彭蒙惠英语：Coco Chanel: Number One（在线收听）

Coco Chanel: Number One

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Successful years

In time, Chanel’s business expanded into clothing shops in Paris and fashionable resort towns. At first unable to afford expensive fabrics, she created simple garments out of everyday fabrics. Her slim, boyish figure looked lost inside the hourglass shapes of Edwardian fashions, so she slipped into the oversize sweaters of her male friends and cinched them tight with an unmistakably feminine twist.

Her unique style proved especially popular with well-heeled resort patrons. Americans in particular embraced the Chanel look. Even World War I seemed to contribute to her success. As Parisians fled their war-torn city for refuge in the south of France, they turned to Chanel, the only designer who kept her shop open, to replace the clothing they had left behind.

But perhaps her greatest and most enduring creation was born in 1923, when she introduced the very first perfume to wear a designer label—Chanel No. 5. Success followed success in Chanel’s professional life.

An ugly side

Unfortunately, Coco Chanel’s behavior during World War II revealed the worst aspects of her character. Unlike other major French designers who fled the country or otherwise defied the Nazis, Chanel befriended the enemy. She even tried to take advantage of Germany’s economic policies against Jews to cheat the Jewish partners in her lucrative perfume business. After the war, she was branded a traitor, and in 1945 she fled to Switzerland until the scandal died down.

Chanel’s return

Chanel returned to France and attempted a comeback in 1954. While her new line flopped in Europe, it was a smash in America, where women appreciated sportier styles. At the age of 71, Chanel was back. She would remain on top of the fashion world until her death in Paris on January 10, 1971.

Vocabulary Focus

brand (v) [brAnd] to label; to mark or show someone or something in a certain way, especially negatively

flop (v) [flCp] to not be successful; to fail

smash (n) [smAF] something that is extremely popular and successful

Specialized Terms

hourglass (adj) 沙漏状的 relating to something that is narrow in the middle and wider on the top and bottom

香奈儿独领风骚

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成功的岁月

时机成熟，香奈儿的事业扩展，在巴黎和时髦度假胜地都有服饰店。开始时由于买不起昂贵的布料，她用日常穿着的布料设计出简单的服装。在爱德华年代流行的沙漏型服装内，她苗条、男孩般的身材显不出来，所以她穿上男性朋友超大尺寸的毛衣，再抽紧衣身以表现出无可置疑的女性风情。

她独特的风格特别受富裕的度假顾客的欢迎。美国人特别喜爱香奈儿式打扮。连第一次世界大战似乎都促成了她的成功。当巴黎人从他们被战争摧残的城市到法国南部避难时，他们转向惟一尚未关门的设计师香奈儿，向她买衣服以取代他们留在家乡的衣裳。

她最伟大和最不朽的创作，或许是1923年推出的第一个印有设计师品牌的香水——香奈儿5号。香奈儿职业生涯里，成功接踵而至。

丑陋的一面

不幸的是，可可·香奈儿在第二次世界大战时的作为暴露出她人格中最坏的层面。不像其它的法国设计大师或逃离家乡，或违抗纳粹，香奈儿反而亲近敌人。她甚至试着利用德国反犹太人的经济政策，来欺骗她那获利丰厚的香水事业的犹太合伙人。战后她被贴上背叛者的标签，1945年，她逃到瑞士直到丑闻渐渐消失。

香奈儿卷土重来

香奈儿在1954年回到巴黎，试图东山再起。她的新系列在欧洲失败，在美国则大为成功，那儿的女性欣赏较为休闲的款式。71岁时，香奈儿再领风骚，直到1971年1月10日在巴黎去世为止，她在时尚界一直雄踞高位。