The location of Coco Chanel’s first boutique outside Paris, opened in 1913, was Deauville.
Chanel opened the boutique during the resort town’s fashionable summer season, with financial support from Arthur “Boy” Capel. The shop stood on Rue Gontaut-Biron, near the casino and the Hôtel Normandy, and first sold hats before expanding into clothing.
Deauville helped Chanel move beyond millinery. She introduced practical leisurewear made from jersey and other relatively humble fabrics, including sweaters, jackets, sailor blouses, and sports-inspired separates. These designs suited the resort’s wealthy clientele and challenged the restrictive conventions of early twentieth-century women’s dress.
A common mix-up is Biarritz, where Chanel opened another establishment in 1915. That shop became her first true couture house and was particularly successful with affluent clients displaced by the First World War. Deauville, however, was the earlier boutique and the first location outside Paris.