What Makes a Successful Woman? Overcoming Influences of the Past

Today, the names of both Edith Piaf and Coco Chanel are recognized globally. These two French women overcame early hardships to provide a model for the success of the modern woman. Their lifestyles and careers exemplify woman’s liberation through their new, simplified way of dress, their liberal actions for the time and reconstructed relaxed approach to life. Their work helped to redefine beauty and attractiveness for the new era.  Neither woman fit the typical “feminine” mold: interestingly, they shared a similar back-story.

Coco Chanel was not born into wealth as most were who seek a career in fashion. She was left to be raised in an orphanage by her father as a child after the death of her mother, not a picturesque upbringing. She struggled to make ends meet working as a seamstress and aspiring performer. Through these jobs Chanel witnessed the luxurious life, she mended high-end clothes and entertained affluent audiences.

Edith Piaf was not afforded the proper care by her parents before her aunt decided to step in. Her family was somewhat nomadic; many of her relatives were entertainers. She lived with her grandmother in a maison close for a period of time where she was spoiled. She became used to seeing well-dressed women and men in uniform.

Chanel and Piaf were clever in fictitiously reconstructing their pasts. Injecting a jolt of dramatics to their dismal stories which added to their personal “brands”: their mysterious and interesting stories helped to draw more attention to both the women themselves and their work. Chanel realized the trivialness of networking to move up socially and economically in life. The glamorous stories she created, such as her claim that her father sailed to America to seek his fortune after her mother died, adding to her credibility when she was to be judged by clients. Piaf knew how to tell a good story to draw attention: one of her claims is a period of blindness during her years living with her grandmother, she asserted a miracle ended “those years in the dark”. Who isn’t enticed by such an anecdote?

            While the legends of Chanel and Piaf’s pasts may not be completely truthful, it is certain that they contributed to the legacies these woman left to endure. Often, the simplest looking things disguise something more complex. The demons of the past Chanel and Piaf were known to sweep under the rug, surely had a profound influence on their greatest works and their rise to fame.