I have always been inspired by the modernist philosophy and musings of the pioneering french fashion designer, Coco Chanel.  And I could think of no better way to start this new year than by revisiting some of my favorites.  I hope they inspire you as much as they inspire me!  Enjoy!

“How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.”

“Fashion fades, only style remains the same.”

“I stay true to myself and my style, and I am always pushing myself to be aware of that and be original.”

“Elegance does not consist of putting on a new dress.”

“Fashion is Architecture; it is a matter of proportions.”

“If the end does not justify the means – what can?”

“Life’s but short; you might as well be amusing.”

“You must pass your days in song.  Let your whole life be a song.”

“There is not any memory with less satisfaction than the memory of some temptation we resisted.”

“I Invented my life by taking for granted that everything I did not like would have an opposite, which I would like.”

“Since everything is in our heads, we better not lose them.”

“Don’t spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.”

“Luxury must be comfortable.  Otherwise, it is not luxury.”

“There is no time for cut and dry monotony.  There is time for work, and a time for love.  That leaves no other time.”

“Success is often achieved by those who don’t know failure is inevitable.”

“The Most courageous act is still to think for yourself.  Aloud.”

“A drink a day keeps the shrink away.”

“Elegance is not the prerogative of those who have just escaped from adolescence, but those who have already taken possession of their future.”

“You have to love what you do to do it everyday.”

“Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance.”

“A house must be built on solid foundations if it is to last.  The same principle applies to man, otherwise he too will sink back into the soft ground and becomes swallowed up by the world of illusion.”

“There are times I can’t even figure myself out.”

“Look for the woman in the dress.  If there is no woman, there is no dress.”

“What matters is to live in the present, live now, for every moment is now.  It is your thoughts and acts of the moment that create your future.  The outline of your future path already exists, for you created its pattern by your past.”

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.  May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.”

Happy New Year & Best Wishes for 2011!  xoxo Kris