Fact + Fashion: 6 Things About Coco Chanel You Didn't Know

I don't know much about Coco Chanel. There I said it. Actually, maybe not a lot of people do. The real Coco Chanel anyway.

Sure there was that movie with the ever so lovely Audrey Tautou (whom I adore!) but even that isn't the whole truth, or even a fraction of it. And I suppose we won't ever know the whole truth as Coco Chanel was extremely keen on shaping her past and her life the way she saw fit.

Frankly, the more I read about Coco Chanel the more I battle with my love/hate relationship with her. Did she make beautiful clothes that changed the shape of women's fashion? Yes. Was she nice? Not so much... in fact, not really at all.

Coco Chanel was meticulous about her work and a perfectionist | source

6 Things About Coco Chanel You Didn't Know

1.] Diana Vreeland said of Coco Chanel that she wasn't particularly a nice person but they were friends. But was she pleasant, not at all. I read this in Diana Vreeland's autobiography "DV" when she talks about her life in Paris.

Coco Chanel photographed in 1937 by Boris Lipnitzki | source

2.] Her last major love affair was with a German spy, right at the dawn of World War II. His name was Hans Gunther von Dincklage and he arranged for Coco to reside in the Hotel Ritz during the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. {source}

3.] At the age of 20 she found work as a seamstress having honed her sewing skills at the Aubazine convent. BTW, side note, if you've never seen photos of Aubazine, you should. {source}

4.] Coco Chanel is depicted naked in a political cartoon drawn by her antisemitic lover Paul Iribe in which she represents France and is being cradled by Adolf Hitler and protected from Jews. {source}

5.] At her funeral, Coco Chanel's fashion models occupied the first seats and her coffin was covered with camellias, gardenias, orchids, and azaleas. A few red roses were also present as accent flowers. from Wikipedia

6.] She made suntans cool. Prior to Coco Chanel's time, being tanned usually meant you were a laborer. But she changed the outlook of being sun kissed with the idea that if you were bronzed it meant you lived a life of leisure. From the book Chanel and Her World (1981)

Coco Chanel as a young lady c.1910 | source

Coco Chanel photographed for Vogue c.1954 by Henry Clarke | source

Coco Chanel on the balcony of the Ritz hotel where she lived during the war years | source

Fashion Frocks (Harford Frocks) Fabric Swatches

I saw these vintage 1940s fashion illustrations floating about on Pinterest and I thought they were just catalog scans at first glance, but after clicking to the original source of these vintage fashion illustrations, I found out their true nature... these are sample fabric swatches for Fashion Frocks, a dress manufacturing company that had their home base in Ohio. There's a little bit of info about the building they occupied in the 1930s on wikipedia.

Not only are these vintage fashion drawings absolutely lovely, but the fact that these are ACTUAL fabric samples just makes me heart quicken a whole lot. I MUST have these!! The company was around since the 1920s and stopped producing clothing in the 1970s. Seriously, I MUST have these. I'm not really one to collect anything, but these are just an amazing piece of vintage fashion history!

These Fashion Frocks/Hardford Frocks sample pages are from Miss Amy on flickr.

Fashion Frocks was a company from Cincinnati, OH that employed housewives as salespeople to sell clothing to friends and neighbors "door-to-door" ... they would be armed with these wonderful sample sales cards for women to order from. It was a way of bypassing the retailers and selling directly to consumers, at better value-pricing. One of the company taglines is "It's fashion-wise to be thrifty." - from FASHION FROCKS flickr set

Vintage 1930s Fashion Sketches + Designs

When researching vintage clothing and fashion, one of the best sources is the New York Public Library Digital Image Gallery. You can browse through HUNDREDS of beautiful sketches and illustrations of vintage fashions and really have a better understanding of the trends and fads of a specific era.

Today we are going to be looking at vintage fashion and styles from the 1930s. Our online vintage shop regularly stocks clothing and dresses from the 1930s and most of these styles go fairly quickly. And it's no surprise why, the 1930s was an amazing time for beautifully made and well tailored garments!






One of recurring themes in these styles are the puffed sleeves wether they be short sleeved or elbow length. There is also the appearance of dropped shoulders, draped sleeves, and cape style sleeves. My favorite part about the 1930s silhouette are the bias cut skirts. So incredibly flattering on a woman's figure! I also am very much in love with prints from the 1930s. Just the most charming florals and very elegant and chic deco inspired patterns and textiles.

Vintage CHANEL fashion sketches from the 1950s and 1960s

Here are some rare fashion sketches from the house of CHANEL through the 1950s and 1960s. Coco Chanel was most famous for her suit sets and it is amazing to me to be able to see these before they were ever cut and sewn from cloth. A fashion sketch is at first a dream then later materialized (and most are not). Which Chanel suit from the 1950s and 1960s is your favorite?








These CHANEL vintage fashion sketches are from the Bergdorf Goodman archives via Ana Lee Russian blog. Check out the link for more sketches!

Vintage Lingerie: Lingerie in the 1920s

I have a very soft spot in my heart for lingerie from the 1920s. I especially love vintage teddies, chemises, and vintage step-ins. Vintage lingerie is almost always in my favorite colors of pale pink, peach, and cream. But I also quite love the cool peppermint blues and seafoam greens. My favorite part of course are the very feminine and sweet details of lace and little rosettes.

A chemise is usually straight cut and have been around since the Middle Ages. Although the chemise in the Middle Ages is much different than what is considered a chemise now. In the 1920s a chemise was much shorter than it's Middle Ages ancestor and would often be worn to replace bras and panties.

A step in is very similar to a chemise except there is fabric between the legs that buttons. Sometimes it doesn't button and you would just "step-in" to wear it.




This pale pink vintage 1920s chemise is made of crepe de chine and features cream colored lace and little blue rosettes.

As we go into the later 1920s and into the 1930s the step in started to get more defined waists and bustline. And also hips were more defined usually with a little bit of added lace or ruffle.


"In the great race to look like slim young trees - there must be no extra thickness given by choosing the right undies."


This peppermint blue step in is in a rare strapless style with ribbon along the bust to gather it around one's bust. This dates probably closer to the late 20s or even early 1930s since there is a defined bust area (although the original ribbon that goes to this is long gone) and the hips are defined with tiers of lace.

Also later in the 1920s and more popular in the 1930s were tap pants. I LOVE tap pants and shorts in general that have this very feminine shape is it is very flattering to my figure.


This two pieces of vintage lingerie from the 1920s will be available at Adored Vintage soon!

Vintage lingerie in the 1920s are usually composed of silk, crepe de chine, cotton, crepe silk. These fabrics usually have a soft papery feel. In the later 20s and into the 30s vintage lingerie would be made from "Celanese" crepe satin and "Celanese" Crepe De Chine would usually had more sheen and feels a little more slippery than 1920s crepe de chine or crepe silk.

Edwardian Fashion From McCalls Magazine

There are many reasons to love Downton Abbey, but one especially I would like to highlight is that the show has garnered an interest amongst the populace for Edwardian and World War I era clothing.

The teens era has always been a bit of a pretty murky area for me, definitely the 1920s were flapper dresses but as my knowledge in vintage clothing and fashion history expands, I am discovering that flapper dresses weren't really the norm until the mid to late 1920s.

So in my efforts to learn more about World War 1 and Edwardian fashions, I have been gathering images throughout the internet and wanted to share my finds with my lovely vintage readers.


Described as "Advanced Models of Distinctive Winter Styles" from an issue of McCalls winter magazine 1913. Look at those amazing details!
// source


"Daytime and Evening Gowns of Dainty Lace and Grace" from the Titanic era from a March 1914 issue of McCalls magazine.
// source


From April 1914 issue of McCalls magazine (two years after the sinking of the Titanic).
// source


These styles came in the late teens, 1918-1919 and were for Spring fashions. I can't remember where I sourced these from, I'm sorry!


Winter styles from an issue of The Woman's Magazine from December 1919.
// source

I feel that the Edwardian era and World War 1 era is often overlooked for the wonderful clothes and fashions that spanned these two decades. And most often these eras are just lumped in with Victorian and Flapper fashions. As I progress in my knowledge of antique clothing, I hope you will learn a thing or two as well!

Vintage Edwardian Petticoats

I've always had a soft spot for vintage lingerie and recently I've had a mild obsession with vintage petticoats from the late Victorian era to the Edwardian era. Petticoats were a symbol of femininity and were almost often trimmed with lace, ruffles, embroidery, and applique. They were worn to protect your dresses from your body (sweat, oil) and for added warmth. Not only did they serve as an undergarment, they were also used to help structure your dress.




I love these petticoats because they're often made of sturdier fabrics than the dresses themselves since petticoats had to be worn all the time and more often than not you would wear the same petticoats under different dresses.

How to wear a vintage petticoat in modern day times: These petticoats are perfect for layering. For summer wear a vintage petticoat with a pretty camisole or breezy blouse. For Autumn pair it with a longer cardigan or cropped denim jacket. And if you want to toughen up your look, dare you wear a leather biker jacket?

All of these Edwardian petticoats will be in Adored Vintage this weekend!

Victorian Fashion + Dressing, A Quick Guide to the Silhouettes of the Victorian Era

I was browsing through different vintage blogs here and there and noticed a trend... girls mistaking Edwardian for Victorian fashions. While I do not claim to be a Victorian era expert of any sort, I am familiar with the silhouettes differentiating a Victorian dress from an Edwardian dress.


The Victorian Era spanned from 1837 to 1901 during the reign of Queen Victoria. During her 64 year reign womens' dress styles changed every decade it seems. The above image quickly illustrates the differences in Victorian dress change, most notably the shape of the skirt. Towards the end of the Victorian era we enter into the style sometimes referred to as Gibson Girl fashion. (I'll do a post on that another day). The Edwardian Era followed the Victorian era during the reign of Prince Edward.


The dresses started off quite full with caged crinolines (1840s-1850s) and dresses were bell shaped, and towards the end of the Victorian era the dresses became more narrow with cuirasse bodices and bustles (1870s-1890s).


Victorian fashion plate dating from 1874


Victorian Afternoon dress c.1864 + Claude Monet's 'Women in the Garden' c. 1866

Image Credits: Silhouettes from Enchanted Serenity Period Films. All other images from Historical Fashion and F Yeah Victorians. Victorian afternoon dress via Defunct Fashion, Claude Monet 'Women in the Garden' from Musee d'Orsay via Historical Fashion

Additional Resources for Victorian Fashion:
Abiti Antichi - Brief History of Fashion (Italian site)
Early Victorian Fashion - Fashion-Era.com
Victorian Fashion - Wiki