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What outfit do ordinary people associate with the Chanel brand, except for the little black dress? Most will answer that this is a stylish tweed jacket. In this material we will tell you the history of the Coco Chanel fashion house and the history of the creation of one of the iconic items in her collection. Traditionally, at the end of the material you will find a pattern and a step-by-step master class on knitting a jacket in the Chanel style.
The history of Coco Chanel: not only the little black dress
Nowadays, few people remember that the origins of the Chanel fashion house were a small hat workshop, led by the young and enterprising Gabrielle Chanel. In the house where the hat shop was opened, there would already be one clothing store, so according to the rules of that time, Chanel could not go beyond her narrow specialization for a long time. But her hats began to be in demand among the Parisian elite - and she achieved the support of noble people.Three years later, Chanel already had her own clothing store, which was positioned as a sports (!) clothing store for active ladies. Chanel's restrained outfits were so out of step with their era, with lush lace outfits with bustle corsets, that they were considered sporty at that time. Chanel insisted that women's clothing should first and foremost be comfortable. And her approach was appreciated and accepted by many, because in 1915 Chanel opened a second store opposite the Ritz in Paris. By the 1920s, Chanel suits had become the new uniform. In the 1920s, the famous Chanel-style jacket appeared, and in 1926, the legendary black dress. In the 1930s, the Chanel fashion house found another niche - jewelry and perfumes, and began to concentrate on these two niches. In the 1940s, Coco Chanel took a long sabbatical - and returned to the field in triumph in 1957. Then, until her last days, Chanel concentrated on clothing design, however, not forgetting about other areas.
The history of a knitted jacket in the Chanel style
The history of the creation of the iconic Chanel-style jacket begins in the 1920s. According to one version, the iconic jacket appeared thanks to the Duke of Westminster, Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, who loved to wear tweed jackets. During their romance, Coco Chanel often borrowed her lover's jacket to wear with blouses. If before this tweed was predominantly a fabric for men's suits, then after the start of the relationship between the Duke and Coco Chanel, a collection of women's clothing made from this dense and textured material appeared. Chanel made the fabric more flexible and expanded the color palette.According to the designer himself, it was she who encouraged the Scots to create lightweight tweed. In the mid-1920s, the first collections with women's jackets in the Chanel style began to appear. These debut products were fitted, and much later, in the 1950s, the fashion for Chanel-style jackets with a straight cut would come. Then these models were worn by Romy Schneider, the first beauty of Hollywood and the future princess Grace Kelly and the first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. And the lady who created the legendary black dress always wore straight-cut tweed jackets.
The next rise of Chanel-style jackets came in 1983, when Karl Lagerfeld became the head of the Chanel fashion house. Thanks to him, fashionistas were able to “untie” the jacket from the suit and wear it with jeans and tops. Almost every subsequent collection featured iconic jackets with modified fittings, decor, length or cut. It is not known for certain whether this was done deliberately in memory of the creator of the jackets or whether Karl Lagerfeld himself was partial to this type of product. And the second option is quite possible, since the designer himself admitted that there are three things that will not go out of trend for a very long time: “jeans, a white shirt and a Chanel jacket.”
After the Kaiser left, the fashion house was headed by his right hand Virginie Viard, who moved away from the conservative tradition of Lagerfeld and allowed herself to experiment with the length of the jacket and its colors. Today, a Chanel-style jacket can be universal: you can wear a classic monochrome one with a medium length and a straight cut to the office, and a bold cropped jacket with colored lapels for dinner with friends.
Jacket in Chanel style in 2021
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This season, almost all luxury brands remembered the Chanel-style jacket. Dozens of fashion houses have decided to add classic options to their collections. Moreover, the styles of the jackets themselves have not undergone any changes, but the combination options have moved to a new level: now, with the light hand of Celine designers, a Chanel-style jacket can be worn not only with classic trousers and skirts, but also with jeans. This season, the flagship of the world-famous French style has become even more daring. A more conservative option is preferred by representatives of the Saint Laurent fashion house, who recalled the jacket and skirt suit in the style of the 1960s. But unlike the prim version of the previous Chanel-style suit, the 2021 skirt has become almost half as long and the elongated jacket barely covers the hem.
What you need to knit a Chanel jacket with your own hands
Several skeins of thread in the desired color. It is advisable to use natural threads with a minimal admixture of synthetics, since in this case it is the quality of the raw materials that largely determines how the finished jacket will look. If this is your first knitted project, it is best to use a solid color yarn.
- Knitting needles No. 5. As an alternative, you can use ring iron knitting needles.
- Sewing supplies and everything you need for decoration.
- Three buttons.
Step-by-step progress of work on a jacket in the Chanel style
In total, the Chanel-style jacket has five parts: a back, two fronts and sleeves. Each fragment is knitted separately, the length of the product is adjusted by the craftswoman herself: if you stick to the classic version of the jacket, then its length should be slightly above the hip line. The diagram proposed in this material shows a Chanel-style jacket with a straight cut and a round collar.If time and qualifications allow, you can add decor in the form of imitation pockets (or make real pockets).
- Knit the back, two shelves and sleeves with a “fantasy” pattern. It is best to start with the front and finish with the sleeves. The difference between a Chanel-style jacket and other jackets is that the sleeve width is the same along its entire length.
- When all the parts are ready, connect the back and two shelves from the wrong side.
- Afterwards, carefully sew in the sleeves.
- The finished product should be washed and allowed to dry.
- Steam the finished jacket in Chanel style.
- Finish the side seams if necessary.
- Sew on the buttons.
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