She built an empire and today, her empire still has her name on it on over 300 Chanel stores worldwide but who is Coco Chanel? Coco was born in Saumur, France on August 19, 1883. After her mother died when the girl Gabrielle, who later in life will be called Coco, was 12, she was left in a convent by her father. Chanel learned how to sew thanks to the nuns who raised her. Her early years were not glamorous of course considering that she grew up in a convent but Gabrielle would later create timeless designs that will later function as a symbol of luxury and style. Chanel did not care for wearing corsets because she believes that luxury should be comfortable or else it shouldn’t be called luxury in the first place. The fashion pioneer got her nickname during her brief career as a cabaret singer. Chanel herself revealed that “Coco” was short for cocotte –a French word that meant “kept woman”. When Chanel was in her 20s she took a wealthy lover by the name of Etienne Balsan who was instrumental in helping her start a business in Paris. As the story goes, Chanel left Balsan for one of his friends. Arthur Capel was wealthier than Balsan and had connection so being the practical girl that she was, Coco took him as a lover. Coco Chanel set up shop at the Rue Cambon in 1910 where she started selling hats. Later on, she opened stores in Biarritz and then in Deauville and started making clothes. According to history, her first taste of being a successful designer is when she turned an old jersey of one of her lovers into a dress. The jersey was warm and it was cold in her base in Deauville. She once told that her fortune in the world of fashion started out with that jersey dress.