1920s Fashion Essay

719 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The impact of 1920s fashion

The 1920s was a time of change, both socially and politically. The fashion of the era was a perfect representation of the rebel attitudes and new ideas present in the time period. The symbolic clothing and accessories differed from the ones of previous decades, they showed rebellion and were a turning point for expressing art through fashion and is still used today. As a start, fashion before the twenties was conservative and something that only wealthy individuals expressed. Between 1910 and 1920, women that could afford to, dressed in Edwardian dress code. They wore long dresses embellished with lace and corsets. They accessorized with extravagant hats and dainty jewelry. The style was uncomfortable (1920’s). Before the twenties, poor …show more content…

The 1920s was a time of standing up for what you believed in. Flappers were rebellion icons. They danced to the Charleston and had wild attitudes. They flapped their arms to any beat , hence the name, and always had a smile or provocative smirk on their face. The girls wore short fringe dresses and eccentric jewelry. Movie stars, Clare Bow and Joan Crawford were two of the first celebrity flappers and influenced woman throughout the country. Woman began to mock the flappers by getting pixie haircuts and wearing cloche hats. (Alchin) They wore camisoles rather than coresetts. The style gave the woman of the time a sense of power. The hemlines rose and stockings and T-Strap shoes were exposed. The dresses were straight cut and usually accessorized with a belt at the waist. (Hilke) The woman wanted their husbands to catch up with the new trends. Men wore sport jackets and and fedoras. For the first time in history the men abandoned formal day attire and dressed in sport. Pinstripes and suspenders were common along with bow ties. (Alchin) During the twenties the price of clothing became reasonable for all classes of people. Fashion became less of a high class art. The fashion of the twenties was a symbol of rebellion. The wild trends reflected the mindset of those trying to make a change in

Show More
Related

  • Flappers In The 1920s

    1276 Words  | 3 Pages

    Their style was introduced in the early 1910s but did not spark until the 1920s. The style was said to be more comfortable, but was not appealing to the more conservative. Before the change of style, most women were dressed modestly; however, women's fashion in the 1920s showcased a more “boyish” and comfortable, look which led to huge controversy and affects how women dress today. Although to society now, these changes may not be seen as a big deal, back then it would split society.

    Read More

  • Civil War Fashion for Ladies

    1185 Words  | 3 Pages

    Victorian Fashion refers to the styles and clothing worn before and during the Civil War era of the United States, 1860-1900. This era was filled with a very difficult way of dressing oneself and to deviate from this line of dress was unheard of, and worthy of being outcaste. Victorian women’s clothing was layers, heavy, and barely manageable to even wear. Many different articles made up the full garment such as the undergarments, the skirt, top, shoes, accessories, and even the hair. How did women ready themselves for the day in this era and how did they deal with all the cumbersome attire?

    Read More

  • Flappers: Women's Liberation In The 1920s

    1422 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the book Flappers: a Guide to an American Subculture written by Kelly Boyer Sagert, “Early in the 1920s, flappers epitomized the battle for freedom in terms of self-expression, female equality, and indulgence in pleasures.” The first of these three components of this fight for autonomy was conveyed through fashion and beauty choices highly popularized by flappers, such as bobbed hair, bold makeup, short skirts, and rolled stockings; all of which redefining the perception of the feminine form and silhouette. Significant gains were also made towards the battle for gender equality when women were granted suffrage, therefore permitting their opinions and ideologies to be present in political decisions and allowing women to be more involved in local, state, and national affairs. In addition, flappers went against societal norms for women and began indulging in pleasurable activities, such as attending speakeasies, dancing the Charleston with numerous male suitors at jazz clubs, and engaging in casual sex as opposed to remaining reserved and modest as women in earlier generations had (Sagert, 2010). As said by author Jonathan Zeitz in his book Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern, “They believed that life should be lived moment to moment, not according to

    Read More

  • The Role Of Today's Teenagers In The 1920s

    327 Words  | 1 Pages

    They may not have enjoyed quite as much freedom as many of today's teens do, teenagers in the 1920s were able to loosen up a bit. Gone were the constricting long dresses and corsets from

    Read More

  • Events Of The Year 1954

    1750 Words  | 4 Pages

    New fashions were surfacing in both men’s and women’s fashions. Men were wearing Bermuda pants, baggy pants that were cut off at the knee, while women were wearing capris, tight pants that cut off just below the knee. Men were wearing tailored jackets and making a slight move towards the casual dress of today’s workplace. Women were wearing natural shoulders as opposed to the heavily padded ones of the war years. Flat, neck-hugging collars replaced the mannish collars of the late 1940’s. Waists were tightly fitted and skirts were long (Melinkoff 46). The jeans of the time were often lined with plaid flanel and dungarees were worn to the most casual occasions. The sandals of the fifties were not much different than the sandals of today.

    Read More

  • The Women of the 1920's

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women of the 1920's Women during the 1920's lifestyle, fashion, and morals were very different than women before the 1920's. Flappers became the new big thing after the 19th amendment was passed. Women's morals were loosened, clothing and haircuts got shorter, and fashion had a huge role in these young women. Women before the 1920's were very different from the women of the Roarin' 20's. Gwen Hoerr Jordan stated that the ladies before the 1920's wore dresses that covered up most of their skin, had pinned up long hair, were very modest, had chaperones and had men make all of their decisions (1).

    Read More

  • 1920's Fashion Essay

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1920’s was an era of dramatic political and cultural change, where many Americans lived in cities rather than farms. Many inventors came to be noticed as new cars were invented and as music entered the entertainment industry. A new style of music was invented mainly in the African American community, creating the Harlem Renaissance; which was an evolution of music and entertainment in Harlem, New York City. The women of America began to evolve in the 1920s, adding new styles to our fashion industry and changing the way women dress, act, and are portrayed in society for generations. Women were viewed before the 1920’s as innocent housewives, who made little to no money, as they often relied on their husbands’ income.

    Read More

  • Fashion in the 1920's

    1048 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fashion of the 1920’s was also known as the roaring 20’s. Fashion in the 1920’s became more relaxed in the 20’s. In the early 1920’s the normal fashion was dropped waistlines, long, cylindrical skirts, 7” to 10” below the knee. Women finally received the right to vote, with this new right women also

    Read More

  • Flapper Women In America Essay

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although flapper girls were not appreciated by all, many of their brave choices influenced the way American women live today and the way they are viewed. Flapper girls were so important to America's history because it opened so many doors for women. Flapper girls took a stand for women and wanted to be treat equally to men. They began to dress as they wanted by wearing their short skirts and bright shiny jewelry to stand out. They cut their hair short to give themselves a more masculine appearance to contrast their sex appealing attire. To the human eye Flapper girls simply looked different to the way women had always looked.

    Read More

  • The 1920s

    1825 Words  | 4 Pages

    The 1920’s where a time of conservatism, it was a time of great social change. From the world of fashion to the world to politics, forces clashed to produce the most explosive decade of the century.

    Read More

  • Roaring Twenties Essay

    978 Words  | 2 Pages

    It was a known as a colorful time, the jazz age and the dollar decade. As World War I (WWI) came to a close many Americans wanted to simply forget about the Europeans and the war and live life to the fullest. Some chose to amuse themselves with soaring stock profits, illegal liquor, short skirts, and what many would look upon as shocking morals. This was a time of dramatic social and economic change. Many people were uncomfortable with this sometimes-racy “mass culture.” The Roaring Twenties was a time filled with youth hosting wild parties. Everything had a feeling of carelessness to it. People from all around the world were doing the same type of things as Americans were. As for the economic change, the total wealth of the U.S. nearly doubled from the year 1920 up until the great crash in 1929. Most African Americans knew this period to be the Harlem Renaissance. Many famous Jazz artists, playwrights, and sculptures came from the Harlem Renaissance. Some of which were Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes and Augustus Savage. Many other discoveries included sports legends, writers and gang life. Some of which were Babe Ruth, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Rudolph Valentino.

    Read More

  • Flappers Stereotypes

    1531 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... caused uproar in society (although they tended to do so along the way), the Flapper was, and still is, the biggest symbol of the loud and modern youth of the 1920’s. Their blunt personality about the sexual desire their feigned for created a new emotional and sexual culture for women, and new beginnings for both the male and female relationship. Flappers have had a major impact over the decades. They are still influencing women to this day. As they shook the social formation and the traditional female roles, they took pride in showing women across the globe that being submissive could only harm the potentially remarkable female. In other words, the Flapper created a new youth identity but not only in the United States, also in Europe and Russia. The older generation was all well familiar with the “Flaming Youth” and the desire it lead on to be free and at will.

    Read More

  • How Did F. Scott Fitzgerald Use Fashion In The 1920's

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1920’s was the time of political and dramatic change. More people lived in cities than in farms. “ The nation’s total wealth more than double between 1920 and 1929’’ (‘’Roaring Twenty’’). A lot of the Americans weren’t comfortable with the “urban” look but it brought a lot more conflict then celebration. In the 1920’s most Americans had extra money that they could spend on “ready to wear” clothes some of them even bought radios and

    Read More

  • A 1920s Woman

    2068 Words  | 5 Pages

    Women used to dress very conservatively and strict before the turn of the decade. Clothing consisted of fitted dresses, long skirts, and corsets in lady like manners. Since the 1920’s brought women’s rights along, young women decided that they were not willing to waste away their young lives anymore being held down to the rules; they were going to enjoy life. The younger generations of women were breaking away from their old habits and their fashion statements changed their roles in society completely. Women were modeling their lives after popular icons...

    Read More

  • Fashion History

    1358 Words  | 3 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... It also analyzed the influences of modern dresses. As Palmer and Clark (2005) mentioned earlier, both decades are the classic era in fashion history.

    Read More

More about 1920s Fashion Essay

Open Document