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Fashion (时尚)

Haute Stuff 香奈儿：低调的奢华

详细资料: 创建于 2002年12月25日; 最后更新于 2024年5月25日; 发布于 2011年5月18日; 作者：Mike Lee; 点击数：368

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繁體中文譯本

A Stylish Little Number

Those in the fashion know understand that every woman simply must have a “little black dress” in her repertoire. The fashion essential has proved itself as timeless as the French icon who introduced it into our fashion vocabulary – Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.

熟悉时装的人都明白，每个女人的衣橱里绝对得备有一件「黑色小洋装」。这款重要的流行服饰已被视为历久弥新，正如那位将它引入我们时装语汇的法国名人──可可．香奈儿。

Chanel revolutionized haute women’s wear in spite of an impoverished upbringing – and, indeed, owing to it; her relatively destitute background played a pivotal role in defining her life’s direction as well as her unique style.

香奈儿彻底改变了高级仕女的穿著，尽管她的成长历程困顿──其实，还多亏了这点：她贫穷的出身，在她确立人生方向及树立独特风格上，都扮演了关键的角色。

While other young Parisian women were swanning inside nightclubs, hidden under corsets and lace, the young, spirited, and penniless Chanel was to be found in the fresh air of the countryside. Her unconventional attitude and charismatic joie de vivre made her an attractive companion for affluent young playboys.

当其他巴黎妙龄女子流连于夜总会，把身体藏在紧身衣和蕾丝底下时，充满青春活力但身无分文的香奈儿，却置身于乡间新鲜空气中。她特立独行的态度加上号召力十足的生活乐趣，使她成为极受纨裤子弟喜爱的同伴。

Having such silk-stocking companions but little money of her own, Chanel found herself on the outskirts of fashionable society. She could not afford the dressy clothes of the era, and anyway, those designs couldn’t afford Chanel the freedom of movement that her active lifestyle demanded. Beginning with the head and working her way down, Chanel began to create her own style, one that would steadily metamorphose into the now much revered “Chanel look.”

拥有这群穿着入时的伙伴、自己却没什么钱，香奈儿发现自己身处时尚圈的外围。她负担不起当时那些高档服饰；而那些设计也无法让香奈儿活动自如，满足不了她积极的生活方式。于是香奈儿先从头顶着手，渐次向下，创造了自己的风格，这种风格逐渐转化成时下所尊称的Chanel Look。

Vocabulary

单词发音

haute【法】高级的 fashionably elegant

stylish [ˋstaɪlɪʃ] adj. 时髦的，流行的；漂亮的

in the know 知道..实情, 掌握..内幕

repertoire [ˋrɛpɚ͵twɑr] n.（一个演员所能表演的）全部节目

essential [ɪˋsɛnʃəl] n. 必需品; 不可缺的东西; 要素，要点；必需品

timeless [ˋtaɪmlɪs] adj. 万古长新的; 永不过时的

icon [ˋaɪkɑn] n. 偶像﹐ 崇拜对象

impoverished [ɪmˋpɑvərɪʃt] adj. 穷困的；赤贫的

upbringing [ˋʌp͵brɪŋɪŋ] n. 养育；教养，培养

destitute [ˋdɛstə͵tjut] adj. 穷困的，贫困的

pivotal [ˋpɪvət!] adj. 关键的；重要的

swan [swɑn] v.【口】闲荡，游逛

corset [ˋkɔrsɪt] n.（妇女用的）束腹，紧身褡

spirited [ˋspɪrɪtɪd] adj. 活泼的；生气勃勃的

charismatic [͵kærɪzˋmætɪk] adj. 有吸引力的; 有感召力的; 有魅力的

joie de vivre 【法】〔由于活着而产生的〕快乐兴奋 hearty or carefree enjoyment of life

companion [kəmˋpænjən] n. 同伴，伴侣；朋友

silk-stocking [ˋsɪlkˋstɑkɪŋ] adj. 穿着入时的人的; 贵族的；富裕的 fashionably dressed

outskirt [ˋaʊt͵skɝt] n. 外围, 边缘

dressy [ˋdrɛsɪ] adj.〔服装〕适合正式场合穿的﹐ 讲究的

metamorphose [mɛtəˋmɔr͵foz] v. 使变形；【地】使变质

revere [rɪˋvɪr] v.【正式】尊敬﹐崇敬

Sentence of the Day

It cramped her style.

那使她放不开手脚。

cramp one’s style: to restrict or prevent from free action or expression

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A Helping Hand

Thanks to financial backing from generous lovers, Chanel’s creative dreams became realized. She opened a hat store in Paris, eventually expanding into Biarritz, Deauville – and clothing. Believing fashion “…is in the air,…. in the sky and on the road,” Chanel’s designs drew heavily from things she saw around her.

由于一些慷慨的爱用者给予财力支持，香奈儿富创造力的梦想才得以实现。她在巴黎开了家帽子店，最后在比雅丽兹和杜维尔也开了分店──也卖起衣服来。香奈儿相信时装「……在空气中……天空、路上」，于是在设计上大量取材自她目光所及的每件事物。

Her use of rural materials such as wool and jersey, coupled with her clean, crisp lines, ensured that her clothing was unique. The fickle fashion industry soon took notice, and Chanel’s star rose to legendary status – but what goes up must eventually come down.

香奈儿使用斜纹软呢和加绩布料等素材，加上干净利落的线条，使其服饰别具一格。瞬息万变的时装界马上注意到了，香奈儿这颗新星遂跃升至传奇的地位──怎奈花开总有花谢时。

As the result of an affair with Nazi officer during the occupation of Paris, Chanel spent eight post-war years in exile, mostly in Switzerland. However, in 1954, a seventy-one-year-old Chanel braced herself for a comeback. Although she received an icy reception in France, the United States could not get enough of her. Fervent support from the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Jacqueline Kennedy ensured Chanel’s phoenix-like rebirth.

由于香奈儿在巴黎被纳粹占领期间与一位纳粹军官谈恋爱，她在战后流亡了八年之久，其间大部分在瑞士度过。然而在1954年，71岁的香奈儿做好了东山再起的准备。虽然遭到法国冷漠的接待，美国却对她热情有加。诸如奥黛莉赫本与杰奎琳肯尼迪等人的热情支持，使香奈儿得以如浴火凤凰般重生。

Coco Chanel passed away in 1971. Two gold interlocking C’s remain the logo of her still-flourishing fashion house. They have garnered a place in haute couture as being synonymous with utmost luxury, elegance, and style – the legacy of a different and irreplaceable woman.

可可．香奈儿于1971年逝世。两个相互连锁的黄金C字仍是她繁华依旧的时装店的标志。这对C字已在高级时装界赢得一席之地，可与极度奢华、高雅、风格独具──一个举世无双的女人所塑造的典范──划上等号。

－by Katherine Bosher

Vocabulary

单词发音