The Roaring Twenties - The Modern World is Born

One of the most abrupt and fascinating changes in Western culture as well as in women's fashion -- from corseted and constricted to free and fun began during the first World War and accelerated in the 1920s.  Indeed, it was the war itself that mainly drove the shift in women's attire. As the men of Europe were sent to the trenches to die by the millions, women moved into jobs once the exclusive domain of men. Farming, factory and other manufacturing jobs could not be done in the rigid, restrictive under garments and outer clothing of Edwardian fashion.  As was discussed in a previous blog post, Coco Chanel and others catered to the needs of women working in jobs where flexible dress was necessary-- she and others created looser fitting dresses from loose fabrics like jersey that still were feminine.

Early 1920s Day Wear

These early changes were primarily for working class women; the aristocracy continued to wear the incredibly beautiful fashions brought back to life so wonderfully by Downton Abbey.

The war, along with all of the cultural dislocations that 19th century industrialization had already introduced, brought change that was unstoppable and lightning fast. The first modern war helped create modern society.

Along with bobbed hair in the latter half of the decade, the change in how women dressed in the 1920s was a stunning, radical departure from the corseted and covered fashions women had worn for centuries.  It was a rupture in the very seam of the social fabric.  As it was meant to be. The flapper was much more than a young woman dancing all night; she was the vanguard for freedoms women had never known.

Flapper Extraordinaire!

These young women refused to restrict their behavior to societal norms. They went to nightclubs and bars alone, they drank and smoked, they dated indiscriminately, they used birth control - they drove cars.  In short, they broke all the rules. Their outrageous, shocking behavior eventually became normalized. The original party girls were looked down on by the serious suffragettes and other feminists of the time -- they may not have been too interested in voting, but they brought about a tsunami of change.

Dancing the Night Away

There were flappers in many countries, all responding to the changes women had experienced during the first World War.  Germany, France, even Japan had flappers.
Night clubs -- these newly created places for men and women to socialize and dance -- featured that exotic new music out of the American South, Jazz.  In America, speakeasy clubs became the "it" places as Prohibition created a major boon for black market booze and underground night clubs.  People were determined to have a good time and to protest the hated law. The party was on!

Fashion Plate - 1920

1920s Dress Silhouette

The Illustrated Flapper - Pinterest

Women no longer need fear getting a reputation by being seen in restaurants or the new clubs without a man. Or with a man.  Freed from the last vestiges of 19th century constraints, both men and women had access to a mixed-up, easy going social scene.  This was a radical new development in Western society.

1920s Tea Dress, Vaudeville Gypsy

As the economies of the world recovered from the war, there was great prosperity for some, and financial speculation became common.  It seems an element of recklessness was built into the zeitgeist of the 1920s.  Perhaps after years of the privation, grief and horror of World War I, there was a need to play fast and loose, and to just have a good time.



Jewelry was designed to complement the new silhouette of women's clothing and hair styles. Short, bobbed hair meant women could wear long, dangle earrings. Extremely long necklaces that could be looped two or even three times around the neck or swung to the beat of the bass, were fashionable. Open ended ones (sautoirs or lariat necklaces) could double as a belt.  Sleeveless dresses invited a bare arm to be covered in a multitude of bangles.

Carnelian Necklace, Bohemian Trading

Art Deco Brooch, Bright Gems Treasures

Bracelet, A Magnificent Mess

Art Deco Necklace, Vintage Vogue Treasure

Art Deco Bangle, Vintage Imagine

Art Deco Necklace, Zephyr Vintage

Long Flapper Necklace, Find Charlotte

1920s Dangle Earrings, Bohemian Trading

It wasn't just flappers who were changing the rules.  Women in the 1920s played sports, and fashion designers responded by creating appropriate attire.  It is somewhat shocking to browse through Sears' catalogs for women's clothing from the 1920s and see knickers, shorts, sweaters -- basically menswear redesigned to be attractive on women.  The clothes for men and women are fully modern. Indeed words and phrases like "modern," "moderne," "new look," are used over and over again to sell clothing.  It seems the housewife who received the Sears' catalog wanted to dress in the new manner, even if she had no desire to smoke, drink or dance to jazz!  And her husband wore sport-like clothing too -- the shift to more casual daytime attire affected men's clothing as well.  The iconic white men's tennis sweater that the college boys wore was a major break from formal suits that were standard daytime attire for men before the War.

Golfing Outfit- 1925

The great 1925 Paris exhibition, L' Exposition internationale des arts decoratifs et industriels modernes  gave the world Art Deco design. Streamlined, geometric motifs and "machine age" design embraced the mechanization and other technological advances of the early 20th century. Although the term "art deco" was not coined until the 1960s, the design movement has been cemented in place.

According to Stella Blum "in the second half of the the 1920s, in the silhouette, the hair styles, hats, shoes, gloves and the jewelry, as in the paintings of Picasso, Braque, Leger and Matisse, the accent was on the hard edge of geometric forms and the clean beauty of pure line."  Art Deco impacted anything that could be designed.  "The focus was on 'the slender mode of youth.' The boyish look, totally flat, rectangular, mid-calf in length ...." now reigned supreme.

Art Deco Belt Buckle, Graces Vintage Garden

Dresses with no defined waist were meant to hang on slender, flat chested bodies.  Indeed a new type of corset became necessary -- one that flattened out larger breasts and de-emphasized the hips. these were not the whale-boned, outlandish corsets worn prior to the war.  They were designed to hide any sign of a curve -- big breasts became associated with being lower class!

Chanel Low Waisted Evening Dress

By the end of the decade, a return to a more feminine profile had returned. Dresses no longer hung quite as loose and longer length hems became fashionable. Dresses with defined waists and full, gored skirts became popular. Longer hair became stylish.  The 1930s were to bring the glamour of Old Hollywood -- boyishness was out!

Of course the whole, lovely decade of partying, grand financial speculation and great excess came crashing down in late October of 1929.

The little window that opened up for women's rights in the 1920s opened wider as World War II again brought women into traditionally male jobs. Fashions have come and gone and come again in the last nearly 100 years -- but the social equality Western women now have took an exponential leap forward with a loose sheath, a boyish figure, and the devil-may-care behavior of the flapper -- and her more demure sisters who still demanded the freedoms that came with modernity.

References:  

Blum, Stella; EveryDay Fashions of the Twenties as Found in Sears' Other Catalogs, Dover Fashion and Costumes, 2012

                   

                     Wikipedia: International Exposition of  Modern Industrial and                               Decorative Arts

                   

                      Nelson, Lynne: Tectonic Shifts, The Roaring Twenties and Art Deco Design, Vintage Vogue Team Blog, 10/20/14

      Wikipedia:  Flapper

                       

        Wikipedia: 1920s in Western Fashion