Finding menswear to be more comfortable, Coco Chanel often dressed in her lovers’ clothing. Specifically, she borrowed their pants, as she deemed it was just too difficult to ride horses in long skirts. At the time, known as the Belle Époch (from 1871 until WWI), full skirts that fell past the knees and were drastically cinched at the waist were in fashion. Coco wished to liberate women from such restrictive clothing, allowing them to move more freely while still looking elegant. Though Coco Chanel actually did not like wearing skirts herself, they have become some of her most famous designs. Shortening and loosening them, Coco made skirts more wearable. She declared, “I gave women a sense of freedom. I gave them back their bodies: bodies that were drenched in sweat, due to fashion’s finery, lace, corsets, underclothes, padding.” 

Since Coco’s death, Karl Lagerfeld and Virginie Viard have re-designed the Chanel Skirt, updating it to fit the ever-changing trends (for example: miniskirts and denim) while staying true to Coco’s wish for women to dress as they please. 

Browse our collection of vintage Chanel Skirts. Stocked in a variety of colors and materials, you are sure to find something you feel both comfortable and elegant in.