MALE NARRATOR: Take a moment to imagine yourself in this Chanel dress: [upbeat music evoking period and mood] its simple, columnar shape skimming your body; the soft texture of silk against your skin; the tiers of fabric that follow your movement; the glisten of the small crystal bow as it catches light. Now, imagine how it would make you feel.
SHARON TAKEDA: Clothing can do that.
MALE NARRATOR: Senior Curator of Costume and Textiles at LACMA, Sharon Takeda:
SHARON TAKEDA: [cont.] You can put on a pretty party dress or ball gown and really stand differently, move differently. So it really does affect how one feels and how one moves when you put on clothing.
[music ends]
MALE NARRATOR: In the 1920s, a dress like this could make a woman feel elegant, sexy, liberated, but most of all, comfortable.
SHARON TAKEDA: You have to remember that in the late 19th century, the garments were very fragmented. They had oftentimes matching bodices and long skirts. There were lots of frills, lots of ruffles, lots of corsetry. And now you come with Chanel, [ragtime piano music] who herself had a very boyish figure. She was a very independent woman. She opens a house in Paris and by 1919 it’s really successful. She is best known for her designs that are functional, very little ornamentation, and the practicality of these boyish silhouettes. She always wore her own designs. So part of it is reflecting what she feels is comfortable, but she wanted the modern woman to be comfortable, and also not to be judged by how many frills or doodads somebody had on their garment. It was really something beautiful and stylish without constricting the body so much and wanting that autonomy, that a woman could make it in the world on her own and not be judged for what she was wearing. I'd like to be in it, actually. [laughs]
[music ends]
