Description

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The story of Coco Chanel in her own words, as told by her to Paul Morand, in a beautfiul new paperback edition

Perfect for fans of the luxurious and exceptional world of Chanel, and of Daniele Bott's landmark book Chanel: Collections and Creations

Coco Chanel invited Paul Morand to visit her in St Moritz at the end of the Second World War when he was given the opportunity to write her memoirs; his notes of their intimate conversations were put away in a drawer and only came to light a year after Chanel's death.

Through Morand's transcription of their conversations, Chanel tells us about her friendship with Misia Sert, the men in her life, her philosophy of fashion and the story behind the legendary Chanel No. 5 perfume.

These memories of Coco Chanel told in her own words artfully sketches the elusive, mysterious and charming woman behind Chanel.

About the Author

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Paul Morand was born in Paris in 1888 and after studying at the Ecole des Science Politiques he joined the diplomatic corps, serving in London, Rome, Berne and Bucharest. His first collection of stories Tendres Stocks (1921), had an introduction by his friend Marcel Proust. In a long and busy life, he found time to write poetry, novels, short stories and travel books. Morand was made a member of the Academie Francaise in 1963. He was married to the Romanian princess Hélène Soutzo, and he died in 1976 the year the first edition of The Allure of Chanel was published in Paris.

Praise For…

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“It’s an interesting memoir because it's all about what she thinks not what she did.” —David Patrick Columbia, The New York Social Diary

“Morand was a citizen of the world, with a sharp eye and a neat turn of phrase.”
—The Tablet

“This enchanting, tiny book is the closest anyone can get to a face-to-face with Coco. It’s written in her voice (‘that voice that gushed forth from her mouth like lava’) and in her words (‘those words that crackled like dried vines’), and though it's full of lies, omissions and contradictions, there’s enough raw truth in it to reflect the extraordinary woman who was Chanel, even though glimpsed shard by shard in a broken mirror.
—The Spectator

“Paul Morand recaptures a WWII-era conversation between the author and the fashion icon.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Morand was the all-round aesthete.”
—Nicholas Lezard, Guardian