The Chanel Sisters

The Chanel Sisters by Judithe Little    352 pages

I have to admit that I’ve never given any thought to whether or not fashion icon Coco Chanel had siblings.  It’s just not something I think about when it comes to icons and celebrities.  However, turns out that she had four---two sisters and two brothers. In birth order, they are Julia-Berthe, then Gabrielle (who became Coco), Alphonse, Antoinette and Lucien.  This story is narrated by Antoinette, about whom history knows little,

Their mother died from bronchitis, abandoned by their father and not wanted by any other family member, the girls were sent to a convent/orphanage.  When we first see them in 1897, they are practicing their sewing. In 1898, the girls had been at the convent for three years. It is then that they receive a visit from their grandmother and learn that they have an aunt, Adrienne, who is close to their ages.

After she leaves the convent when she becomes of age, Gabrielle is hired in specialty shop where lace and other fashionable trimmings are sold to the wealthy women.

Adrienne takes them under her wing and begins to guide them through Parisian society---from the bottom to the top. Silly behavior ensues, with the girls interest boys escalating. On Sundays, Gabrielle takes a job at a tailor’s shop in order to meet officers and other wealthy men. It becomes clear that this book is more about finding a man to appease their need for a father figure rather than the girls rise to fashionable society. 

Readers even learn how Gabrielle received her nickname, Coco. Coco wants to sing and dance, but she hasn’t much talent.  It’s when she decides to start creating hats that the world of fashion calls.  With her sister, Antoinette, they start making hats for the rich and famous that they once envied.

The book fictionally documents Coco’s rise to fame as a hat designer, her love life, her marriage to Boy Chapel, her move into clothing and ends as Antoinette wants to bring the Chanel brand to the United States.

“The Chanel Sisters” was a good read. On occasion it dragged. I enjoyed the second half much more than the first.  “The Chanel Sisters” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.