Coco Chanel’s legacy is more than her brand. Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel lived an amazing life. After her mother passed away, she was abandoned by her father and went to live in an orphanage with her younger sister. It was here that she eventually learned how to sew. She faced countless hardships both personally and in business. Yet, she went on to become the most revolutionary designer of her time; her couture is still making millions today. This costume is original, fun and even better in black and white. I already owned everything I needed for this look. Chances are that you do too. Start by grabbing every pearl you own, and the personality will follow.

Instructions:

You can buy a wig for this look, but keep in mind that most of your hair will be pushed into the hat, so it’s not necessary. If you plan to use your natural hair, curl your hair with a wand/small curling iron/straightener. Then, part your hair on the far left or far right and pin into place on the opposite side. Twist sections of your curls into tight, flat buns toward the nape of your neck, and pin against your head. The small buns will look like tight pin curls, creating the illusion of shorter hair.
There are two ways to create your faux Chanel hat: If the brim of the hat includes a strap, ribbon or other embellishment, you can most likely pin the flower to the hat and remove it for later uses. You can do this by hot gluing a bobby pin to the bottom of your camellia and pinning the flower to the hat. Or, you can take the simpler route and glue the flower directly to the brim.
The eyebrows are the most important part of this look. Coco Chanel’s eyebrows got thicker with age. When she was younger, they were like two thin upside down Cs (get it?). In her later photographs, they are thick and bushy. If you don’t want to paint fake wrinkles on your face, go younger. With your glue stick and a butter knife or spatula glue over your eyebrows completely. Apply your base as normal over the glue. Finally, with a black eyeliner or eyebrow pencil, draw on Coco’s eyebrows using one of the reference photos below.
Coco Chanel’s lips were thin and wide. Using a reference photo, reshape your lips as needed using a full-coverage concealer and apply a red lip.
Finally, contour under your chin to create the illusion of a rounder face.
As a final touch, pin a brooch to your tweed jacket. Your look is now complete. Enjoy!

Costume Supply List:

Little black dress (girl if you don’t already have a black dress, invest!) Try Lulus, Amazon, Etsy or Poshmark to start.
Tweed suit jacket (double points for vintage Chanel steals!), $35 @ Poshmark.com / local vintage shop / already in your closet
Wool cloche or straw boater hat, $20 @ Etsy.com / local vintage shop
Tweed camellia flower (for hat embellishment), $2 @ Amazon.com
Pearls. Lots of pearls. Wrap endless strands of DIY pearl necklaces for $3 @ Amazon.com
Faux diamond brooch / local vintage or consignment shop
Cigarette/cigarette holder, $3 @ Spirit Halloween
Hot glue gun
Bobby pins
Elmer’s glue stick, $2 @ Target