Coco Chanel: Pearls, Perfume, and the Little Black Dress

(Hardback)

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Description

Award-winning author Susan Goldman Rubin introduces readers to the most well-known fashion designer in the world, Coco Chanel. Beginning with the difficult years Chanel spent in an orphanage, Goldman Rubin traces Coco's development as a designer and demonstrates how her determination to be independent helped her gain worldwide recognition. Coco Chanel focuses on the obstacles Chanel faced as a financially independent woman in an era when women were expected to marry; as well as her fierce competition with the Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli; and some of her most memorable firsts for the fashion industry, including the little black dress, the quilted purse with gold chain, and the perfume Chanel No. 5. The book includes a bibliography, a list of where to see her work, and an index.

Reviews

Well-designed biography of a fascinating woman. * School Library Connection *
A well-researched primer packed with details on a significant trailblazer. Give to readers interested in fashion, business, and history. * School Library Journal *
Rubin offers an honest account of Chanels success as a profoundly influential couturier. * The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books *
Rubins biography is clear-sighted about Chanels faults while extolling her fashion genius. Her source notes and bibliography are meticulous, as is the books design . . . This will attract young fashion mavens eager to learn about design history. * Booklist *
Rubin expertly chronicles Chanels life in this biography . . . Rubin captures the authenticity of Chanel alongside her psychological need to portray a luxurious lifestyle. * VOYA Magazine *

Author Bio

Susan Goldman Rubin is the author of many biographies for young people, including Diego Rivera: An Artist for the People and Hot Pink: The Life and Fashions of Elsa Schiaparelli. She lives in Malibu, California.