虽然说英雄莫问出处，可是CoCo 对她贫寒凄惨的童年还是讳莫如深。她编造童年故事糊弄媒体，用钱买断穷亲戚让他们自动消失。因此，传记作家Axel Madsen开篇劈头第一句就毫不客气地说：
“She made up things.”
自卑往往与自大如影随形。CoCo Chanel自己也承认，她的举止，声音，眼神和脸上，浑身上下都透出一股傲气：
“Today, like back then, arrogance is in everything I do. It is in my gestures, the harshness of my voice, in the glow of my gaze, in my sinewy, tormented face, in my whole person.”
像CoCo这样的名女人，传记作家的溢美之辞早已多如塞纳河之沙。可是，她自己对什么才是女人的教养却有如此举重若轻的定义：
“A woman’s education consists of two lessons: never leave the house without stockings, never go out without a hat.”（“女人的教养就两门功课：没穿长筒袜子就别出门。没戴帽子就别外出。”）
