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Coco Chanel's Influence on Women's Rights

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Coco Chanel's Influence on Women's Rights
Table of Contents

Part A: Plan of Investigation................................................................................................1

Part B: Summary of Evidence..............................................................................................2

Part C: Evaluation of Sources..............................................................................................5

Part D: Analysis...................................................................................................................6

Part E: Conclusion…………………………………………………………………...……8

Part F: Sources ....................................................................................................................9

Appendix 1………………………………………………………………………………10

Appendix 1………………………………………………………………………………11

Part A: Plan of Investigation

Coco Chanel was not the typical feminist that campaigned for suffrage or sexual freedom, yet she had a profound impact on the European feminist movement by redefining the woman’s role in society through revolutionizing women’s fashion. Chanel was the first couture fashion designer to cater to the independent European woman, rejecting the corset and, instead, promoting less binding, “boyish” attire for the modern, working woman. To determine the extent to which Coco Chanel influenced the European feminist movement in the early twentieth century, this investigation will examine the ways in which Chanel’s unique designs such as the “Little Black Dress” and women’s trousers liberated European women and redefined their role in society.

Word Count: 112

Part B: Summary of Evidence

Born in 1883, in Saumur, France, to working class parents
Mother died when she was 12
Father sent his three daughters to a convent in Central France
Left at eighteen, to pursue a stage career. This is when she



Bibliography: Chaney, Lisa. Coco Chanel: an intimate life. New York: Viking, 2011. Print. "Coco Chanel Biography." Coco Chanel. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. . DeChagas, Bridget. "Coco Chanel: The Unlikely Fashion Icon." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. . "How Coco Chanel Broke the Rules." - The GROUND Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. . Nichols, Michelle. "Chanel advanced women 's rights, says actress Tautou." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 21 Sept. 2009. Web. 8 Mar. 2014. . Picardie, Justine. Coco Chanel: the legend and the life. New York: Itbooks :, 2010. Print. Roux, Edmonde. Chanel: her life, her world, and the woman behind the legend she herself created. New York: Knopf :, 1975. Print. "SEVEN WONDERS: HOW COCO CHANEL CHANGED THE COURSE OF WOMEN 'S FASHION - Wonderland Magazine." Wonderland Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. . Sischy, Ingrid. "The Designer COCO CHANEL." Time. Time Inc., 8 June 1998. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. .

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