Shaeffer Claire B. Couture Sewing The Couture Cardigan Jacket, Sewing secrets from a Chanel Collector

Taunton Press, 2013. — 146 p. — ISBN 978-1600855047.i began the research for this book more than 30 years ago. along the way, i’ve examined more than 300 Chanel designs—mostly suits and coats— in 17 museum and private collections. during that time i’ve amassed a personal collection of Chanel designs, which includes more than 75 couture pieces, a variety of ready-to-wear designs, and many copies.
The house of Chanel guards its workroom and archives very strictly, and my several requests to visit them in order to learn their construction techniques have been turned down. But that hasn’t deterred me from trying to fi gure them out on my own.
So i focused on what i know—traditional haute couture construction and how it has been applied to garments in my collection, how other designers use similar techniques, and what i have learned through my experience teaching others.