Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 746.92092
EAN num: 9780300107135
ISBN number: 0300107137
Label: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Manufacturer: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 216
Printing Date: June 11, 2005
Publishing house: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Sale Popularity Level: 568229
Studio: Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Product Description:
This splendid book examines the legacy of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, one of the twentieth century's great icons of style. While Chanel mythologized her glamorous life through relentless self-invention, the bare facts of her biography are no less worthy than her legend: born of a poor family in the provinces and raised in a convent, she was an entertainer and the mistress of men of impeccable social standing, and she began her career not as a dressmaker but as a milliner.
Chanel's enduring influence is necessarily based on the long shadow cast over fashion by her maison couture. Chanel examines the history of the House of Chanel both thematically and chronologically, introducing ideas and elements of biography as they were expressed in her collections. Period examples are juxtaposed with the work of Karl Lagerfeld, who, beginning in 1983, just over ten years after Chanel's death, reinvented and revolutionized the House's identity. It is in Lagerfeld's masterful and often irreverent interpretations of Chanel's work, as well as his mixing of influences from high and low culture, that the historic importance of Chanel and the resonance of her image as the independent, elegant modern woman are both defined and reasserted for the contemporary world.
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Rated by buyers 
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I am a couturiére to follow my passion and, of course, I already own a bunch of "Mademoiselle Chanel" books. Let's say that I own a couple of meters of fashion monographies and that I love this one.
If you are interested in feeling the details of the artwork of both, Coco+Karl, you will get a number of details to learn about.
Even though it is supposed to be a catalogue, what it is, it can be in the handbook shelf of a loving seammistress.
On Chanel, at this price, you do not get more than the far feeling of her style.
The forewords cover quite well her meaning and her significancy.
As a gift it is quite showy also thanks for the transparent chemise.
it always depends on what you are looking for.
Rated by buyers -
This is a beautiful book and one you would love to have in your home. Of course, since I work for the company it is dear to me. I have given this book to three different people and they all have loved it. If you want to give something special to someone-- this is it.
Rated by buyers 
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I bought this book after seeing the Chanel exhibit at the Met. The pictures are nice, but I wish they showed more pictures of real people wearing clothes as opposed to the eccentric mannequins they used in the exhibit. A couple of blank pages here and there. I wish there was slightly more history behind the clothes. Still not a bad coffee table book on Chanel
Rated by buyers 
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I couldn't disagree more heartily with those who recommended this book as a "beautiful coffee table book." At this price and with this subject matter this could have been a truly amazing look at the history of the House of Chanel and it's transition from the early years of Coco to the present leadershiop of Karl Lagerfeld. The text is mediocre and the photos are terrible. The general visual quality of the book is absolutely reprehensible.The dresses are all reproduced in a poor quality "Liz Taylour in the White Diamonds commercial" fake fuzzy lens. There is not one really great photo of an actual garment in this entire book. As someone who saw the actual exhibit the book is based on, I feel the Metropolitan really missed on this one. The exhibit itself was magnificent, this poorly concieved book is a complete dud. Save your money for one of the many other books detailing the life and work of Coco Chanel.
Rated by buyers -
Well worth your money. Beautifully done. Not only is it a lovely coffee table book, it is a book you will look at many times.
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