Nazi Chanel Scarf

curiousparisian

curiousparisian

Registered Guest
I am hoping someone can help me authenticate this scarf. I am sorry in advance if this is posted in the wrong place, but I find the forum a little overwhelming/ confusing!

Anyway..... first the crazy back story.....

My grandfather married a German woman who at the end was a little.... off. I never knew her personally as I was a baby when they moved back to Europe. However, my family says she was just a little out there if you get my drift.

Now, according to her, this woman's father was a Nazi. As most Germans at the time of WWII and before were, this is not suprising. Apparently, he relized the Nazi party was doing crazy things and he wanted out. So, he went to somebody high in command (I was told it Rommel?) and the father was told OK, your family can go, but you have to go to the front lines. He was never seen again. So, the family moves to Paris.

Here, she got into modeling and she apparently met an up and coming older designer. This scarf would be from that era (no clue exact dates) and supposedly came from the designer, Chanel, herself.

My mother was given the scard by the woman in question in I would assume the late 80's or early 90's when I was born. I am just curious if the scarf could possibly refute this story!? It is so crazy, out there and so wild that it could be true or it could be very fabricated lie. Anyway, if somebody could help me date and authenticate this, it would be amazing! Thanks in advance.
 

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If the story is true, the scarf would be before 1939. I'm not an expert on scarves, especially Chanel patterns.

That said, the scarf has a hand-rolled edge so it could be a Chanel. Look at the printing carefully to see if the colors are correctly aligned and there are no white sections between the colors.
 
I am hoping someone can help me authenticate this scarf.
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we cannot do authentications here, as noted in our welcome center

5 - Trade Members of the VFG are unable to authenticate designer labels on the forums. For authentication we recommend contacting the design house directly.
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You would need to take this to a Chanel shop to be sure.
 
Wow- an amazing story and an amazing scarf.
I would like to suggest though that your comment- As most Germans at the time of WWII and before were, this is not surprising as perhaps a little broad, some were and some weren't, in my opinion lets not presume they mostly were?.
But as for your scarf- there is some speculation in history books dealing with WW2 that I have read, that Chanel may have had connections within the Nazi party. As too whether this is true, there is not a lot of fact unfortunately, to support the case.
A lot of people were paying and bribing there way out of Germany, and also Paris during WW2 and the Nazi occupation, for obvious reasons. This gentlemen would have been very high indeed up to have been able to go to Rommel.
 
The story sounds a bit apocryphal to me. As Claire noted, Chanel closed down her business in fall 1939 and didn't reopen until spring 1954, and the only thing being produced during the interim was perfume. Unlike most Germans of the era, I think there is a lot of damning evidence that ties Chanel to the Nazis but I doubt the scarf dates from the 1930s. It looks most likely to be 1980s to me, so it was probably new at the time your grandmother gave it to your mother.
 
hahaha yeah I would almost believe the 1980s scarf before the other story. The woman was not my grandmother as she was my grandfathers 2nd wife. I didnt know about her "history" until later. My mother gave me the scarf recently with no back story. So.... that said, if she did model for Chanel personally then it could have been after she re-launched the brand. I have no idea to be honest. Thats why I was wondering if someone knew how to get potential dates on the scarf lol
 
I would like to suggest though that your comment- As most Germans at the time of WWII and before were, this is not surprising as perhaps a little broad, some were and some weren't, in my opinion lets not presume they mostly were?.
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Thanks for pointing that one out! This is just too true, as a story in my newspaper showed today... near-unbelievable story of a young German communist who was first sent to prison by the Nazis before the war, and then the Soviets did just the same thing to him afterward...

Karin
 
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