Reading Reflection #3

The book I read was Coco Chanel by Lisa Chaney.

• What surprised you the most? 
• What surprised me the most was that after Chanel's first love of her life "Boy" passed away, her next lover was actually supposed to be an heir to a Russian throne (but he was exiled). I only knew past information about Coco Chanel's fashion views, I had no idea she dealt with such heartbreak and was involved with such interesting men.

• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
• I admired how self-raised and self-driven she was. Her dad wasn't in the picture much growing up and her mother died when she was around ten or eleven, so from that point on Coco Chanel made her own dreams come true through perseverance. She was taught to sew by nuns and grew her skillset from those available to her and her own drive.

  What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? 
  
• 
  

  The book mentioned certain drug habits that Coco Chanel had during her lifetime, which I don't support or admire. The book also discussed how she dated powerful men with a lot of money (after Boy died in the car crash), despite some of them not treating her well. These are the two things I would have to say I least admire about Coco Chanel. 

  Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? 

   

• Definitely. From a young age growing up without a present dad and losing her mom early on, Coco Chanel was forced to encounter adversity. She was born with big visions but very little money and did not have many things going in her favor. She also lived during a wartime in Europe; both WWI and WWII were big events going on during this time and discussed throughout the book. Ultimately, Chanel had a terrible childhood but grew from it and managed to meet the right people, build a life for herself, and create an empire.
• What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
• 
  

  From the start, Chanel was a wonderful and smart businesswoman. Even if she did not start with a lot of her own funds, she knew how to skillfully use the money of those she surrounded herself with (like the powerful men) to make her dreams come to life regardless. Her designs and ideas were also very simple, practical, and classy. She stayed focused on her own values and the style that she truly wanted to create, and was confident that she had great taste. She knew she had the proper skills and trusted herself that she would get there.

  Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
  

   Because the book was written through the author's own research on Chanel, some parts were contradictory. Chanel herself didn't leave behind written diaries or notes, so the things that are known about her were found out through others that wrote about her. Sometimes she was documented saying one thing and the next day, something opposite. These parts of the reading could be confusing because I wasn't really sure what to believe and what was 'true'.

   If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask?
  
• 
  

  What was the first fashion idea you ever came up with?

  
  

  I would truly just be fascinated to know this.

  
  

  Could you ever see yourself being involved with something other than the fashion and beauty industry, or is it just your calling? 

  
  

   

  
  
• For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work?
• 
  

  I would think that Chanel's opinion of hard work was that it is necessary and must be done, but you can also make certain things easier for yourself through connections and the right planning. Although Chanel faced a lot of adversity and put in countless years of hard work on her own, she also had several successful lovers that helped her along the way. The author even alluded to how many women paired up with German soldiers during wartime, because it was what "girls had to do".