The Charlotte Observer, N.C., Rachel Sutherland column: Chanel

Rachel Sutherland

Nov. 4, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- The notion of being true to yourself has been on my mind lately.

Just what does it take to be comfortable in your skin? To (really) not care what others think, to own your body and your look?

I'm not talking about the material comforts. They matter, but considerably less than having the strength to declare to the world -- through your personal style and actions -- that you are a confident, powerful woman.

So it's fitting that "Coco Before Chanel" is opening in Charlotte on Friday. The French-language film stars Audrey Tautou as Gabrielle Chanel in the years before she became Coco Chanel, the legendary designer who redefined women's clothing in the 20th century.

The film is about fashion, of course, but it's also a compelling tale of how being uncompromisingly true to yourself can pay big dividends.

There were constants in Chanel's life, such as her sharp-tongued wit and honesty, when it suited her. She was abandoned by her father at an orphanage after her mother's death, and for years after, she would tell half truths or outright lies about it for the rest of her life.

Her ambition rarely waned, even when she was a moderately successful showgirl singing the song about a dog named Coco that would earn her the notable nickname.

It's subtle, but the film reminds viewers again and again that Chanel bucked convention at every turn.

She never married, instead carrying on longtime affairs with two men -- one of whom would bankroll her first retail venture, a millinery shop.

Chanel's hat creations were sleek, simple, unfailingly chic and completely unlike the wide-brimmed, flouncy meringues worn by trendy women.

The star of the film is the sublime cinematography and costuming, which bring to life Chanel's quiet, often torturous climb up the social ladder from orphan to revolutionary haute couturier.

Few words are necessary to establish Chanel's uniqueness when we watch as she forages her lovers' closets for items to rework for her own wear.

While women of the day wore high-collared, ankle-length gowns with bustles and corsets, Chanel unapologetically donned self-made riding pants, jackets and jersey shirts.

The designer seemed to possess a confidence that enabled her to rise above the situation she was in at the moment.

And, perhaps more important to the fashion world, that confidence empowered her to wear what she wanted, how she wanted, when she wanted, fashion police be damned.

The women of the upper classes were laced, bound and fragile under their mounds of fabric and frills. Chanel was striking in her elegant simplicity: a little black dress, a peter pan collar.

Tautou wholly embodies Chanel, casting dismissive, sidelong glances, turning off emotion and doing what was necessary -- however scandalous, given the social mores of the day -- to live the life she wanted.

A sense of freedom comes with owning your personal style, which is something that has taken me a few years to relearn. It seems Coco had it right: Once you stop caring so much what the rest of the world thinks of you, everything falls into place.

Rachel Sutherland: 704-358-5440; rsutherland@charlotteobserver.com

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