Mademoiselle
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4 belonging to the duke’s ancestors: The Grosvenor lineage could be easily traced back at least this far. A family dispute and legal case involving the Grosvenors was documented by none other than Geoffrey Chaucer, in French. Quoted in George Ridley, Bend’ Or, Duke of Westminster: A Personal Memoir (London: Quartet Books, 1986), 7. Other documents can trace the Grosvenors to the twelfth century.
5 “a descendent of Macaroni”: Quoted in Charles-Roux 423.
6 Olympic motor boat racing: Noël Coward describes the duke in his preface to Loelia Ponsonby, Grace and Favour: The Memoirs of Loelia, Duchess of Westminster (New York: Reynal, 1961). Quoted in Madsen, 149.
7 admission to Cambridge: The duke needed special tutoring to prepare for the Cambridge examinations, and the plan was soon shelved. “He was not of the type which wins school prizes,” biographer Michael Harrison notes. Michael Harrison, Lord of London: A Biography of the Second Duke of Westminster (London: W. H. Allen, 1966), 30.
8 key British imperialist Cecil Rhodes: “Lord Milner Wants Anglo-American Union,” The New York Times, June 11, 1916; The Times (London), July 25, 1925. Quoted in Bill Nasson, review of Forgotten Patriot: A Life of Alfred Viscount Milner, Journal of Modern History 81, no. 4 (December 2009).
9 which developed into apartheid: See P. Eric Louw, The Rise, Fall, and Legacy of Apartheid (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2004), 10. Of the need to maintain a white overclass in South Africa, Milner wrote, “Our welfare depends upon increasing the quantity of our white population but not at the expense of its quality. We do not want a white proletariat in this country. The position of the whites among the vastly more numerous black population requires that even their lowest rank should be able to maintain a standard of living far above that of the poorest section of the population of a purely white country.” Quoted in Shula Marks and Stanlye Trapido, “Lord Milner and the South African State,” History Workshop, no. 8 (Autumn 1979): 66.
10 firepower of the other Kindergarteners: Westminster particularly helped fund Milner’s projects for tariff reform and “imperial preference” (economic measures designed to safeguard the empire by extending preferential taxation to constituent states).
11 something of a groupie: Harrison, 98. For a discussion on Milner’s extremely canny manipulation of press propaganda for himself and his causes, see: A. N. Porter, “Sir Alfred Milner and the Press, 1897–1899,” The Historical Journal 16, no. 2 (June 1973): 323–39.
12 ninety-three miles of Libyan desert: See Harrison, 163ff.
13 Distinguished Service Order for bravery: Jack Leslie, who served under Bendor for this mission, wrote about his commander: “Nothing but [Bendor’s] amazing confidence and innate optimism could have ever started off a convoy prepared to do 300 miles to find them. He would class with any general as a great leader of men, having extraordinary personality. The odds were considered about six to one against our getting [the prisoners].” Quoted in Ridley, 102.
14 a certain Mrs. Crosby: See Harrison.
15 androgynous British style of dress: Vera’s daughter, Bridget Bate Tichenor, later clamed that much of Chanel’s English style was taken directly (and without attribution) from Vera. Zachary Selig, “The First Biography of Vera Bate Lombardi,” http://www.slashdocs.com/pkyzmz/the-first-biography-of-the-life-of-vera-bate-lombardi-by-zachary-selig.html.
16 duke had actually paid Vera: Morand, L’Allure de Chanel, 196.
17 converted Royal Navy destroyer: The massive Cutty Sark had a 263-foot hull and a 25-foot beam. It ran on four steam turbines. Bendor kept the boat until the beginning of World War II, when he donated it to the British government to be used as a destroyer. Ridley, 134–35.
18 a non-noble: “He only liked what he called Real People. Apart from a few exceptions chosen by himself, nobody well known in the world or having the misfortune to have a title could be a Real Person.” Ponsonby, 196.
19 duke mistrusted the postal system: There seems no definitive explanation for the duke’s fear of the mail. It may have been a mere eccentricity of his, or, given his penchant for adultery, he may have exercised particular caution to avoid having any epistolary evidence getting intercepted.
20 “The Duke frightened me”: Quoted in Galante, 103. Abdy suggested to Marcel Haedrich that Chanel hesitated to see the duke because she felt only minimal physical attraction to him. “Their passion was not sensual,” she said. Quoted in Haedrich, 98.
21 The duke had little knowledge: “All forms of modern music, painting and sculpture were intolerable and he would have liked personally to destroy them,” wrote Loelia Ponsonby, who would be Bendor’s third of four wives. Ponsonby, 198–99.
22 this new arrogant suitor: Madsen, 152.
23 a salmon-fishing party: Quoted in Ridley, 135.
24 “clever and charming Frenchwoman”: Quoted in Galante, 100.
25 Just visiting his own properties: Morand, L’Allure de Chanel, 191.
26 “The famous Coco turned up”: Quoted in Leslie Fields, Bendor: Golden Duke of Westminster (Littlehampton, U.K.: Littlehampton Book Services, 1986), 200.
27 duchess in training: Quoted in Haedrich, 99.
28 let them use his house: Westminster had gained a reputation as a fair and generous landlord, but politically he was ill disposed to any kind of social progressivism. In the House of Lords, he fought ardently against social programs that he felt placed undue burdens on the rich.
29 showcased the region’s wild game: This is mentioned in the duke’s Paris police file, as well as elsewhere. At eighty-nine, seamstress Manon Ligeour, who was apprenticed to Chanel in 1929 at the age of thirteen and worked for the Maison Chanel for nearly forty years, still remembered those vacations fondly. Interview, July 8, 2005, Conservatoire Chanel.
30 his “favorite cabin boy”: Galante, 116; Fields, 190.
31 Scotland’s first bidet: David Ross and Helen Puttick, “Coco Chanel’s Love Nest in the Highlands,” The Herald (Scotland), September 29, 2003. In 2012, the estate underwent a massive renovation, with the goal of turning it into a boutique hotel, capitalizing on its connection to Chanel. See Tim Cornwall, “£6m Facelift for Coco Chanel’s Highland Love Nest.” The Scotsman, July 1, 2012.
32 “My general impression”: Ponsonby, 157.
33 “Sir Walter Scott”: Morand, L’Allure de Chanel, 191. Even Lady Iya Abdy found a storybook quality in Chanel’s romance with Bendor. “With the Duke, she lived a fairy tale,” she told Marcel Haedrich. Haedrich, 98.
34 “I knew with him a luxury”: Haedrich, 106.
35 these dresses in solid black: Fields, 199.
36 Coco was the child’s godmother: According to Gabrielle Palasse-Labrunie, although Bendor was her godfather, it was Etienne Balsan (her possible grandfather) who attended her baptism. Westminster was unavailable, and Balsan had remained sufficiently close to Coco to fill in for the duke. Fiemeyer and Palasse-Labrunie, Intimate Chanel, 27.
37 Bendor seemed entirely enchanted: A 1929 BBC documentary about Chanel was-filmed on the grounds of Eaton Hall and featured a segment showing little Gabrielle Palasse with her great-aunt.
38 “I had been living”: Quoted in Haedrich, 99.
39 “When I was certain no one”: Charles-Roux, 444.
40 Bendor’s unusual pets: Gabrielle Palasse-Labrunie discussed the mysterious monkey statue in a private conversation with the author, March 2011. On Balsan’s monkey, see Galante, 23.
41 “isolated by his wealth”: Morand, L’Allure de Chanel, 187.
42 swoon over the “exquisite vintages”: Ponsonby, 201.
43 “some of our Hebrew friends”: Duke of Westminster to Winston Churchill, June 29, 1927, CHAR1/194/57.
44 “I could never make out”: Ponsonby, 200–201.
45 leading a financial conspiracy: See Fields, 262.
46 “He started by abusing”: Lady Diana Cooper, The Light of Common Day (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1959), 261.
47 potential repris
als involved in countermanding: See Fields, 263.
48 “We talked half in English”: Galante, 107ff.
Interviewed in her elder years by McCall’s, Chanel said, “We talked half in English, half in French. ‘I don’t want you to learn English,’ he said, ‘and discover there is nothing in the conversation you hear around us.’ ” Joseph Barry, interview with Chanel, McCall’s, November 1, 1965, 172–73.
49 “Luxury must remain nearly invisible”: Quoted in “En Ecoutant Chanel,” Elle, France, August 23, 1963.
50 the same jackets: Morand, L’Allure de Chanel, 188.
51 chic Scottish shooting parties: “Scotland, the Happy Shooting Ground,” Vogue, October 27, 1928, 46.
52 “Tweeds have made”: “A Guide to Chic in Tweed,” Vogue, December 22, 1928, 44.
53 “The Fame of G.”: “Business: Haute Couture,” Time, August 13, 1928, 35.
54 particularly her feminine sweaters: Fields, 199.
55 “Tweeds that I had imported from”: Morand, L’Allure de Chanel, 57.
56 “Colors are impossible”: Ibid., 55.
57 “Chanel [is] famed”: “Introducing the Most Chic Woman in the World,” Vogue, January 1, 1926, 54.
58 the epitome of modernity: Janet Wallach, Chanel: Her Style and Her Life (New York: Doubleday, 1998), 83. The term garçonne meaning “tomboy,” or, later, “flapper,” came into vogue after the 1922 publication of the racy novel La Garçonne by Victor Margueritte, the story of a proper young woman who cuts her hair, stops wearing corsets, and plunges into the Parisian counterculture for sexual and social experimentation. The scandal surrounding the novel resulted in Margueritte’s losing his Légion d’honneur.
59 “all the world will wear”: “The Debut of the Winter Mode,” Vogue, October 1, 1926, 69.
60 “Before me, no one would”: Haedrich, 107.
61 “young and hard bitterness”: Salvador Dalí, The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí, trans. Haakon M. Chevalier (London: Dover Publications, 1993), 383. Originally published as La Vie secrète de Salvador Dalí (New York: Dial Press, 1942).
62 “What followed [Boy’s death]”: Morand, L’Allure de Chanel, 66.
63 his manorial lifestyle: During their relationship, Chanel would describe the duke as “perfect for his type” but later admitted she’d found him somewhat lacking intellectually. Charles-Roux, 447.
64 “a striped costume”: “Fashions That Bloom in the Riviera Sun,” Vogue, May 1, 1926, 56.
65 initial clientele at Deauville: Baba de Faucigny figures in a disturbing incident in Chanel’s later life, see chapter 11. And we know this future queen consort as the Queen Mother, Elizabeth.
66 Mayfair property lent to her: Madsen, 166.
67 “I was as tan as a gypsy”: Quoted in Fields, 173.
68 Coco would ask her chemists: Danièle Bott, Chanel (Paris: Editions Ramsey, 2005), 124.
69 ship all her seamstresses: On Westminster’s impatience, see Delay, 126; and Picardie, 168.
70 Coco subordinated her schedule: Picardie, 168–69.
71 “little girl before the duke”: Charles-Roux says that long after her affair with Westminster, Chanel admitted his “intellectual insufficiency.” Charles-Roux, 447; Abdy quoted in Galante, 107.
72 “The greatest pleasure”: Morand, L’Allure de Chanel, 186.
73 “Never a big, solemn dinner”: Delay, 135.
74 dashing Italian military man: Charles-Roux, 445.
75 Alphonse was the crafty one: Ibid., 450–53.
76 Everyone whispered about her absence: The story of Mary’s coming-out party is recounted by Delay, 136–37; Galante, 107–8; and Madsen, 167ff.
77 slim figure was to blame: Charles-Roux, 448.
78 restful surroundings could be conducive: Madsen, 167ff.
79 most exclusive real estate: Monte Carlo had had some obstacles to overcome en route to stardom. In the earlier 1920s it experienced some economic problems, which were solved, according to Pierre Galante, by tart-tongued American journalist Elsa Maxwell. Galante reports that Prince Pierre, father of the late monarch Prince Rainier of Monaco, complained to Maxwell about losing tourism, and she pointed out that the area’s rock-covered beaches discouraged tourists. She suggested bringing in sand, which the prince decided to do. Thereafter, Maxwell made a point of talking up the charms of Monte Carlo in her columns. Galante, 124–25.
80 performers set up housekeeping: Madsen, 170.
81 more than a meter thick: Galante, 118–19.
82 Our Lady of La Pausa: “Pour fêter l’ouverture de la Pausa recréee à Dallas,” Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, Dallas Museum of Art, 1985, exhibition catalog, 42–49.
83 enacting the Passion of Christ: “On the festival of Notre Dame de la Neige, a very curious procession, dating from the Middle Ages, still takes place here, in which the Passion is represented—peasants gravely taking the parts of Pilate, Herod, SS. Veronica and Mary Magdalene, &c.” Augustus J. C. Hare. Rivieras (London: Allen and Unwin Press, 1897), accessed at http://www.rarebooksclub.com, 2012.
84 refreshments for the pilgrims: Galante, 116–20.
85 “born in the poorhouse”: Dallas exhibition catalog, 42–49.
86 “one of the most enchanting villas”: P. H. Satterhwaite, “Mademoiselle Chanel’s House,” Vogue, March 29, 1930, 63. Back on the market in 2012, the villa was listed at 40 million euros, or about $52.5 million. See “Coco Chanel Riviera Villa for Sale,” The Riviera Times, February 29, 2012, http://www.rivieratimes.com/index.php/provence-cote-dazur-article/items/coco-chanel-riviera-villa-for-sale.html.
87 dotted the seaside hills: Galante, 119.
88 “On every slate”: Pierre Reverdy, in The Roof Slates, Caws and Terry, trans., 19.
89 have their roofs retiled: Apparently, Chanel set off a “speculative boom” in old tiles in the area. See Wendy and Emery Reves, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection Catalogue (Dallas, Tex.: The Dallas Museum of Art, 1985) 44–45. (Published to commemorate the opening of the re-created villa, La Pausa, in the Dallas Museum of Art.), 41.
90 the grove was not: Satterhwaite, 63.
91 Outsize stone fireplaces: Ibid., 62–65, 86.
92 entryway decorated with the crown: See John Rafferty, “Name Dropping on the Riviera,” The New York Times, May 19, 2011.
93 his distinctive cartoon drawings: Charles-Roux, 449; Galante, 127.
94 “La Pausa was the most comfortable”: Bettina Ballard, In My Fashion (New York: D. McKay, 1969), 49.
95 dropping a priceless emerald: Charles-Roux, 454–55; Haedrich, 108.
96 “On August 17, the two women”: Chanel recalls sailing with Misia when they heard from Diaghilev, in Chazot, Chazot Jacques, 96. Galante also describes this episode, 109.
97 bitter rivalry for Diaghilev’s affections: John Richardson, A Life of Picasso (New York: Random House, 1991), 378.
98 the crawling was melodramatic: Charles-Roux, 458; Morand, Venises, 117–18.
99 “I loved him in his hurry”: Morand, L’Allure de Chanel, 101–3.
100 The duke would never marry: This episode is recounted by Galante, 113.
101 “Coco is crazy!”: Charles-Roux, 459.
102 visited Eaton Hall once more: Picardie, 186.
103 met only two months prior: Ponsonby, 150–51.
104 prove just how serious she: Morand, L’Allure de Chanel, 194.
105 his version of England: Haedrich, 111.
106 “At the time, Mademoiselle Chanel”: Ponsonby, 167–68.
107 Churchill served as best man: Ibid., 177.
108 she increased it to fourteen: “I spent thirteen years with a man who lived in the country.” Quoted in Haedrich, 100. To McCall’s she said, “I was lucky to have known the Duke. Fourteen years, that is a long time.… I have never felt more protected.” “Interview with Mademoiselle Chanel,” November 1, 1965, 165.
109 “Salmon fishing is not a life”: Morand, L’Allure de
Chanel, 194.
110 “My woman has a heart”: BBC interview with Gabrielle Palasse-Labrunie. Claude Delay mentions this song as something Chanel heard in Hollywood in 1931, but Pierre Galante mentions her going with her friends to the Paris club known as Le boeuf sur le toit for jazz, where she might well have first heard the song. Galante, 61.
9. THE PATRIOTISM OF LUXURY: CHANEL AND PAUL IRIBE
1 a household word in Europe: Figures come from “La collection Chanel sortira le 26 janvier,” Nord Matin, January 12, 1971. See also Chanel’s police file, especially section dated December 1930, Paris police archives.
2 bailed them out personally: She subsidized at least twice, in 1926 and 1928, Cocteau’s extended clinic stays for drug rehabilitation, and paid entirely for Diaghilev’s elaborate funeral in 1929. She was also known to give large sums to favorite employees in extremis, although she was notoriously stingy with salaries.
3 “I prefer to give”: “Collections by Chanel,” McCall’s, June 1968. Chanel later confided to Claude Delay that she grew weary of the constant requests for money.
4 fragrant orange trees: Bettina Ballard Wilson, In My Fashion (New York: D. McKay, Co., 1969), 49; Vogue, July 1938, 64–65; Plaisir de France, February 1935, 18–19; Harper’s Bazaar, April 1939, 65.
5 “the Baroness Nexon”: Charles-Roux, 459.
6 “A woman is like a pearl”: Quoted in Anne-Claude Lelieur and Raymond Bachollot, eds., Paul Iribe: Précurseur de l’art dcéo (Paris: Bibliothèque Forney, 1983), 64. Originally published as an interview in Commoedia Illustré, March 1, 1911.
7 Coco was engaged to be: “Mlle Chanel to Wed Business Partner,” The New York Times, November 17, 1933.
8 a largely proletarian committee: The monarchists had recently captured a majority in the French Assembly.
9 secularism in schools and government: The politics of the Commune were not unilateral, though, and consisted of various strains, ranging from moderate to radical. See David Harvey, “Monument and Myth,” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 69, no. 3 (September, 1979): 362–81.