People with willpower...

I have been thinking lately about all those famous people who really pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps and became successful through blood, sweat, and tears.  One of my favorite books is Me by Katharine Hepburn.  

She was a woman who when she failed she just got right back up and tried again.  People told her that she was not good enough and that she would never make it, but look how she did.  She is world famous and is recognized as one of the best actresses to ever live.

Another woman who comes to mind is Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel.  Most people know her as simply Coco Chanel, the French fashion designer.  She started with absolutely nothing.  When she was twelve, her mother died and her father left her in the care of nuns and then never returned.  When she was eighteen, she started working, first as a singer and then as a seamstress.  She started designing hats as a hobby, but then turned it into a full-time business.  After that, she added clothing and perfume.  Although her personal life had some flaws and hardships, she still created an empire and thriving business from nothing.  

In a way, Coco Chanel revolutionized the fashion industry in the first part of the 20th century, because she realized that women were being forced to wear clothing that was highly restricting, uncomfortable, and impractical.  She wanted to make clothing that was stylish, classy, and still practical, with many of her designs inspired by men's wear.  During World War II, she realized that women were working in jobs that had been previously filled by men and the wealthy women no longer had women to help them get dressed.  So she began catering to the needs of the time, by making clothing that was easier to put on and also more comfortable for working long hours in factories and on assembly lines, but still fashionable and classy.  When the love of her life, Captain Arthur Edward 'Boy' Capel died in a car accident in 1919, she catered to that need by creating a simple black dress for herself, that could be worn every day.  Little did she know at the time, that this dress would become famous and be known simply as her 'Little Black Dress'.  

When I read about all the principals that Coco Chanel stood for, it saddens me a bit to see what has become of Chanel now.  I often look at the pictures from the Chanel runway shows today and can imagine that Coco Chanel would be rolling over in her grave if she knew what the models are wearing.  I see the models squeezed into these monstrosities that look far from comfortable or practice.  Coco Chanel designed clothing for women to wear in every day life, but I do not even know when women would wear what they show on the runways and catwalks.

Here are some photographs from the 2011 Chanel runway shows:

Chanel Ready To Wear Spring/Summer 2011, Paris Fashion Week

 

Chanel Ready To Wear Spring/Summer 2011

Chanel Autumn/Winter 2011

While I still love many of the collections that Chanel has put out, when I see dresses like the one above, I wish that Coco Chanel were still alive to tell them that a dress like that would be impossible to walk in.  I guess no good thing lasts forever...

"In love in Paris"

In the past few days, the City of Light, Paris, has been on my mind.  It is probably my favorite city in the world.  I have gone there twice now, for about 4 days the first time and then last spring for two weeks.  It has totally stolen my heart.  I love it.  It something I can hardly describe.  I don't love it for the romance, or for the Eiffel Tower, or for the bakeries, or for the wine.  I love it for all that it is.  I love the Parisians sitting every evening by the Seine with a bottle of red and a baguette, the view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe, 
Ladurée and their amazing macaroons, and every other thing that makes up that famous city.  

        So many people say they love Paris but half of them have never even been there.  Others who have been there say they hate it because the people are "rude".  French people and Parisians in particular have gotten this reputation from Americans.  But I have learned something very important during my last year in Europe, and that is that Americans are the exception to the rule.  Americans who have just lived in the U.S. their whole lives think that everyone in the world is as open and overly friendly.  But that is not the case.  Many cultures, including the German and French cultures, just are not that way.  They are not "bad" or "rude" people in general, but simply have a different way of interacting with others.  This becomes even more obvious when they are dealing with strangers or people who do not speak their native tongue.  So I believe that we as Americans need to pause and remember to not think that our own culture is the "right" one, and any other culture that is different than ours is "weird" or "rude". 

     Ok, I officially got a bit off topic there for a sec...  To sum up, if you fall in the overly romantic idea of Paris category, get your head out of the clouds, and love the city for what it really it, not for what it supposedly is.  And if you fall in the bias idea of Paris category, open your eyes, and take a minute to appreciate another, extremely diverse culture.   

    Right now, Im already thinking about Christmas, and since I won't have my family around me, I am wishing I could go somewhere for Christmas.  And since I love Paris so much, I'm dreaming of a train ride there Christmas Eve for a hot cup of coffee in a cafe while looking out at the snowy streets of the city I love.

One last thing... Did you know that Paris is not called the City of Light for all the sparkling lights on the Eiffel Tower?  Yeah, it was called that for all of the brilliant minds who have lived there, such as Claude Monet, Claude Debussy, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (we all know what he's famous for), and my personal favorite, Coco Chanel.