Who Knew? Coco Chanel Started French Chic Love of Suntanning

Who Knew? Coco Chanel Started French Chic Love of Suntanning AOC Body|Beauty|Culture

As the working classes left the fields for factories, their skin became lighter. In an effort to always distinguish their own status, the rich embraced tanning and life outdoors.

By the early 1920’s heliotherapy, as it was called, became the rage. Coco Chanel influenced the tanning trend in France more than any other person. Accidentally sunburned on a vacation, trendsetter Coco Chanel returned tanned from the Mediterranean and a new look was born.