Coco Avant Chanel.

"A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life" -Coco Before Chanel

This movie poster is really anachronistic for the movie itself. They've given her a kind of bouffant and very heavy eye makeup, neither of which are accurate portrayals of the character or the time period. However, I see what they were going for. She was a badass, to put it simply.

I've been wanting to do a post on this movie for awhile and since I should be doing homework right now, it's perfect timing. In a word...amazing. But not for the typical reasons. It's not riveting, nor does it keep you on the edge of your seat, and it's really very long. But the woman it portrays is amazing. I know nothing about Coco Chanel. Or at least I didn't up until watching this movie, and I'm banking on the chance that it's fairly accurate. So for the rest of this post, we will assume that the movie was an accurate depiction of both the character and the events of her life. That being said, the woman was incredible. I was so excited to regale you all with quotes from the movie but IMDB, my go-to source for movie information, only has two quotes posted. Two. What. The eff. I should have written them down while I watched. Hindsight is 20/20. I'll try Google in a bit and see what I come up with. 

I thought I would start with the quote at the beginning of the post. While it wasn't her character who said it, I feel that it defines so much of who she was. It's no secret that women place a great deal of significance on their hair. It is at the core of femininity, and automatically associated with sensuality/sexuality. Many of us stake our identity on our hair. It defines so much about us: our style, our mannerisms, our attitude, our interactions. And it's no secret that long, full hair is the essence of womanhood. To cut it is to make a statement. Severing your hair is, in a way, severing a piece of yourself from that standard definition of what it is to be a woman. It's a denial of the stereotype. It can be edgy and daring. It's androgynous and at times empowering. But even though I see this act of defiance as bold and risky, I'm willing to admit that I am among those that associates short hair with a loss of femininity. A certain mystique is missing. I myself have short hair, so I don't feel too bad admitting this. And I originally cut my hair in search of a change and a redefinition of my identity. The cut served it's purpose and now I'm trying to grow my hair back out. You may have read in an earlier post my distress about the recent change in my hair texture. Before, my hair was long, thick, and so curly that it would wrap itself into dreads if I wasn't careful. It would regain its curl the moment I stepped out of the shower. Now it dries stick straight and I'm lucky if I can go a whole day before I feel like I need to wash it again. This isn't just perplexing or annoying. It's saddening. I didn't realize until now how much I let my hair define me. It might as well be completely shaved off, in my opinion, because without my crazy curls, I am without a large piece of who I am. But I am somewhat comforted by the woman that Coco Chanel was. In her time, it was standard for women to have long hair. And she did for awhile. But she was ahead of her time, and decided to chop it all off. She is portrayed as being a woman bent on simplicity in a time of lavish frills and loud frocks, every square inch of which was covered in ruffles and lace. She spends a good amount of her time in menswear/menswear inspired garb. And yet, she remains as feminine as they come. At one point in the movie (pre-haircut), her love (before he was her lover) says to her "you're elegant". That's all. The most perfect thing to say to a woman, especially one like her. He is passing her while she reads, says those two words to her, and leaves. I would love to be told that, especially if the speaker looks anything like this: 

Only imagine him with shorter hair and a small moustache.

Anyway, all of that to say that I was and am inspired by Coco Chanel and her amazing ability to exude femininity and what it is to be a woman, while rejecting the feminine standards of her generation. She never apologized for who she was or for her aesthetic. If any of you are looking for some inspiration, whether sartorial or otherwise, I highly suggest watching Coco Before Chanel. I plan on watching it again, and taking better notes this time.

-LG