Coco Chanel

"Coco Chanel"
French C1 writing exercise

Learn about this extraordinary woman who became a fashion icon.

 

Use Le Passé Simple when appropriate in this biographical text.

Pay attention to the hints!

Some vocabulary you may want to look up before or during this exercise: "a figurehead", "a convent", "a milliner", "to take by storm", "a waist", "a sailor-striped jersey top", "interwar", "a pioneer".

Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE
Last updated: 2023-08-24

I’ll give you some sentences to translate into French

  • I’ll show you where you make mistakes
  • I’ll keep track of what you need to practise
  • Change my choices if you want
Start the exercise
How the test works
You’ll practise: Le Passé Simple (Indicatif), Article, Verbes réguliers avec -ER

Here's a preview of the text for the writing challenge, when you're ready click the start button above:

Gabrielle Chanel was the figurehead of French fashion. Born in a modest family in south-west France, she learned how to sew with nuns at a convent. Her creations as a milliner took Paris by storm. Very soon, she also began making women's clothes and became very popular by freeing women from the corset. The "silhouette neuve" that she created became iconic, famous for its thin waist and short hair. Inventor of the sailor-striped jersey top among other things, she influenced interwar fashion. A pioneer of trousers for women, her modern style continues to inspire women all around the globe.

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