History is our witness that many women have tried to take attitude in a men’s world…and succeeding. World has changed during the centuries, on the account of these women (and also on the account of many men), therefore, they have to be remembered and seen as an example of boldness and ambitious for the generations to come.
Coco Chanel
“I don’t do fashion, I AM fashion.”
Considered to be one of the greatest fashion designers of the 20th century, Coco Chanel proved to world that elegance is simplicity and that short skirts aren’t vulgar, but bold. She understood the desire of all modern women, including herself and created clothing that was firstly influenced by her own taste in the satisfaction of the others.
The girl with a mysterious childhood and a period of her lifetime spent in a convent, began to start her fashion dream by meeting Arthur “Boy” Chapel, a British industrialist, who help Coco open her first clothing shop in Paris.
Between 1912 and 1920, her fashion oeuvre d’art were present on the catwalks of major European cities. In this way, everybody came to know her comfortable and relaxed way of fashion and, of course, her true creation, the jersey. In 1921, she even created the famous perfume Chanel no. 5. Coco Chanel might have created a boom in the 20th century fashion world but the fire she created still burns vividly in our times, with costumes that reach over $ 5,000.
Mari Curie
“I am one of those who think like Nobel, that humanity will draw more good than evil from new discoveries.”
She was born in Poland, on November 7, 1867 and she was proof that in that times the overall mentality about women was that they belong in the kitchen. Living with the memory of her sister dying at a young age from typhus and her mother from tuberculosis, Marie wants to study physics and chemistry in Paris (as in Poland women didn’t have the right to study in universities).
While in Paris, she met her future husband, Pierre Curie, that serves her as a spiritual guide and a wonderful mentor. They get married in 1895 and, thus, become the first couple in history that undergo scientific research.
They both got a Nobel Prize for discovering 2 new radioactive elements, polonium and radium, as Marie is the first woman to ever win such a prize. After the death of her husband, Marie continues her research and in 1911 she receives her second Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
Although she helped the world better understand radioactivity, the documents that she has left behind are far too dangerous to be manipulated. Even her cooking book is radioactive. Her documents are sealed in lead boxes and those who read them have to wear protective clothing.
Emmeline Pankhurst
“Trust in God: She will provide.”
In 1858, the year Emmeline was born, women had little to none rights in Great Britain and one of the worse was not having the right to vote. In this sense, Emmeline and her two daughters dedicated their lives to fight for women’s right to participating in taking decisions through voting.
They developed strategies, they organized groups of social pressure, and they have participated in and organized protesting marches. They have even tied themselves up with chains to public buildings in order to gain popularity for the cause. In 1918, after a long and extensive campaign that were faced with arrests and hunger strikes, women that were over 30 were finally given the right to vote.
