Reading Reflection No. 1

     The person I decided to read about is known world-round. Her name was Coco Chanel and she became an unexpected success story. Before reading this book, I apparently knew nothing about her. In fact, her name isn't even Coco. It's Gabriel. Since I was totally unaware of her story and background, many things about her surprised me.
     To start, she was born into an impoverished family, with a father who was always moving around and uninterested in his family, and later spent her youth in a convent. This was not the beginning I would have expected to read about from the perception I have of Chanel, as it is today. Although the brand Chanel is synonymous with class and elegance, Gabriel herself was born into a very low class family, and took "less than lady-like" actions to get her to where she was successful. She was a woman who let nothing stop her from getting what she wanted and what she knew she was capable of doing. A strong-willed, intelligent woman is unstoppable and this is probably what I most admire about her. She started to learn her strengths and was able to position herself for success. She knew how to manipulate men and whether on purpose or not, was able to exploit them and help use their money to fund her shops. Perhaps this would be the least respectable part about her.
     To say that Gabrielle encountered adversity is an understatement. From the minute she was born, she was at a disadvantage. From her family being broken, her mother dying at a young age, and her father and extended family abandoning her and her siblings, she was destined for failure. When she was finally old enough to be out on her own, failure again in reaching the peak of her acting career. She wouldn't let her story end there though. When she ran into a wall, she found a way to walk around it. When one city failed her, she'd pack up and try the next (possibly residual influence from her nomadic childhood). When she learned she was mismanaging her business and lack of profits, she redirected herself, focused on what was most important, and made it happen.
     In the fashion industry, it is your job to influence people and their buying habits. Trends don't come out of thin air. Someone has to create it. She was able to do just that. She created an empire out of a single couture shop, which almost failed altogether. She was a very competent and influential salesperson. Trend setter. And business women. She knew how to market herself and her brand, and made it into the most coveted fashion trend of the century and beyond.
     The part of the reading that was most confusing to me is that she seems to have a large blindspot in her past. So many people knew her and had some sort of relation with her, but it is as if she convinced them all to not divulge certain details of her past. Many books have been written on her, and this one is probably the closest to exposing those hidden years, but still so many stay hush-hush about their relations with her. I wonder what could be so bad, or so unacceptable, especially in today's terms when we accept just about everything!
     I would like to as her if she could start it all over again, does she think she could do it all on her own without financial help from her suitors. If I have learned anything about her, I'm sure her proud answer would be that she could do it all again and on her own. And I want to know (again) about those mystery years in her early career. There was some speculation in the book, but many details couldn't be verified.
     Where hard work is concerned, I don't think there is any question. Gabriel accomplished so much and for coming from so little. Her opinion would of course be that it is necessary in order to get what you want. You can't sit around and hope things just happen. You have to push for it. I think she and I have a similar view on hard work, but might differ in where our boundaries lie.