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After women fought for their right to vote and Congress passed the19th Amendment of the Constitution, women believed they were capable of doing anything. Before the 1920s, women were considered lower than men, treated poorly, and didn’t have equal opportunities. Women were not given the same opportunities as men because it was believed that women could not tolerate as much work as a man. Women were not educated and therefore didn’t have jobs. They were housewives who cooked, cleaned, and took care of their children. Women also weren’t able to display their body, for example skirts were worn down to their ankles. Revolutionary fashions during the 1920s made it acceptable for women to separate themselves from unrevealing and unflattering styles. Miss America and Flappers helped the world reconsider the part that women play in society. A door of opportunity opened for women in careers, sports, and even education. As a result women were able to desert the constrained fashions and get involved in male controlled jobs and sports. Revolutionary fashions made it acceptable to show more skin, develop different styles, and able for women to express themselves. Women began to liberate themselves from the traditional long hairstyles and turn to the new and short masculine hairdos. “The bob appeared in the US shortly…Women with bobs needed more frequent haircuts, and wanted permanent waves” (Monet). Women began to cut their hair shorter, cringing their hair, and finger waving it. Although many women saw it as outrageous and boyish, many people today have cut their hair the same way and even shorter. It wasn’t permissible for a woman to display her body. Skirts were to be covering their legs all the way down to their ankles. If the skirt d... ... middle of paper ... ...hinson Encyclopedia. 2011. eLibrary. Web. 22 Jan. 2014. Latham, Angela J.. Posing a threat: flappers, chorus girls, and other brazen performers of the American 1920s. Hanover, NH: Published by University Press of New England [for] Wesleyan University Press, 2000. Print. Monet, Dolores. "Women's Fashions of the 1920's - Flappers and the Jazz Age." HubPages. HubPages, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014. . Scott, Robert. "1920s Womens Fashions." 1920's Womens Fashions. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014. . Thomas, Pauline. "Flapper Fashion 1920s C20th Fashion History." Fashion-Era. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 1929. http://www.fashion-era.com/flapper_fashion_1920s.htm#Make Up Rites Woolum, Janet. Chapter 1 Women in American Sports. The Oryx Press, 1992. eLibrary. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
"Fashion Timeline : 1920 To 1930." Vintage Fashion Guild. Vintage Fashion Guild, 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. .
From coast to coast people were reading the exploits of a new type of woman called flapper. Prior to World War 1 Victorian ideals still dictated the behavior of American women and girls. Frederick Lewis Allen describes the traditional role of women. Women were the guardians of morality. They were made of finer stuff than men. They were expected to act accordingly. Young girls must look forward in innocence to a romantic love match which would lead them to the altar and to living happily ever after. Until the right man came along they must allow no male to kiss them. Flappers did the opposite. Flappers danced the Charleston, kissed their boyfriends while they played golf and sat behind the wheels of fast cars. The liberated usually young female disdained the traditions of her mother and grandmother before her. Flappers would smoke and drink alcohol, she cut her hair and wore short dresses. They also changed their views on courtship rituals, marriage, and child rearing. With these they could have the same freedom as men could. The time period also saw a highly physical change in women’s lives like how they dressed and looked. For the first time in American history women could choose to be free from long hair and voluminous clothing. Before the women changed they wore very restrictive clothing consisting of long skirts with layers of petticoats over tightly laced corsets that produced an hourglass figure with wide hips and a narrow waist.
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.
In the generation leading up to the emergence of the flapper, the popular style for women was that of the “Gibson Girl”. Based on the depictions of women by...
The 1920’s was a period of extremely economic growth and personal wealth. America was a striving nation and the American people had the potential to access products never manufactured before. Automobile were being made on an assembly line and were priced so that not just the rich had access to these vehicles, as well as, payment plans were made which gave the American people to purchase over time if they couldn't pay it all up front. Women during the First World War went to work in place of the men who went off to fight. When the men return the women did not give up their positions in the work force. Women being giving the responsibility outside the home gave them a more independent mindset, including the change of women's wardrobe, mainly in the shortening of their skirts.
In the 1920s, a new woman was born. She smoked, drank, danced, and voted. She cut her hair, wore make-up, and went to petting parties. She was giddy and took risks. She was a flapper.
The fashion in the 20’s were also called the flapper era, Women’s fashions in the early 1920's experienced powerful changes
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).
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.
“Flappers.” Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 4: Modern World Part I: 1900-1945. Detroit: UXL, 2004.
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
There was a change in traditional clothings. A new fashioned group of women started to appear in the 1920s. Flappers are women who appeal to more modern and fashionable way of dressing and living styles. Women wore short skirts instead of long dresses. The short, bobbing hairs took place of long, tight buns. “Manly” actions such as smoking and drinking are becoming more common within women. Women are totally turning the tradition upside down during the twenties.
When one thinks of flappers, the first thing that comes to mind is the image of a woman dressed much like Julie Andrews in Thoroughly Modern Millie, bobbed hair, fringed low-waisted dress, flat-chested and highly made up face. This, though a stereotype is close to the truth. In the 20’s after the first world war women’s roles in society began to change, primarily because they started becoming more independent – both in their dress and action. They started to defy what was considered to be appropriate feminine behavior and along with those actions came new fashions. The sleek, boyish look became popular and women began to wear lower waistlines, higher hemlines, sleeveless dresses that showed off their arms, long strands of pearls and rolled down pantyhose to show their knees. Women who had larger breasts even went so far as to bind them down to fit into the flat-chested ideal of beauty. The “in” look now was boyish, much in contrast to the feminine big skirted, shirtwaisted dresses of their mothers’ age. Women began to gain the independence and social liberties that men had always possessed, they wanted to physically display their newly gained freedoms. Short hair, first as a bob, later as a slicked down “shingle” that curled above the ears emphasized the new androgynous look women were trying to obtain. These “modern” women asserted their independence by going out dancing, moving to the city alone, drinking even during prohibition, flirting and having love affairs.
Thomas, Pauline Weston. “1950’s Glamour Fashion History 1950’s.” Fashion Era. 2005. 2 May 2005 .
At the beginning of the 20th century it was a moment when the U.S was starting to become more powerful than other countries and that’s when an exposure of multiple fashion began to occur in the 1900s. Fashion such as: corsets in which incudes a variety of corsets created throughout the Era, lingerie dresses, hobble skirts, over/under skirts, V-necks, flappers,