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Dreaming of Chanel: Vintage Dresses, Timeless Stories
By Charlotte Smith and Grant Cowan
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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About this ebook
Inheriting a priceless vintage clothing collection sounds like every woman’s dream come true.
But when Charlotte Smith discovered that her American godmother, Doris Darnell, had made her custodian of more than three thousand pieces dating from 1790 to the 1990s, including originals by Chanel and Dior, she was more than a little daunted.
Then Charlotte uncovered her first treasure— an exquisite 1920s evening dress—and promptly fell in love. And once she found her godmother’s book of stories, the true value of her inheritance hit home. This wasn’t merely a collection of beautiful things, it was a precious collection of women’s lives. Tiny glimpses of our joys and disappointments, our entrances and exits, triumphant and tragic.
In her previous book, Dreaming of Dior, Charlotte shared some of these gorgeous dresses and the stories of the women who wore them. Now, in Dreaming of Chanel, with special appearances by Chanel, Vivienne Westwood, Pucci, Valentino and many more, Charlotte offers another unforgettable glimpse inside the magical wardrobe every woman would love to own.
But when Charlotte Smith discovered that her American godmother, Doris Darnell, had made her custodian of more than three thousand pieces dating from 1790 to the 1990s, including originals by Chanel and Dior, she was more than a little daunted.
Then Charlotte uncovered her first treasure— an exquisite 1920s evening dress—and promptly fell in love. And once she found her godmother’s book of stories, the true value of her inheritance hit home. This wasn’t merely a collection of beautiful things, it was a precious collection of women’s lives. Tiny glimpses of our joys and disappointments, our entrances and exits, triumphant and tragic.
In her previous book, Dreaming of Dior, Charlotte shared some of these gorgeous dresses and the stories of the women who wore them. Now, in Dreaming of Chanel, with special appearances by Chanel, Vivienne Westwood, Pucci, Valentino and many more, Charlotte offers another unforgettable glimpse inside the magical wardrobe every woman would love to own.
Author
Charlotte Smith
Charlotte Smith (1749–1806) was an influential English poet and novelist of the Romantic era. Born in London, she experienced numerous personal and financial challenges throughout her life, which deeply influenced her writing. Smith gained recognition with the publication of her acclaimed collection of poems 'Elegiac Sonnets' in 1784.
Read more from Charlotte Smith
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Reviews for Dreaming of Chanel
Rating: 3.4 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
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Book preview
Dreaming of Chanel - Charlotte Smith
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
Text copyright © 2010 by Charlotte Smith
Images copyright © 2010 by Grant Cowan
Originally published in English in Sydney, Australia, in 2010 by HarperCollins Publishers
Australia, Pty Limited.
This North American edition is published by arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers
Australia, Pty Limited.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Atria Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Atria Books hardcover edition November 2011
ATRIA BOOKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Designed by Jay Ryves at Future Classic, adapted by Jane Waterhouse,
HarperCollins Design Studio
Manufactured in China
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Smith, Charlotte M.
Dreaming of Chanel : vintage dresses, timeless stories / Charlotte Smith ; illustrated by Grant Cowan.—1st Atria books hardcover ed.
p. cm.
Originally published in English in Sydney, Australia, in 2010 by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia
Companion to Dreaming of Dior.
1. Darnell, Doris Hastings, 1916–2007—Art collections. 2. Women’s clothing—Private collections. 3. Women’s clothing—History. 4. Vintage clothing—Private collections. I. Cowan, Grant. II. Smith, Charlotte M. Dreaming of Dior. III. Title.
GT1720.S613 2011
391'.2—dc 22 2011007939
ISBN 978-1-4516-3295-8
ISBN 978-1-4516-3298-9 (ebook)
For Howard and Olivia
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132
Chapter 133
Chapter 134
Chapter 135
Chapter 136
Chapter 137
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141
Chapter 142
Chapter 143
Chapter 144
I have to confess that when my American godmother Doris Darnell told me her priceless vintage clothing collection was on its way across the world to me, I was more than a little daunted. Doris’s collection had been a lifetime labour of love for her, more precious than any treasure I knew of, and she had chosen me as custodian.
Never in my wildest dreams could I have predicted how much this precious legacy would change my life, mind lead me to writing my first book, Dreaming of Dior.
It all began when I opened the first box at my home in the Blue Mountains to find an exquisite gossamer silk 1920s evening gown shimmering with the most intricately beautiful beadwork I had ever seen. I had unearthed my first treasure. I was instantly enchanted, as Doris knew I would be.
Doris was the ultimate fairy godmother. When I was growing up near Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, I was a regular visitor at Doris and Howard’s townhouse. As soon as I arrived Doris and I would climb the impossibly narrow and steep staircase to the top floor and lose ourselves for an hour or two amid her latest acquisitions and old favourites. For me this was where magic happened, brought alive by Doris’s wonderful stories about the dresses and the women who wore them.
Spanning two hundred and five years, from 1790 to 1995, her collection is a journey through fashion history encompassing famous couturiers like Dior, Chanel and Vionnet. But not one piece was purchased by her. They are all gifts from friends and acquaintances who either knew or had heard of her legendary ‘hobby’. As the Quaker saying goes, every piece was ‘given in love and in trust’. Doris was a Quaker her whole life, and while her passion for clothes and accessories was frowned upon as immodest and frivolous by other practising Quakers, her passion remained as irrepressible as her character.
Doris devoted the last few decades of her life to sharing her collection with the world. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Doris became well known throughout the East Coast of the United States and beyond for her ‘living fashion’ talks, which she would give in museums, college halls and even on cruises around the world, including the QEII, donating her speaking fees to the Quaker Society of Friends.
Doris’s audiences were invariably so enchanted by her shows that they would donate some of their own treasures to the collection. And so the collection continued to grow, more and more stories were added to share, until the baton was passed on to me.
The treasures that lay before me were worth a fortune. Selling them would set me up for life, but enticing as that thought was, I could never consider such a thing or the idea of them being broken up by donation to museums or other collections. I still had no idea what to do with the collection, but somehow, like Doris, I would find a way to share it and to keep it growing.
Then, among the last of Doris’s boxes, I found her catalogue notes of all her stories, of the dresses and the women who wore them. It was then that the true value of what I had been bequeathed hit home. This wasn’t a mere collection of beautiful things, it was a collection of life. Women’s lives. Tiny snapshots of our joys and disappointments, our entrances and exits, triumphant and tragic.
This is how my first book, Dreaming of Dior, was born. It was the perfect way to share these stories, including Doris’s and mine, along with the collection.
The response to my book was beyond my wildest dreams. Strangers came up to me at events or wrote to me, telling how much they loved the stories and the memories they brought back of their own wonderful moments. My only regret is that Doris is no longer here to share the applause.
But the greatest gift from the collection is my new friendship with Doris’s husband, Howard. I will always treasure the lovely handwritten letter he sent me after receiving his copy of Dreaming of Dior: ‘What a fantastic surprise you have given me. The book is spectacular, and for me it is the personal gift of a lifetime.’
I was also delighted and relieved to hear from Doris’s son, Eric, and her granddaughter, Fran, that Doris would be so proud and happy with what I have done for her collection. Also to hear from the daughters of Doris’s friends that they are thrilled their mother’s dresses and stories are included in the book. And, after a twenty-year lull, my father, Noble, now regularly writes Howard and keeps him abreast of what I’m up to.
Most of all, the collection has brought me
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