Today marks the 132nd birthday of Coco Chanel’s, the unofficial Queen of Style. Although she died more than four decades ago, the French designer’s influence over the way we dress is ongoing, so it was only fitting that we use today as an excuse to celebrate her style. Here, we collate her 10 best pieces of style advice, appropriate for any woman at any age. We recommend taking notes.
1. “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street; fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”
Chanel Haute Couture Autumn/Winter ’15
2. “Look for the woman in the dress. If there is no woman, there is no dress.”
3. “It is always better to be slightly underdressed.”
4. “Fashion is always of the time in which you live. It is not something standing alone. But the grand problem, the most important problem, is to rejeuvenate women. To make women look young. Then their outlook changes. They feel more joyous.”
5. “Fashion fades, only style remains the same.”
Chanel Haute Couture Autumn/Winter ’15
6. “Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.”
7. “Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance.”
8. “Fashion is made to become unfashionable.”
9. “Elegance does not consist of putting on a new dress.”
10. “The best colour in the whole world is the one that looks good on you.”
Chanel Haute Couture Autumn/Winter ’15
By Grace O’Neill. Images: Getty Images and Imaxtree
