Mademoiselle Coco Chanel and the pulse of history. Rhonda Garelick. 2014.

Little black dresses. Faux pearls. Jersey knits. Skirt suits. Trousers. For over a century and counting, we all continue  to see some version of Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel in nearly every woman we pass on the street. But few among us realise that Chanel’s role in the events of the twentieth century was as pervasive as her influence on fashion, or how deeply she absorbed and then brilliantly reimagined the historical currents around her.

In this book, Garelick shows us the Chanel who conquered the world……a woman who thirsted to created to create others in her image, who creatively borrowed from her famous (and infamous) intimates, who understood the idea of branding well ahead of her time, who created ‘wearable personality’. This is Chanel at the nexus of history: a woman of daring, passion, and legendary vision.