality led her to make questionable life choices which have generated controversy around her reputation, particularly her behaviour during the German occupation of France in World War II.
I take issue with the characterization of her actions being due to her "highly competitive, opportunistic personality", coupled with the phrasing that it was this personality that "led" to her behavior. For the information that the sentence in presenting, namely the controversy that Chanel generated by her actions, attributing those actions to seemingly positive aspects of her "personality" comes across as apologetic, toning down the serious nature of those actions and skirting past claims of antisemitism. To be fair, the matter is detailed later in the article, but the summary should be held to the highest standards.
I suggest the following change.
However, Chanel made questionable life choices which have generated controversy around her reputation, particularly her actions during the German occupation of France in World War II.
Lordcheeto ( talk) 00:39, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
If Hans Gunther von Dincklage is a baron in the entry for Controversy, shouldn't he also be a baron elsewhere. I noticed the dissimilarity in the first paragraph under World War II.
☺
Dick Kimball (
talk)
16:14, 10 December 2014 (UTC)
Why isn't her association with the Nazis during World War II mentioned in the first paragraph? I added it and it was renewed. In terms of human cost it's at least as relevant as her fashion work. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.20.121.189 ( talk) 16:34, 26 May 2015 (UTC)
Chanel had more than an association with the Nazis. Chanel had an affair with a German military officer, Hans Gunther von Dincklage. She got special permission to stay in her apartment at the Hotel Ritz. After the war ended, Chanel was interrogated about her relationship with von Dincklage, but she was not charged as a collaborator. Churchill stepped in and protected her. Many of the French public were outraged, somewhat self-righteously; she had to move to Switzerland. French collaboration was rife; collaboration was across the board and implicated members of the British Royal family. 92.12.137.108 ( talk) 13:49, 5 December 2016 (UTC)
The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Coco Chanel/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.
Start-class per bio project. Top-importance within fashion as she founded a major fashion house and revolutionized fashion through branding. Probably no other more influential designer.
Daniel Case
03:00, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
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Last edited at 21:39, 21 February 2011 (UTC). Substituted at 11:58, 29 April 2016 (UTC)
Give us a footnote to a SOURCE on her having $19 BILLION in 1970. According to the page on the Forbes 400, it was first published in 1982, so it's too late, but in the 1982 list there were only 13 billionaires. I was alive in 1970 and I remember a commonly-circulated list of billionaires and it had less than 10 names, people like J. Paul Getty and H.L. Hunt. I don't regard it as credible that Chanel was worth $19 billion in 1970 when there are sites that say that TODAY the COMBINED fortune of her better-compensated Wertheimer partners is $19 billion in TODAY'S money. (It is very suspicious to me that THIS article's assertion of Coco Chanel's net worth at death just HAPPENS (by chance) to match the "$19 billion" asserted value of the Wertheimers' Chanel holdings in TODAY's money). Did someone get sloppy and misread the 2015 value of the Wertheimers' stake as the end-of-life net worth of Coco Chanel? I've seen similar sloppy assertions in taking the combined worth of the Walton heirs TODAY and asserting it as the net worth of Sam Walton when he died long ago. Look at the figures for the Gettys, Hunts, Waltons. I'm going to call "no way" on $118 BILLION in 2015 (when the richest people in the world TODAY have less than $100 billion). It's gotta get a footnote (to a RELIABLE source, not a source that just parrots the misinformation from this Wikipedia article) or its gotta go. I mean, really. Do your homework. 2604:2000:C682:B600:7D2E:4F68:5270:F31E ( talk) 19:52, 16 July 2016 (UTC)Christopher L. Simpson
From the Summary: "She is widely regarded as the greatest fashion designer who ever lived, thus making the name of Chanel iconic."
That's a bold statement to leave unattributed - needs some links to sources making this claim for this line to be credible. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.73.251.26 ( talk) 15:37, 29 September 2016 (UTC)
The link of the first citation in the reference list is broken. The page cannot be found. This citation is for Chanel's date of birth, and the date she died. Here is a link that can replace the broken link with the same information found. -- Kdzyuben ( talk) 16:37, 10 October 2016 (UTC)
The woman is a disgrace to humanity let alone France. How can we add this as NPOV? 92.12.137.108 ( talk) 17:04, 5 December 2016 (UTC)
I don't know much about Coco Chanel's life, and I found the section in the article on designing for film confusing. It says she met Samuel Goldwyn in 1921, and that he made her an offer to come to Hollywood twice a year to design for motion pictures. Then it has an anecdote about her travelling to Hollywood in 1932 and responding to a reporter's question about why she was going there, which seems odd if she had been making the trip twice a year for 10 years. It also seems odd, if she was going to Hollywood in the intervening 10 years, that the only films for which she designed that are mentioned were made in the 1930s. It seems as though either the dating of the meeting with Goldwyn in 1921 is a typo (maybe for 1931?), or there was an unmentioned (10-year?) gap between the meeting and the offer, or between the offer and her accepting it. Maybe someone who knows more about her could edit to clarify. Lynn25 ( talk) 02:43, 25 August 2017 (UTC)
I have made some edits and plan to post them in a couple days. I wanted to look into some of the facts of Chanel’s early life. Some were worried that what she claimed later in her life was the true story so I wanted to back it up. Although, every source i found agrees with the article. I found at least four reliable sources that agree with this. This last paragraph does a good job by letting the readers know that she does claim a different story in her later life but that those are only claims. I also made changes to the section that talks about where the “Coco” nickname came from. I found a video explaining where Coco Chanel really got the “coco” nickname. Many were suspicious about the unclarity of the origin of the nickname before. I also made changes to her later years and the real reactions on her comeback collection. The original article claimed that the french had a venomous reaction to chanel's new collection but they did not necessarily react in a bad way. They did not promote it, but they didn’t go against it. They had a neutral opinion about the line due to their grudge for chanela action during the war. Paigedevans ( talk) 14:20, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
My proposal is to trim this section down significantly per WP:UNDUE, WP:BALASP. It should be mentioned and merits places in article but it's too long for such short period in her life. Sartorialaficionado ( talk) 18:48, 12 August 2019 (UTC)
Source frequently quoted in this section makes no claims that are in the article Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War. as seen in this pdf [5]. Pages 160-164 are about Wertheimer family there is practically no mention of Coco. Sartorialaficionado ( talk) 11:22, 13 August 2019 (UTC)
Guy Macon removed a paragraph based on Lisa Chaney's book from the end of the intro. I agree it is undue in the lead, but Chaney's publication of a book saying Chanel was bisexual should probably be mentioned somewhere. Here's an advance article on it in the fashion section of The Telegraph; there may be a better source to reference its publication. However, as seems rather common with biographies of women, her personal life is woven throughout the article rather than separate, so I couldn't find a good place to put a simple statement that a biography argued she was bisexual. I therefore leave this here instead. Yngvadottir ( talk) 22:11, 7 April 2020 (UTC)
Clearly, there is an issue with some editors not seeing or refusing to see the existing consensus so I will bring this issue up again as a matter of good faith:
It is absolutely valid to brand Chanel as a "Nazi collaborator" in her first paragraph as it reflects an incredibly noteworthy activity of her (see MOS:OPENPARABIO) that obviously influences a reader's perception of her at a glance and provides the full picture that the rest of the article presents in a single sentence. To omit this phrase is intellectual dishonesty - the role of the first paragraph, and by extension the first sentence is to accurately and laconically summarize the article that is then presented in detail in the sections that follow. Obviously, editors do not seem to dispute that Chanel was a Nazi agent (or collaborator) as the section detailing those activities is still present in the article's body. Consensus on the matter has already been reached with no counterarguments presented at all; I welcome the disputing editor (as it seems only a sole editor opposes this change) to present his counter-narrative, because as it stands I see no valid argument not to include this fact in Chanel's opening paragraph. EuanHolewicz432 ( talk) 13:00, 23 September 2020 (UTC)
Given it has now been over a week since someone has last offered an argument against the inclusion of Chanel's Nazi affiliations in the lead sentence, I'm going to assume this discussion has reached its end. I've re-added the descriptor ("Nazi collaborator") that was previously removed. If I'm wrong with regards to this discussion having reached its end or if another editor takes issue with said descriptor, by all means feel free to resume this discussion. I cannot, however, condone simply reverting the edit without further discussion or if required, taking this to dispute resolution. Thanks. ToeSchmoker ( talk) 01:48, 3 October 2020 (UTC)
There's no reason to believe on the above that there's consensus against inclusion. Only one user is objecting. I have reverted. Secarctangent ( talk) — Preceding undated comment added 22:01, 21 December 2020 (UTC)
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:
Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. — Community Tech bot ( talk) 19:38, 17 October 2021 (UTC)
This page should not be speedily deleted because... (i want to know what it says.) -- 69.117.50.24 ( talk) 01:53, 6 October 2022 (UTC)
I would argue that the opening of the article should list her activities in order of truth and salience. Which (to me, at least) would be, ".... French Nazi agent, designer, and socialite."
I say this because of the gaps in her design career which totaled decades, and the fact that many times she did not make business decisions (a task often left to business partners or her social liaisons).
I am interested in hearing thoughts from others though. Brownbear52403 ( talk) 14:31, 11 September 2023 (UTC)
The following sentence seems like a claim that may not be from a point of neutrality:
Churchill's intervention at the end of the war prevented Chanel's punishment for spy collaborations, and ultimately salvaged her legacy.
Is anyone able to explain where the cited source provides such information as an objective fact?
Similarly, I noted this sentence for the same reason:
However, when she moved into the same Hotel Ritz that was housing the German military, her motivations became clear to many.
This implies that her reputation was immediately tarnished upon moving into the Hotel Ritz, which could potentially be an over-reaching claim. Can someone explain how the cited source deduces this claim? Asw128 ( talk) 00:22, 28 September 2023 (UTC)
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I updated the depiction in song section to list Ana Silvera as the singer of Notes from the Opera instead of Annabelle Silvertree who doesn't appear to be an actual singer. I also updated the youtube link to a link to Ana Silvera's song Notes from the Opera.
However, listening to the song I'm not sure it is inspired by Chanel's life (as this article states and the Ana Silvera article states). The song mentions Chanel fashions, but the character in the song doesn't wear Chanel, because it reminds her of her lover's mother.
I don't know anything about this page, but was reading about Chanel and saw this problem so thought I would fix what I could. Hope it helps.
Tdferro ( talk) 07:35, 3 January 2010 (UTC)
The Nickname Coco came from her Father because he used to Wake her up screaming "KO-KO-RI-KO and was signing Qui qu'a vue COCO, COCO? and along came her famous nickname.
Just an interesting thought: north of the northern Andaman islands is a corridor named "Coco Channel". Is it prossible that the nickname was derived from this straight? I'm serious, really. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.83.51.78 ( talk) 13:20, 4 April 2010 (UTC)
The entry states that the German lover she had during WWII was an intelligence agent, but it's unclear whether he was a member of the German intelligence services or worked for the Allies. Its also unclear whether she was aware of this or not. It would be good to clarify. patrickw 04:36, 22 May 2006 (UTC) true but she was first a man then turned a female —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.242.247.94 ( talk) 20:09, 4 November 2007 (UTC)
I think this article, and the accompanying book, explains much of what the current article doesn't really cover at all: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/books/review/sleeping-with-the-enemy-coco-chanels-secret-war-by-hal-vaughan-book-review.html?scp=2&sq=coco%20chanel&st=cse — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.184.106.49 ( talk) 02:20, 7 September 2011 (UTC)
Did she not design Nazi and SS uniforms? I was told this by a 'historical clothes dealer' - max rspct 14:54, 5 December 2005 (UTC)
i have also heard this (that either she herself or the house of chanel designed ss uniforms, which is one of the reasons she was able to live in paris during the occupation). either it's a popular rumor/error or fact. hmmm. -- 66.65.56.199 00:21, 18 October 2006 (UTC)
I am beginning to wonder whether there is confusion with Hugo Boss who designed SS uniforms. I will keep looking and maybe ring up a fashion school heh. - maxrspct ping me 04:36, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
It's almost 100% certain that you're thinking of Hugo Boss. See http://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/15/business/hugo-boss-acknowledges-link-to-nazi-regime.html for more information. 86.148.104.159 ( talk) 18:35, 18 August 2009 (UTC)
It looks to me like most of this article was taken verbatim from one of the links at the bottom of the page. A possible copyright issue? Does anyone have any further information!
Which "Duke of Westminster" was she linked to? The article on this title indicates more than one man held it during her lifetime. I was trying to find out so that I could clarify it in the articles on Wendy and Emery Reves, who later bought a villa the Duke had built for Chanel. Lawikitejana 23:04, 22 October 2006 (UTC)
Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster. See Wikipedia article on him here:
[1]
Mr K ( talk) 03:25, 23 December 2007 (UTC)
From the research I have found it can be said that she was never in a orphanage and was raised by two aunts in auvergne. From these aunts is where she learned her talent, not from a catholic monastary.
Why is "I am Coco Chanel" remotely interesting as a quote? 86.136.252.60 16:45, 1 November 2006 (UTC)
also it states in two different parets that her mother died when she was 4, she died when she was twelve am i right?? and her mothers name wasnt brigette or whatever is down it was jeanne or something —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.72.30.137 ( talk) 05:28, 6 March 2008 (UTC)
I removed the insanely large list of quotes, and copied them to wikiquotes. I left the top three. If anyone thinks there should be other quotes on this page, that's fine, but I don't think there should be more than three. risk 00:46, 14 November 2006 (UTC)
If Coco was born in 1883, and her sister in 1882, her parents having married in 1880, then how would this make the girls illegitimate? Perhaps the parents married in 1890? Sharkford 03:39, 22 November 2006 (UTC)
Coco Chanel and her sister were born as illegitimate children. Their parents got married in 1883 after the birth of their second child Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.178.184.181 ( talk) 00:14, 15 May 2010 (UTC)
What on earth has happened to the content of this page? Despite my relative lack of knowledge about Chanel, even I know this is not the correct biography.
Ingvar
14:52, 24 September 2007 (UTC)
A shocking amount of this article seems to be based on a very recent book by Vaughn, and the quality of that book, at least according to the very few reviews on Amazon, seems dubious at best. I dont know that i can trust what i read here. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.39.121.21 ( talk) 07:47, 31 December 2011 (UTC)
This article was automatically assessed because at least one article was rated and this bot brought all the other ratings up to at least that level. BetacommandBot 02:56, 27 August 2007 (UTC)
"In 1913 she opened up her very first shop which sold a range of fashionable raincoats and jackets. Situated in the heart of Brittany it wasn't long before the shop went out of business.With the aid of Balsan and another rich lover Arthur "Boy" Capel (d. 21 December 1919 in a motor accident), Coco was able to acquire the property and financial backing to open her second millinery shop in Deauville. Her hats were worn by celebrated French actresses, which helped to establish her reputation. Chanel introduced in 1913 women’s sportswear at her new boutique in Deauville, France, in the Rue Gounaut-Biron; Martkhe, Countess de Gounaut-Biron, (daughter of American diplomat John George Alexander Leishman) was Chanel's first aristocratic client."
1st shop in 1913 in Brittany. where in brittany?...a sizeable region. 2nd shop in deauville (but no date of opening) back to "introduced in 1913...at new boutique in deauville"
doesn't make sense. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.173.2.68 ( talk) 11:12, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
article indicates that little black dress premeired in 3rd-ever edition of playboy. thus, sometime in the 50s?
3rd issue? or 3rd year?-- 68.173.2.68 ( talk) 11:22, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
article indicates her return to fashion world in 1954 was not accepted by Parisians, but that the French applauded her and bought her designs.
seems disjointed. difficult to imagine that rest of france was all over her stuff but the parisians snubbed.
recasting of section needed by someone with better knowledge/sources than i.
-- 68.173.2.68 ( talk) 11:42, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
more on "later years." article reads "In 1939, at the beginning of World War II, the designer closed her shops." at 1939 what shops did she have other than the 31, rue Cambon location? article earlier indicates that the brittany shop folded quickly. article is silent about continuation of deauville shop. i would be surprised that in 1939, there was more than the one shop at 31, rue cambon.
--
68.173.2.68 (
talk)
12:53, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
No mention of the circumstances of her death here... seems to be a glaring omission...? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.54.250.11 ( talk) 17:26, 13 September 2010 (UTC)
bottom of references indicates
"Maurice Raspberry of saint Louis Missouri and Breon Brown are the official Chanel Models. Kareemah Moment is the Midwest Chanel CEO"
what's this doing in references? what's it trying to say?-- 68.173.2.68 ( talk) 11:53, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
Questions--as I understand it, the Wertheimer family 'owned' Chanel lock and stock; therefore some business history might be an important addition rather than stating blandly that she was 'wealthy.' As for the German officer, and I always thought it was Walter Schellenberg, so who is Dincklage? I understand he was a military attache in the German Embassy, which isn't necessarily being a spy. Since the French government accommodated the German forces in a corridor through France to the Channel ports to guard against a British attack, and Paris was an 'open city,' for whom and on whom would Dincklage have been 'spying'? The Bolshevik terrorists in Paris who took over and arrested Chanel after the Allies occupied the city? If so, would that be 'spying' or 'Intelligence'? And in para. 1, who was married to 5 different men? German officers and officials stayed at the Ritz, but management was in charge of the hotel, with a philosophy, being French, of whoever can pay can stay. So please clarify why a world renowned French woman in a residential suite at a world renowned French hotel would have any need whatever for 'protection.' From whom? 72.81.97.152 ( talk) 17:15, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
... so I've removed it from there and put it here:
Question: The (above) paragraph says Chanel's Little Black Dress (LBD) premiered in third-ever edition of (Hugh Hefner's) Playboy mag. Wikipedia's Playboy link says Hefner's first edition of Playboy was published December 1953; I'm guessing the third issue came along sometime in 1954. Wikipedia's Little Black Dress link (listed in Chanel article) states the LBD was published in Vogue 1926 by Chanel. If I am missing the obvious please forgive me and set me straight. Either the LBD was (first) published (premiered) in Vogue 1926, or Hefner's Playboy in 1954. Thanks for your help!
The article on suntans says that suntans first became fashionable because of her, and I saw the same claim on a radio program recently, but it is mentioned nowhere in this article.-- 69.149.227.173 ( talk) 03:00, 15 July 2009 (UTC)
The article states: "The film hints at Chanel's rumoured lesbian affairs." Having just seen this film I have no idea what section this is referring to. I saw no such hint. [User:Davidjxyz|Davidjxyz]] ( talk) 23:29, 6 September 2009 (UTC)
According to the book "Chanel and her world" by Edmonde Charles Roux, the Father was Albert Chanel (With no S). Gabrielle Chanel's birth certificate appears with an "S". Also, the birth certificate shows she was born on AUGUST 20 1883 at 4am. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ctc1980 ( talk • contribs) 14:21, 4 August 2010 (UTC)
"She was the second daughter of traveling salesman Albert Chanel and Jeanne Devolle.... No one knew how to spell Chasnel so the mayor improvised and recorded [her name] without an "s," making it Chanel.
This is contradictory. It would make sense only if her father was Chasnel rather than Chanel. So is her father's name wrong or is the story spurious? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sluggoster ( talk • contribs) 08:45, 5 January 2010 (UTC) hei —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.60.75.2 ( talk) 08:49, 8 April 2010 (UTC)
Before the 1920's, sun tans were thought of as being something only the lower classes did. Then Coco accidentally got a suntan and it caught on like wildfire. To this day, the fad of suntanning is alive and well, even though prior to Coco it was thought of as being completely tasteless. Maybe this fact does not deserve a mention, but it seems important enough to include in the article to me. See the wikicode for the references to this: [1] [2] [3] The refs immediately preceding this sentence are fully formatted and should be adequate for the addition of her starting the suntan fad. Please feel free to add this to the article if you think it worthwhile of including. Unfortunately, I'm about to head out on long term leave and so cannot edit the article myself. — Eric Herboso 04:28, 21 September 2010 (UTC)
French trend-setter Coco Chanel had an accidental sunburn when visiting the Riviera. Her fans liked the look..., and the fad began to gain popularity. Parisians also loved Josephine Baker, the american singer, and wanted to darken their skin to look more like her. So these two women basically changed the image of a tan into something desirable, healthy, and luxurious.
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By the 1920s, the therapeutic effect of the sun was being widely promoted, and two well-publicized French personalities gave "tanning" a fashion boost. Coco Chanel, of designer fame, returned to Paris after a cruise on the Duke of Westminster's yacht with a tan that became the rage. And the natural caramel skin color of singer Josephine Baker made women all over the world try to emulate her skin tone.
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In 1920s France, the caramel-skinned entertainer Josephine Baker became a Parisian idol. Concurrently, fashion designer Coco Chanel was "bronzed" while cruising on a yacht. A winter tan became a symbol of the leisure class and showed you could afford to travel to exotic climates.
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The citations attributed to "Tilar" should be corrected to read "Mazzeo," because it is the custom to cite the author's family name, not given name. HIM Nguyen ( talk) 11:45, 22 August 2011 (UTC)
Cite #26 (Mazzeo.) needs a page number. A future task. HIM Nguyen ( talk) 12:43, 22 August 2011 (UTC)
For the second time, some individual has made changes, usually only by inserting a single word of an inflammatory nature into existing, referenced entries, leading the reader to assume the entire statement is true. Only yesterday someone edited the section on Chanel's early life to infer that her father sent her out to sell her body upon the death of her mother at age 12,....the word "prostitute" was inserted, and it is not part of the verified information referenced by footnote. This vandal (or vandals, there may be more than one) seems to have an obsession with trashing Chanel. The documented facts of Chanel's life stand on their own. No one needs to fabricate negative, or sensationalist information. The truth of who Chanel was as a human being is damning enough and needs no embellishment. She was a monster. Hey, you out there...you don't have to make stuff up! Betempte ( talk) 18:04, 17 November 2011 (UTC)
her favourite name in english was and still is even though she is dead was Tilly-mae. she have 10 delmations named lucky, tilly, claire, dipstick, mason, emma, naima, keala, iris mae, jamie,,(all translated into english. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.218.181.35 ( talk) 18:22, 29 November 2011 (UTC)
There seems to be a lot of emphasis in this article on Vaughan's intepretation of Chanel. Whilst I'm sure she wasn't a very nice lady, it's like every other sentence is a Vaughan reference, with a lot of emphasis on her Nazism/anti-semitism/prejudices so this may need to be balanced out with references from other biographers as per Wikipedia guidelines. I also have to note that whilst I'm sure his investigations into her life are sound, Vaughan appears to have an appalling grasp on fashion history and is too credulous regarding Chanel's fashion inventions. If the fashion notes in here represent Vaughan's writing, then he is neither a credible nor a reputable source for the fashion side, worse and sloppier than most fashion journalists! For example, Chanel invented ethnic influences? Easily disproved by a quick Google - I've already quickly cleaned up and referenced that section and need to look into referencing and cleaning up the rest... Mabalu ( talk) 12:03, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
I've removed some of the aggrandized wording, which I believe prompted insertion of "text box alert" on the top of this page. I feel the estimation of Chanel’s design career (particularly in the “Legacy” section is adequately represented with inline citations and references; i.e. constituting and “imparting verifiable information.” Betempte ( talk) 20:15, 18 July 2012 (UTC)
Not sure how you add to Talk correctly, but quite a ‘come on’ it seems to me from the latest edition of the Sunday Times, London:
'The secrets of Chanel's complex life are as intriguing as ever - and I have continued to make discoveries in various archives, finding documents relating to her controversial actions during the Second World War, when she had an expedient affair with a German spy in occupied Paris while also offering significant support to the French Resistance. I cover this period in great detail in an updated edition of my Chanel biography, which will be published this week …
Certainly I hope that my detailed examination of Chanel's war record provides some further perspective.
But I also wonder if Chanel is judged for her personal life in a way that a man might not have been.
Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto opens at the V&A on September 16; book tickets at vam.ac.uk.
The new edition of Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life by Justine Picardie (Harper Collins £35) is published on Thursday (31 August).' — Preceding
unsigned comment added by
C.cohen (
talk •
contribs)
16:35, 29 August 2023 (UTC)
Thank you to Mabalu! We lost one (not very good image) but got a much better one in its place, thanks to your contribution. The new image is sharp, and illustrates the text marvelously. Again, many thanks! This is for you! Betempte ( talk) 18:32, 24 July 2012 (UTC)
The Good Heart Barnstar | ||
message For Mabalu---Much appreciated! |
Could we have some consistency on the address of the Paris boutique, variously 21 rue Cambon vs 31 rue Cambon? Macdonald-ross ( talk) 09:06, 25 September 2012 (UTC)
This article is, in my opinion, written in a way that is unacceptable for any fact-based encyclopedia. Here is an example of the exaggerated, seemingly fan-written passages, taken just from the lead:
"A woman of French peasant stock, convent bred, Chanel adhered to one constant in her life—a determination to rise above her humble origins. Her indefatigable energy and talent in her chosen trade combined ultimately to achieve both the business success and social prominence she had so striven to realize. Her professional life brought her in contact with the upper echelons of society and personages noteworthy in the arts. She herself became an art patron, supplying funds to support individual artists and their work."
This type of passage might be suitable on a fansite or opinionated biography, but not on a encyclopedia that relies on a neutral viewpoint (especially in articles about specific people). And, as I said, this is just from looking at the lead, the entire article is interspersed with this kind of language. I tagged the article for examination, but it was removed only a few hours later, so I am not sure what to do at this point. Do any other editors have some input? Thanks. Stelpa ( talk) 18:46, 21 February 2013 (UTC)
Sorry, I'm not a Wikipedia regular, so I know I'm not doing this right. However, I wanted to point a few things out: --There is a comma splice somewhere in the first third of the page. --"Vaughn" is consistently misspelled. It should be "Vaughan."" --Givenchy, not Chanel, pioneered the "little black dress" (through Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's.") It is misleading to give this garment a section on the page attributing it to Chanel, especially with such sparse documentation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.73.129.205 ( talk) 20:18, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
I've corrected the misinformation in the paragraph about Diaghilev, the Ballets Russes, Stravinsky, and Chanel. I've also set the final couple of sentences in "comment" protection as they are clearly inaccurate. (Diaghilev was not a choreographer; Nijinsky was confined to a mental institution during the period it is suggested Chanel worked with him (!). In the next day or two, I'll provide corrected information about Chanel's participation as costume designer of Ballets Russes projects. Yankeecook ( talk) 00:05, 21 May 2013 (UTC)
Stelpa has already remarked on the neutrality of the article as a whole, which I would agree with, but one particular sentence in the summary leapt out to me as problematic. Yesterday, I marked the following sentence as not being written from a neutral point of view. It's since been undone by Mabalu, so I decided to elaborate on it here.
However, Chanel's highly competitive, opportunistic personality led her to make questionable life choices which have generated controversy around her reputation, particularly her behaviour during the German occupation of France in World War II.
I take issue with the characterization of her actions being due to her "highly competitive, opportunistic personality", coupled with the phrasing that it was this personality that "led" to her behavior. For the information that the sentence in presenting, namely the controversy that Chanel generated by her actions, attributing those actions to seemingly positive aspects of her "personality" comes across as apologetic, toning down the serious nature of those actions and skirting past claims of antisemitism. To be fair, the matter is detailed later in the article, but the summary should be held to the highest standards.
I suggest the following change.
However, Chanel made questionable life choices which have generated controversy around her reputation, particularly her actions during the German occupation of France in World War II.
Lordcheeto ( talk) 00:39, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
If Hans Gunther von Dincklage is a baron in the entry for Controversy, shouldn't he also be a baron elsewhere. I noticed the dissimilarity in the first paragraph under World War II.
☺
Dick Kimball (
talk)
16:14, 10 December 2014 (UTC)
Why isn't her association with the Nazis during World War II mentioned in the first paragraph? I added it and it was renewed. In terms of human cost it's at least as relevant as her fashion work. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.20.121.189 ( talk) 16:34, 26 May 2015 (UTC)
Chanel had more than an association with the Nazis. Chanel had an affair with a German military officer, Hans Gunther von Dincklage. She got special permission to stay in her apartment at the Hotel Ritz. After the war ended, Chanel was interrogated about her relationship with von Dincklage, but she was not charged as a collaborator. Churchill stepped in and protected her. Many of the French public were outraged, somewhat self-righteously; she had to move to Switzerland. French collaboration was rife; collaboration was across the board and implicated members of the British Royal family. 92.12.137.108 ( talk) 13:49, 5 December 2016 (UTC)
The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Coco Chanel/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.
Start-class per bio project. Top-importance within fashion as she founded a major fashion house and revolutionized fashion through branding. Probably no other more influential designer.
Daniel Case
03:00, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
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Last edited at 21:39, 21 February 2011 (UTC). Substituted at 11:58, 29 April 2016 (UTC)
Give us a footnote to a SOURCE on her having $19 BILLION in 1970. According to the page on the Forbes 400, it was first published in 1982, so it's too late, but in the 1982 list there were only 13 billionaires. I was alive in 1970 and I remember a commonly-circulated list of billionaires and it had less than 10 names, people like J. Paul Getty and H.L. Hunt. I don't regard it as credible that Chanel was worth $19 billion in 1970 when there are sites that say that TODAY the COMBINED fortune of her better-compensated Wertheimer partners is $19 billion in TODAY'S money. (It is very suspicious to me that THIS article's assertion of Coco Chanel's net worth at death just HAPPENS (by chance) to match the "$19 billion" asserted value of the Wertheimers' Chanel holdings in TODAY's money). Did someone get sloppy and misread the 2015 value of the Wertheimers' stake as the end-of-life net worth of Coco Chanel? I've seen similar sloppy assertions in taking the combined worth of the Walton heirs TODAY and asserting it as the net worth of Sam Walton when he died long ago. Look at the figures for the Gettys, Hunts, Waltons. I'm going to call "no way" on $118 BILLION in 2015 (when the richest people in the world TODAY have less than $100 billion). It's gotta get a footnote (to a RELIABLE source, not a source that just parrots the misinformation from this Wikipedia article) or its gotta go. I mean, really. Do your homework. 2604:2000:C682:B600:7D2E:4F68:5270:F31E ( talk) 19:52, 16 July 2016 (UTC)Christopher L. Simpson
From the Summary: "She is widely regarded as the greatest fashion designer who ever lived, thus making the name of Chanel iconic."
That's a bold statement to leave unattributed - needs some links to sources making this claim for this line to be credible. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.73.251.26 ( talk) 15:37, 29 September 2016 (UTC)
The link of the first citation in the reference list is broken. The page cannot be found. This citation is for Chanel's date of birth, and the date she died. Here is a link that can replace the broken link with the same information found. -- Kdzyuben ( talk) 16:37, 10 October 2016 (UTC)
The woman is a disgrace to humanity let alone France. How can we add this as NPOV? 92.12.137.108 ( talk) 17:04, 5 December 2016 (UTC)
I don't know much about Coco Chanel's life, and I found the section in the article on designing for film confusing. It says she met Samuel Goldwyn in 1921, and that he made her an offer to come to Hollywood twice a year to design for motion pictures. Then it has an anecdote about her travelling to Hollywood in 1932 and responding to a reporter's question about why she was going there, which seems odd if she had been making the trip twice a year for 10 years. It also seems odd, if she was going to Hollywood in the intervening 10 years, that the only films for which she designed that are mentioned were made in the 1930s. It seems as though either the dating of the meeting with Goldwyn in 1921 is a typo (maybe for 1931?), or there was an unmentioned (10-year?) gap between the meeting and the offer, or between the offer and her accepting it. Maybe someone who knows more about her could edit to clarify. Lynn25 ( talk) 02:43, 25 August 2017 (UTC)
I have made some edits and plan to post them in a couple days. I wanted to look into some of the facts of Chanel’s early life. Some were worried that what she claimed later in her life was the true story so I wanted to back it up. Although, every source i found agrees with the article. I found at least four reliable sources that agree with this. This last paragraph does a good job by letting the readers know that she does claim a different story in her later life but that those are only claims. I also made changes to the section that talks about where the “Coco” nickname came from. I found a video explaining where Coco Chanel really got the “coco” nickname. Many were suspicious about the unclarity of the origin of the nickname before. I also made changes to her later years and the real reactions on her comeback collection. The original article claimed that the french had a venomous reaction to chanel's new collection but they did not necessarily react in a bad way. They did not promote it, but they didn’t go against it. They had a neutral opinion about the line due to their grudge for chanela action during the war. Paigedevans ( talk) 14:20, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
My proposal is to trim this section down significantly per WP:UNDUE, WP:BALASP. It should be mentioned and merits places in article but it's too long for such short period in her life. Sartorialaficionado ( talk) 18:48, 12 August 2019 (UTC)
Source frequently quoted in this section makes no claims that are in the article Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War. as seen in this pdf [5]. Pages 160-164 are about Wertheimer family there is practically no mention of Coco. Sartorialaficionado ( talk) 11:22, 13 August 2019 (UTC)
Guy Macon removed a paragraph based on Lisa Chaney's book from the end of the intro. I agree it is undue in the lead, but Chaney's publication of a book saying Chanel was bisexual should probably be mentioned somewhere. Here's an advance article on it in the fashion section of The Telegraph; there may be a better source to reference its publication. However, as seems rather common with biographies of women, her personal life is woven throughout the article rather than separate, so I couldn't find a good place to put a simple statement that a biography argued she was bisexual. I therefore leave this here instead. Yngvadottir ( talk) 22:11, 7 April 2020 (UTC)
Clearly, there is an issue with some editors not seeing or refusing to see the existing consensus so I will bring this issue up again as a matter of good faith:
It is absolutely valid to brand Chanel as a "Nazi collaborator" in her first paragraph as it reflects an incredibly noteworthy activity of her (see MOS:OPENPARABIO) that obviously influences a reader's perception of her at a glance and provides the full picture that the rest of the article presents in a single sentence. To omit this phrase is intellectual dishonesty - the role of the first paragraph, and by extension the first sentence is to accurately and laconically summarize the article that is then presented in detail in the sections that follow. Obviously, editors do not seem to dispute that Chanel was a Nazi agent (or collaborator) as the section detailing those activities is still present in the article's body. Consensus on the matter has already been reached with no counterarguments presented at all; I welcome the disputing editor (as it seems only a sole editor opposes this change) to present his counter-narrative, because as it stands I see no valid argument not to include this fact in Chanel's opening paragraph. EuanHolewicz432 ( talk) 13:00, 23 September 2020 (UTC)
Given it has now been over a week since someone has last offered an argument against the inclusion of Chanel's Nazi affiliations in the lead sentence, I'm going to assume this discussion has reached its end. I've re-added the descriptor ("Nazi collaborator") that was previously removed. If I'm wrong with regards to this discussion having reached its end or if another editor takes issue with said descriptor, by all means feel free to resume this discussion. I cannot, however, condone simply reverting the edit without further discussion or if required, taking this to dispute resolution. Thanks. ToeSchmoker ( talk) 01:48, 3 October 2020 (UTC)
There's no reason to believe on the above that there's consensus against inclusion. Only one user is objecting. I have reverted. Secarctangent ( talk) — Preceding undated comment added 22:01, 21 December 2020 (UTC)
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This page should not be speedily deleted because... (i want to know what it says.) -- 69.117.50.24 ( talk) 01:53, 6 October 2022 (UTC)
I would argue that the opening of the article should list her activities in order of truth and salience. Which (to me, at least) would be, ".... French Nazi agent, designer, and socialite."
I say this because of the gaps in her design career which totaled decades, and the fact that many times she did not make business decisions (a task often left to business partners or her social liaisons).
I am interested in hearing thoughts from others though. Brownbear52403 ( talk) 14:31, 11 September 2023 (UTC)
The following sentence seems like a claim that may not be from a point of neutrality:
Churchill's intervention at the end of the war prevented Chanel's punishment for spy collaborations, and ultimately salvaged her legacy.
Is anyone able to explain where the cited source provides such information as an objective fact?
Similarly, I noted this sentence for the same reason:
However, when she moved into the same Hotel Ritz that was housing the German military, her motivations became clear to many.
This implies that her reputation was immediately tarnished upon moving into the Hotel Ritz, which could potentially be an over-reaching claim. Can someone explain how the cited source deduces this claim? Asw128 ( talk) 00:22, 28 September 2023 (UTC)