The Iconic Chanel Jacket

Oh dear, you readers have been conned by me (which I hadn't originally intended or deliberated): The sneaky peek photo above was a snap taken from the CHANEL Collections and Creations book by Danielle Bott which I have read from cover to cover countless of times. It is a photo of Vanessa Paradis in a Chanel suit created in 1960 which was taken for the cover of Marie-Claire magazine in the anniversary issue, October 2004.

I just played it around and decorated her with some Chanel related accessories just for fun.

  

 (Above): A 14 year old vintage peach boucle/tweed Chanel Jacket which hangs perfectly in my wardrobe.

Awhile ago, in the dinosaur years, I wrote about My Jacket Collections. However, I think the Chanel iconic jacket totally deserves a stand alone post. Any Chanel jacket or suit is ageless or should I say actually ages with grace, be it 10, 20, 50 years old: It stays timeless and is "a classic symbol of French elegance" as Danielle Bott described it. I am sure majority of fashionista would agree with her statement.  Every Chanel jacket or suit is made with according to one simple rule that is: A fitted cut that articulates at exact places to allow flexibility and comfort to the wearer without compromising elegance. It was and is still is a work of perfection.                                           

   

                   

                 

This is a well cut double breasted jacket with quadruple pockets, made from boucle/tweed. Coco Chanel was particularly fond of the tweed due to the suppleness of the fabric. Infact, all suit and jackets are characteristically lined with monogram CC silk lining to allow the jacket to glide smoothly along with movement. 

Above- inner beauty of silk monogram lining with the CC initials.

Above- Another signature detail often seen on a Chanel jacket are the woven tweed trimmings outlining the jacket, particularly the hand cuffs and the pockets.

Yet another signature to all Chanel suit and jackets are the gold chains sewn into the hem with the aim of weighing the jacket down and allowing it to hang straight. This is a real sign of fine couture and craftsmanship and it is exactly how Coco Chanel made the iconic apparel beautiful inside out.

 According to Chanel, button were not just merely buttons. They were designed to resemble jewellery serving to decorate the clothings. Often they are designed with some of her favourite symbol icons, namely the double CC, four-leaf clover, star, chains and ears of wheat. 

 Above- Ear of wheat, small chains and the clover leaf buttons. Below- variation of the double CC buttons. 

And of course, not to be forgotten the Lion Head which is one of her favourite symbols as it represents her birth star sign, Leo.

It doesn't just end here. Over the years, her successor, Karl Lagerfeld added a further touch of playfulness to these small accessories, bringing in more House Symbols such as the camellias, bottles of Chanel No.5, Chanel iconic jacket and even Mademoiselle's profile (all shown above).

I truly believe that Coco Chanel was a modern day woman who lived well ahead of the times. She had a modern vision of what women want and would dream of..... If only I could age with the time as gracefully as her creations did. 

Outfit:

Vintage peach boucle/tweed Chanel Jacket

Mixed selection of pearls

Vintage Chanel bag with multi gold chains and Chanel gold camellia

Chanel CC pearl drop earrings

Beige Chanel esque mini dress   

Constipated Mind

This is the face of a constipated mind!

To my dearest readers,

I thought it would be fair to explain the Pug Squeezer's recent disappearance from the cyber world. The pug squeezer is currently in a concentration camp, somewhere in Oxford (a place in England, well renowned for smarty pants) trying to increase its knowledge in medicine and pathology and what not. I know that there has been a lack of post (sorry to those that have been checking this page in an OCD* manner and have been disappointed by the lack of new posts). One have to say that the dog's and the dog's squeezer's real life will have to take precedence...

*OCD = Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Bless those of you that have been flooding lovely comments in the inbox messages.  Pug squeezer is extremely touched by the supportive and complimentary comments, although she is so constipated in her mind and is finding it hard to reply to individual messages. Although, Pug squeezer will be channeling all her mind energy on work-related stuff at the moment, FEAR NOT, there will be a come back and she hopes to share a post on her personal take on The iconic Chanel Jacket.....in a fortnights' time....(that is if she survives the concentration camp)

Alright, Just a little peak....

Lots of  XOXO,

Squeeze The Pug

Precious Memoirs

My late grandmother

This is my late grandmother who possibly in her 60s at that time of the snap (according to my mother). My grandmother was an elegant woman who took pride in the way she dressed, although I'm not sure if in those days one would use the term "fashionable" at all. In particular, she had an eye for fine jewellery and was an avid collector of such. These were subsequently handed down to the next generations as heirlooms. Contrary to the usual Chinese customs where only the male inherits, she held strongly to the belief that women should have an equal standing. That's also probably why my mother insisted that a woman should keep their maiden name (upon marriage) or their professional title as a sign of keeping one's individuality or identity.

Above- Deep sea pearls from Japan, strung perfectly as a necklace which was a gift from my father to my mother.

Despite portraying herself as a strong woman, Grandma was quite a sentimental person. Although she had passed on way before I had turned 21, she had entrusted my mother to keepsake a gold key pendant engraved "21st" and to hand it to me as a gift upon turning 21.  Nearly 10 years on, and I am now almost approaching 30 and she still clearly had remembered. To celebrate my upcoming 30th milestone, my mother had recently handed to me a few beautiful pieces, each with a story behind, to remember my grandmother by...

Above- Rare coloured-jade in a pretty floral bracelet set in gold. Semi precious gem rings set in white gold.

She had a particular liking to jades, from the common green to the very rare coloured oriental gem. On many occasions, she would just purchase the stone separately and find a fine jeweller to design and set it into a beautiful piece of accessory. 

Above- Gold bracelet adorned with diamonds in a floral pattern with matching earring.

This particular set was my mother's treasured favourite. It was originally a gift from my grandfather to my grandmother and was subsequently given to my mother.  Tragically, my mother had accidentally lost one side of the earring. From that day, she never wore the set again. Initially, I was contemplating at converting remaining earring into a pendant but my mum prefers for me to convert it into a ring instead. She is probably right!

Last but definitely not the least: Colour Change Sapphire set in white gold. This will be my favourite. I had seen this as a child and even at a young age, I thought that it looked very pretty. I only recently found out that this is indeed a rare variety of sapphire which exhibits different colour according to different shades of light.  

Under outdoor day light, it gives a blue purple hue but under incandescent indoor light, it uniquely turns into a reddish purple. Colour change sapphire is rare but I would say an entirely appropriate piece to best describe my grandma: Extraordinary, Unique and certainly Not Common (not at least in my world)...and that is the story I will be handing down to the next generation.

Yes, I collect boxes and I am trying my best to defy gravity....