Ladies Home Journal, October:

As a Chanel fan for as long as I can remember, I added a special piece to my collection a few years ago.  It was a Ladies Home Journal from October of 1963.  And one of the headlines on the front cover read: Behind the Scenes with the Fabulous Coco Chanel.

Almost incomprehensible to me was the fact that this was coverage of Coco during her actual lifetime and the cover price for the magazine…..35 cents.  Needless to say, I paid a bit more. 

The price was well worth it.  Up until I found this magazine, it seemed everything I read about Chanel was written by others, after her death.

Many times I’ve paged back through the magazine to read tidbits and enjoy Chanel’s words.  One of Chanel’s quotes from the article is, “Fashion isn’t design;  it is architecture.”  She was describing the fact that she created three dimensional fashion and therefore needed to have her hands in the materials in order to create.

Not one to sit on the sidelines, Coco Chanel worked for years while battling the ravishing effects of rheumatism and arthritis.  The article described her fierce work ethic.  She sometimes worked up to 12 or 13 hours a day through her pain.

As if I didn’t already have oodles of respect for this fashion icon, the LHJ article made me admire her even more!

The photo above is of Romy Schneider, wearing one of Chanel’s blond coats.  The photos below are of Coco Chanel at work.  All photos are from Ladies Home Journal, Oct 1963.  Please forgive the fact they’re a bit crooked as it’s difficult to scan in an over-sized 45-year-old magazine while keeping it in one piece.