彭蒙惠英语：Coco Chanel: Number One（在线收听） |
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Coco Chanel: Number One By Dorothy Rompalske / This article was published originally in Biography Magazine. © 1998. A&E Television Networks. All rights reserved. How Coco Chanel invented herself and reinvented fashion. 1 The shoulder bag, the cardigan, costume jewelry, the little black dress; all are such basic elements in the modern woman’s wardrobe that it’s hard to believe they were the innovations of a single fashion designer, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. Though she’s remembered today primarily for the quilted bags, boxy knit suits, and exquisite perfumes that bear her distinctive interlocking “C” logo, Chanel’s influence reached far beyond her role as purveyor of luxury goods for the rich. By transforming the fabrics, cuts and practical designs of menswear into sporty ensembles for the free-spirited flapper of the teens and twenties, Coco Chanel revolutionized fashion. Her clothes liberated women from the constricting corsets and tight skirts of the Edwardian Era. Chanel’s beginnings Jeanne Gabrielle Chanel was born on August 19, 1883. When her mother died in 1895, and her father left, Gabrielle ended up living as a charity ward in Catholic convents where the nuns did her a tremendous service—they taught her how to sew. By age 20, the young woman had found work as a seamstress, sewing military uniforms for soldiers. But it was after working hours, while accompanying officers to local nightclubs, that Chanel found a more exciting calling. The petite charmer decided to become a chanteuse. Her big number, “Who’s Seen Coco in the Trocadero?” was performed with enough style to make up for her lack of talent, winning Chanel both her nickname—Coco—and her first rich admirer, Etienne Balsan. With Balsan’s help, Chanel moved to Paris and in 1909 opened her first business, a millinery shop specializing in sleek, streamlined hats that were the complete opposite of the oversized, elaborate headdresses then in vogue. Her instinct was dead-on. Parisian ladies were ready for a change and Chanel’s hats were an instant success.
Vocabulary Focus purveyor (n) [pE5veiE(r)] a business or person that provides goods or services ward (n) [wC:d] a person, especially a child, who is legally put under the protection of a court of law or a guardian vogue (n) [vEu^] a fashion or general liking, especially a temporary one dead-on (adj) [5ded5Cn] exactly right Specialized Terms cardigan (n) 针织毛衣外套 a knitted sweater or jacket that fastens at the front with buttons or a zipper, and is usually worn over other clothes flapper (n) 20世纪20年代时髦独立的年轻女郎 a fashionable young woman in the 1920s, especially one showing independent behavior corset (n) 紧身束腰内衣(马甲) a tight piece of underwear worn on the middle part of a woman’s body to make her waist appear smaller, especially popular in the past chanteuse (n) 女歌手 a female singer, especially one who sings on the stage in a theater or bar millinery (n) 女帽，女帽店 hats and other goods sold at a women’s hat shop
香奈儿独领风骚 可可·香奈儿如何创造自己与再造时尚 许美鸾 译 1 肩背式包包、毛衣外套、时尚珠宝配饰、黑色小洋装，这些都是现代女性衣柜里的基本元素，很难相信它们都是单独一位时装设计师加布里埃勒·“可可”·香奈儿的创新作品。虽然今日大家对香奈儿主要的记忆是拼布包包、格子针织套装以及附有她独特互扣双“C”标志的高级香水，她的影响力已远超过富人奢华品供货商的角色。通过把男装布料、剪裁和实用设计转型成为10几20余岁年轻女子的休闲组合装，可可·香奈儿革新了时尚。她的服装把妇女从爱德华时代压抑的紧身衣裙中解放出来。 早期的香奈儿 珍妮·加布里埃勒·香奈儿生于1883年8月19日。她的母亲于1895年去世，父亲随后离家。加布里埃勒被天主教修道院所收容，那儿的修女们给了她一个最大的帮助——她们教她缝纫。 20岁时，这个年轻女子已经找到了一个裁缝师的工作，为军人缝制制服。但是下班后，陪着军官到当地的夜总会时，香奈儿发现了更令人兴奋的呼唤。这个娇小迷人的女子决定当个歌手。她的招牌曲“谁在查卡德侯看到可可?”表演时架势十足，弥补了她天分的不足，为香奈儿赢得昵称——可可——以及她的第一位富有的仰慕者艾提恩·巴桑。 经由巴桑的帮助，香奈儿搬到巴黎，并在1909年开了她的第一家店—— 一家女帽店，专门销售与当时所流行的尺寸超大、样式复杂的帽饰完全相反的简洁、线条利落的帽子。她的直觉完全正确。巴黎女士们正期待改变，因而香奈儿的帽子一炮走红。 |
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