Fleating Fashion - Eternal Style

Real Divas Have Style
By Alison E. Bruce

My mother had a Chanel suit. I was ten when she invested in it - and it was an investment. The classic lines of a Chanel suit have never gone out of fashion since Coco Chanel introduced it in the 1920s. Mum passed the suit on to me ten or so years later and it was neither worn out nor out of style. One of the reasons I loved it was that it was so comfortable.

Starting out in business in 1910, Chanel lead a fashion revolution away from the structured and confining gowns of the Edwardian era. The looser fit and straight lines of her suits and dresses, her use of costume jewellery and long ropes of beads, set the tone for the 1920s flappers.

This is when she introduced The Little Black Dress, the must have item in every sophisticated woman's wardrobe. Simple, elegant lines, light-weight fabric (Coco used jersey knits previously only used to make men's briefs), The Little Black Dress could go from day wear to evening wear with the addition of a few accessories.

In my teens I favoured another Coco Chanel creation: bell bottoms. I even had a navy pea jacket. Post World War II, Chanel adapted to women's couture these items that had previously only been worn by sailors.

Okay, bell-bottoms have gone in and out of fashion over the years, but the Chanel suit and The Little Black Dress have only changed superficially, not in substance.

That's Style.