5 Things You Can Thank Coco Chanel For (Including Her Awesome New Biopic)

Just try to imagine the world if Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel had never been born–you very well could be wearing a corset! After the jump, check out five seriously good reasons to thank heavens for the barrier-busting fashion babe.

1. Costume jewelry. Over the past two years, we’ve seen a serious resurgence of cheap and chic mega-jewels, from larger-than-life earrings to serious statement necklaces (even the first lady’s getting in on the action!). But the pioneer of all of that faux bling is, without a doubt, Coco Chanel. The designer, who was rarely seen without a heaping pile of pearls around her neck, designed costume jewelry made from chains, beads, and glass that was meant to be worn with her casual daytime sportswear as early as the 1930s. Her reasoning was that if women could buy jewelry that was more affordable than real gemstones, they could properly accessorize every outfit they had, rather than sticking with a few simple pieces. Truly a girl after my own heart–you guys know how I love options!

2. Pants. Yep, pants. It seems so simple now, doesn’t it? You get up, you take a shower, you “put on your pants one leg at a time, just like everybody else…” but 80 years ago, that was a concept reserved strictly for bearers of XY chromosomes. Then along came Chanel, who decided that women should enjoy the same freedoms as men, and that binding corsets and skirts were physically holding them back. “I gave women a sense of freedom,” she once said. “I gave them back their bodies: bodies that were drenched in sweat, due to fashion’s finery, lace, corsets, underclothes, padding.” When she decided there was no comfortable way to ride a horse while wearing a long skirt, she literally took the pants off a male rider and made them her own. And that, my dears, is what we call feminism.

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3. Elegance. Sure, elegance existed before Coco Chanel. But nobody did more to define it (and marry an aesthetic to it) quite like le grande dame of timeless style herself. “Simplicity is the keynote of all elegance,” the designer is quoted as saying, and many of the ideas that she pushed–luxurious fabrics with a perfect fit, a black and white palette, impeccably tailored jackets–are as relevant today as ever. Need more proof Coco was as classy as they come? When the Duke of Westminster asked for her hand in marriage, she turned him down, saying “There have been many Duchesses of Westminster. There is only one Chanel.”

4. The Little Black Dress. Is there a more necessary staple in your entire wardrobe than your LBD? Just think about it for a minute. You wear yours on hot dates. To dinner parties and cocktail fetes. Even when you’re a bridesmaid in a wedding. In fact, when I asked a few months back “If you could only wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it be?” oodles of your responded with an enthusiastic “LBD!” And guess who you have to thank for that? Yes dolls, another genius fashion invention attributed to Coco Chanel. She published a photo of a short black dress in a 1926 issue of Vogue, calling it “Chanel’s Ford,” because, like the Model T, it was simple and accessible for women of all social classes. It was meant to be versatile, affordable, accessible, and neutral, so it would appeal to the widest market possible. Vogue declared it would become “a sort of uniform for all women of taste.” Almost 85 years later, its power endures.

5. Coco Before Chanel. I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the new biopic about the designer (it’s out in limited release now, and making its way to more theaters soon), and dolls, I was speechless. It captures every bit of the whimsy, the brilliance, and the resolute devotion Coco Chanel had to redefining womanhood in the 20th century. Just try not to be blown away–and the costumes!? I didn’t need to wear a corset to feel like I was going to faint. Watch the preview now:

What did you think of this little Chanel history lesson, dolls? Did you learn anything new about the designer? Which of these things are you most thankful for? And have any of you seen Coco Before Chanel yet? Discuss!

PLUS…get even more of your Chanel fix now!

– A look back at celebs’ most memorable Chanel moments

– Inspiration of the day: style quotes from Coco Chanel

– Looking good, girl: Coco Chanel turns 125

– Loving her look: Keira Knightley in Chanel

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Photos: Getty Images; courtesy of Chanel