Two words: Simple Elegance. Coco Chanel was the epitome of a classic woman.

With an eye for timeless design, her work continues to be revered some 40 years after her death.

She was born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel in August 1883 in Saumur, France. Her name would become synonymous with style and sophistication, but her early years were anything but. Her mother’s untimely death lead to her father, a street peddler, placing her along with her two sisters in an orphanage. It was there she learned to sew, a skill that would eventually lead to her life’s work.

Upon leaving the orphanage she didn’t immediately embrace fashion. She started out as a singer, performing in cabaret clubs in Vichy and Moulins. It was there she was given the name “Coco”. But singing was a short-lived career choice, for in 1910 she opened her first hat shop on Paris’ Rue Cambon. From there her business would expand to multiple shops, a signature clothing line and her legendary perfume Chanel No 5 – the first to feature a designer’s name on the label.

The 1920’s was a thriving time for Coco’s empire. Her most notable designs – the Chanel suit and the little black dress – revolutionized the way women dressed. No longer were they bound by corsets or clothing that was for the most part uncomfortable. Instead they embraced style that flattered a woman’s natural figure, allowing her to be in Coco’s words “who and what she wants”.

It’s her bold spirit that we love so much, and that’s why we’ve placed her on our list of Women Who Dared. Coco Chanel was a woman who knew her own mind. She wasn’t bound by fashion trends, but she most assuredly was a trendsetter – encouraging women to be the architect of their own lives. Through her style and words of wisdom she challenged us to stand up to the status quo, and be our own woman.

Here are 9 Coco quotes that dare you to do you!

1. The most courageous act is to think for yourself. Aloud.
2. A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.
3. How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.
4. You can be gorgeous at thirty, charming at forty and irresistible for the rest of your life.
5. Elegance is not the prerogative of those who have just escaped from adolescence, but of those who have already taken possession of their future.
6. In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.
7. Since everything is in our heads, we had better not lose them!
8. Don’t spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.
9. Success is most often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.

Will you join Coco in shouting I Dare to Be Me?

Drop us a line with your favorite Coco Chanel quote, and be sure to share her inspiring story with friends. Use the buttons below and tag your post #Dare2BMe.

Hugs and Blessings ❤