Dressful

Emilio Pucci dress, 1968

Back in March I visited the Diana Vreeland After Diana Vreeland exhibition at Museo Fortuny in Venice, Italy. It was the day after the opening that was accompanied by an international symposium on Diana Vreeland, bringing to Venice notable scholars, curators and other fashion people I felt I should have recognized in the small, shaded streets surrounding the museum. When I saw a lady wearing a fabulous bright patchwork coat, I just knew she was not around by coincidence.

The exhibition, dedicated to Vreeland's life and work as fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar and editor-in-chief of Vogue, displays a selection of magazines and dresses by Yves Saint Laurent, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Emilio Pucci, Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, Missoni and Ballets Russes costumes that Vreeland had collected. (Unfortunately they didn't let me take any more photos than the one above)

While I was tickled pink to share space with dresses by some of the best fashion designers of the 20th century at least for half an hour, the exhibition awoke a curiosity for Diana Vreeland's life beyond what you can read in encyclopedias and I longed for more biographical details. It mostly focuses on the philosophy and feeling of Vreeland: how she thought, how she worked, what she liked. Then again, fashion is never about revealing too much. Vreeland herself was the master of that.

The exhibition runs until June 25, 2012. Palazzo Fortuny, Venice, Italy.

I picked up Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life by Justine Picardie in Paris during fashion week after the secluded Chanel store at Place Vendôme instilled me with a nagging feeling that I dared tread the holy soil without having done my homework.

Before Paris, it was New York where years of fascination with the house of Chanel culminated in my first major Chanel purchase. When you want to absorb the essence of the brand, I believe it is necessary to feel the garments, merge with them and most importantly make them your own (I would never understand the brilliant structure of Chanel jackets without wearing one; just reading about clever tailoring doesn't give you a genuine idea). Yet you can also do this with complete disregard of what I call "homework" – learning about the history and principles behind the garments.

In October, I realized that like most fashion lovers (I prefer to think of myself as "fashion lover" instead of "fashion person"; it's more romantic. Besides, "fashion people" are a group, not individualized, and I like to think of fashion as the one place where you're still encouraged to stand out), I have soaked up a myriad of Chanel myths and legends, so it was time to start discovering facts behind them.

At the very beginning of Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life, Picardie acknowledges that due to Mademoiselle Chanel giving different recollections of the same events to different people throughout her life – often getting entangled in the labyrinthine web of what was and what could (not) have been – it is impossible to reconstruct her life story with one hundred percent accuracy.

The beauty of this Chanel biography is that Picardie has collected these conflicting stories and presented all of them with equal importance – rightfully so, as the only person who really knew what had happened in her life was Chanel herself.

While the book suggests that trying to dissect the myth of Chanel only leads to more mystery, Picardie has done an awe-inspiring research, traveling to places from Chanel's youth and linking pieces of her past with her later work (she writes about how Chanel's stay at Aubazine monastery when she was 18 influenced her design aesthetic, the double C logo, her use of number 5 …).

I have read many biographies, but this is the one where the author displays the most profound connection with her subject. How much closer to Chanel can you get?

P.S. Justine Picardie also writes a wonderful blog.

Stella Tennant in Chanel

Just as everyone wants to be French or British at some point in their lives, every fashionista is fascinated by Chanel. The tweed jacket, the Chanel 2.55, the cap-toe pumps, Chanel no. 5.  So many Tumblr photos reblogged thousands of times, so many Christmas presents, so many unfulfilled wish lists. The only explanation I have is that we all grew up with the enigma of Coco. I also suppose she has remained the epitome of elegance, albeit a bit rebellious (her contribution to fashion was revolutionary - she was one of the first to introduce modern, practical clothing).

I think a (fashion) brand is successful once it convinces its (potential) customers that it alone can give them style and class. Coincidentally, this is probably the biggest fashion illusion. For brands, one of the most important things is to have such respect and loyalty. Chanel is a prime example of this because its famous pieces suit most women. They are tried and true, they will never stick out in a negative way, you think you can't go wrong if you wear something Chanel. In a way, it's the easiest of choices. Isn't this exactly what Coco wanted?

Elsa Schiaparelli designs, 1934

I've always admired Elsa Schiaparelli's ability to transform the quotidian into the quirky. Looking at her designs in the time of Lady Gaga and the ever-present need to shock and be shocked, they might not seem as off the hook as they once had, but they definitely haven't lost their charm.

Lobster phone: Collaboration with Salvador Dalí, 1937

For those unfamiliar with Schiaparelli, she's best described as the surrealist Coco Chanel. The two were actually rivals in Paris, although the social circles they moved in (and even their work - Chanel was minimalist, Schiaparelli flamboyant) couldn't have been more different.

The first photo found me amidst a stream of thoughts (actually laments) on how it's damn near impossible to look like a stylish individual in cold and soaking weather. In winter I'm usually shooting for outfits similar to the ladies' above (i.e. as much non-robust coats and footwear as possible). Most of the time they don't work in practice because in this city dry winter is a very abstract concept.

Should you want to spice up the dreary winter, however, another Schiaparelli idea comes in handy: ornamented buttons. Underrated much?