細看香奈兒的經歷與人生態度,從故事裡學英語:出身卑微、獨樹一格的英文怎麼說?

成立超過 100 年的 CHANEL(香奈兒)早已成為優雅、時髦、精品的代名詞。

Coco Chanel 可說是史上最有名的時尚設計師,她在時尚史和現代女性史留下的貢獻和價值都十分有影響力。從永遠的熱銷商品斜紋軟呢外套裝(Tweed Suit),到菱格紋包(Quilting Bag),香奈兒 NO5 香水,她所創造的無數經典讓香奈兒誕生至今 100 年,仍是不敗的世紀風格。作為歷史上一位最偉大與最有影響力的高級時裝設計師,Coco Chanel 從未過時。她在過去的 100 年中,無論是在時裝還是人生態度,都是女性追求的先導和典範。儘管已逝世多年,但許多人仍熱愛著 Chanel 風格,她精彩的人生,大戰前後的緋聞,使她的生命留下濃厚的傳奇色彩。今天就讓我們看影片學英文,同時了解 Coco Chanel 的傳奇一生。

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Once upon a time, there lived a little girl who hid her humble origins all her life and preferred to invent her own legend.

從前,有位小女孩一輩子隱瞞著自己卑微的出身,並希望開創出屬於自己的傳奇。

Once upon a time 通常被拿來當作講故事的典型起手式,是代表「從前、很久以前」的意思。

humble 通常都指「謙遜的、謙虛的」,但在這邊是指「地位卑下的、卑微的」;「卑微的身世」可以如影片中所說 humble origins,也可以說 humble background。

Once upon a time, Gabrielle Chanel was born under the sign of the Leo to a traveling peddler and a laundress, who died at 32, exhausted by life.

從前,在太陽運行到獅子座之際,嘉柏麗‧香奈兒誕生了,她的雙親是沿街叫賣的小販和洗衣婦,母親在三十二歲時因生活勞苦而辭世。

⊙ was born under the sign of the Leo 代表星座是獅子座。在英語中問他人是什麼星座,可以說:「What is your zodiac sign / star sign?」或是最簡單的:「What is your sign?」而要回答自己是獅子座,除了說「 I was born under the sign of the Leo.」,也可以說「I am a Leo.」或是「My star sign is Leo.」

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Once upon a time, there was a father who abandoned his five children and had his three daughters sent away to an orphanage. At 12 years old, Gabrielle would never see him again. Forever after, she pretended that he had left to make his way in America.

從前,有名父親遺棄自己的五個孩子,並將他的三個女兒送進孤兒院。在十二歲時,嘉柏麗將永遠不會再見到父親。自此之後,她假裝他已遠赴美國打拼。

Make one's way 代表前進、發跡,在這邊則是進一步衍伸做「奮鬥、打拚」的意思。

Once upon a time, there was an orphanage behind the walls of a convent, the abbey of Aubazine, where Gabrielle spent nearly seven years. The Romanesque purity of this ascetic world would inspire her sense of austerity and her taste for black and white, while the opulence of religious garments and ceremonial objects would spark her fascination with Baroque style, gold, and colored gems in years to come.

從前,在奧巴辛修道院的高牆後有一間孤兒院,嘉柏麗在那裡度過將近七年歲月。這個禁慾世界中的羅馬式純樸風格將激發她對極簡的體悟以及對黑與白的愛好,而宗教服飾及禮器的華麗則讓她在未來醉心於巴洛克風格、金色以及色彩繽紛的寶石。


圖片|來源

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl who spent her days sewing and her nights singing in a cabaret before troops of cavalrymen. She was called "Coco" because she often sang "Who's Seen Coco in the Trocadero?" She always preferred to pretend that Coco was the nickname given to her by her father.

從前,有位美麗的少女,她白天縫紉,夜晚則到一間夜總會唱歌給騎兵團聽。人們叫她「Coco」,因為她時常唱一首《誰有在特羅卡德羅看到 Coco?》。 她總是喜歡假裝 Coco 是父親給自己取的小名。

Once upon a time, a young woman with a boyish allure refused to ride sidesaddle on the horses of a well-born cavalier, Etienne Balsan. She dressed like no one else, taking her inspiration from masculine attire and inventing new styles of hat, which she stripped off their birds and feathers to make them simpler, lighter, more chic. Her first clients were working girls, but society quickly followed.

從前,一個男孩子氣但迷人的年輕女子,她拒絕用女式馬鞍騎乘在艾提安‧貝森,一名出身高貴的騎士的馬上。她的穿衣風格獨樹一幟,她的靈感源自男性服裝,她還創造出新式樣的帽子,除去鳥飾及羽毛來讓帽子更簡潔、輕巧、時尚。她一開始的顧客是一些女工們,但上流社會很快地跟上這股潮流。

⊙ dress like no one else 字面上意思是「穿著不像其他任何人」,也就是指「穿衣風格獨樹一格」,此外「獨樹一格」的英文也可以說 have a style of one's own。

Once upon a time, there was a great love named Boy Capel, English, wealthy, and cultivated—he was the man of her dreams. He introduced her to literature, the Orient, and the esoteric. Boy helped Coco become Chanel. She decided to open her first boutiques in Paris, Deauville, and Biarritz. She wanted to work to win her liberty.

從前,有種深刻的愛叫「鮑伊‧卡柏」,他是英國人,富有且溫文儒雅--他是她的理想情人。他引領她進入文學、東方以及神祕學的世界。鮑伊讓 Coco 蛻變成香奈兒。她決定在巴黎、多維勒還有比亞里茨開設最初的幾間精品店。她想努力工作來獲得自由。

Once upon a time, a revolution came to pass when, in a stroke of genius, Coco Chanel transformed the female silhouette. She shortened dresses, revealed ankles, freed the waist, eliminated corsets, revived jersey, cut her hair, and bronzed her skin. Chanel closed one era and launched a new century of fashion.

從前,一場時尚革命到來,當時可可‧香奈兒靈機一動,改變女性呈現的輪廓。她將洋裝改短、露出腳踝、解放腰際、脫掉束腹、讓佳績布料有新樣貌、剪短頭髮,還曬出古銅膚色。香奈兒替一個時代劃下句點,並開啟一個時尚新紀元。

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⊙ come to pass 是指「發生、應驗」的意思,所以 a revolution came to pass 就是指「一場革命發生、到來」;a stroke of genius 字面上是「突如其來、忽然發生的天才奇想」,也就是指心血來潮、靈機一動想到某個好主意的意思。

Once a upon a time, at 31 Rue Cambon, Mademoiselle Chanel opened her first couture house in Paris in 1918. The little country girl, the orphan of Aubazine, had become the queen of Paris. Before liberating women, she had liberated herself.

從前,香奈兒小姐在 1918 年時於巴黎康朋街 31 號創立她的第一間時裝店。這個鄉下小女孩、奧巴辛的孤兒,已經搖身一變為巴黎女王。在解放女性之前,她已先解放了自己。

Once upon a time, there was a love story that ended abruptly. Boy Capel died in a car accident. For the first and last time, Coco Chanel was seen to cry. "Either I die as well," she said, "or I finish what we started together." She chose to go on.

從前,有段驟逝的愛情故事。鮑伊‧卡柏死於一場車禍。是第一次也是最後一次,可可‧香奈兒在人們面前落淚。「不是我也跟著走,」她說,「就是我繼續完成我們一同開創的一切。」她選擇繼續走下去。

⊙ abrupt 是形容詞,指「很突然且意料之外的」,通常也被用來形容不太令人開心的事物,表示事情的發展急轉直下。而在這邊 end abruptly 的 abruptly 是副詞,修飾前面的動詞 end,指前面的愛情故事「驟逝、戛然而止」。