As more women started to work, clothing became more masculine and practical as well as accessible. During this time the very popular corset was no longer used to slim women’s bodies and make them appear as a fashionable silhouette. As a result of this, designers had much more freedom to design fashionable, comfortable and innovative styles for women. Women during this time began to wear lighter, shorter and more colorful dresses which were low in price because of the economy. Fur trimmed coats began to rise in popularity as coats covered in fur were worn less. As the economy was doing so well, designers were able to create more luxurious clothes which many women wanted. Rayon and silk started to trend as cotton became less popular during the 1920’s. Shoes and stockings became very popular …show more content…
While some went straight to work, others went to school and took dressmaking and/or millinery courses so they can either make jobs for themselves or wear the clothes they created if they couldn’t afford retail prices. Purses and handbags became a huge trend during the 1920’s which has been carried into this very day. Plumes, hooks, eyes and feathers were less popular during the twenties while perfume and cosmetic sales were increasingly rapidly from advertisements over the radio, periodicals and newspapers. Pantsuits, hats and canes gave women a more professional look while the hairstyle known as “the bob” which was adopted from Europe, became very popular during this decade. As for undergarments, cotton underwear was used less in exchange for better materials and the modern style bras were introduced in apposed to the corset. As women dressed and acted differently more than ever before, a name was given to them during this time. The “Flapper” is defined as a young woman, especially one who, during the 1920’s, behaved and dressed in a boldly unconventional
Despite this, women were able to make a huge impact on America through social reforms. Many young women went against the beliefs of their parents. Prior to the Roaring Twenties, America was in a Victorian era. Women wore dresses that were floor-length, their hair was long and premarital sex was almost non-existent. During the 1920’s however, some women became what are known as “flappers”.
During 1920s, a new era of fashion came in the United States. It was the era when women first abandoned restricting fashions of the past decades and began to wear more comfortable clothes. During this time the new girl was invented - a Flapper, who wore short skirts, bobbed her hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted her disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. This is the background for the 1926 cartoon created by Will B. Johnstone. The cartoon shows a flapper pulling out words from the dictionary, that portray the qualities that flappers got rid of in 1920s, such as modesty, obedience and prudery.
With World War I coming to an end in late 1918, the country was focused on having a good time. Because of this, fashion went from tight and constricting clothing to unfitted clothing. Dresses became looser, with hemlines rising to knee length (Pendergast et al. 715). Dancing was also a large influence on fashion. Tassels, fringes, floaty layers and feathers became part of the dresses, to draw attention to the movements of the dances, and the shiny fabrics emphasised the dancers (Thorton).
It wasn’t until the 1920s women’s fashion sense became a bit less traditional and much more scandalous. Women began to wear short skirts, backless dresses and low necklines. They accessorized with strings of beads and chunky high heels. Most cut off their long, luscious locks for shorter, bobbed hair. Women used makeup to finish off their new look.
The twenties were often referred to as the roaring twenties due to the fast-paced lifestyle. America’s economy was booming, and hundreds of new job opportunities were available. During the era, many ignored prohibition, and enjoyed the benefits of drinking, dancing, and singing. The 1920’s was the first time women had given up old fashion and entered the modern era of clothing. Throughout the 1920’s, new fashion allowed women to experiment with unique clothing styles, experience a change in social status, and promoted an increase of creativity.
Formal gowns, worn mostly for evening events, were their most elaborate outfits. Women 's formal gowns during the first half of the 1920s were characterized by decoration.(Mulvagh, Jane,1988) The most glamorous evening gowns were covered in jewels or intricate beadwork and swept the floor. As the economies of Western countries began to recover after the end of World War I (1914–18), people were able to afford more lavish/ gorgeous clothes (thesaurus,2016). The wealthy women began to show off their their clothes because of all the money they’ve
The free-spirited Flappers flouted convention, cut their hair, listened to jazz and scandalized the older generation. The independent, exuberant and unconventional attitudes of the Flappers challenged the traditional ideas by wearing short skirts, bobbed hairstyles, makeup and cosmetics. Flappers began drinking and smoking in public and became sexually liberated during the 1920's. Most women in the 1920s, not just the young Flappers, abandoned traditional, restrictive women's clothes, such as long dresses and tight corsets, to free themselves of the shackles of the Victorian era. The long hair, traditionally worn by women, was cut into a 'Bob'.
However; to people in an older age group, young and rebellious women that would participate in their “free way of life”, were known as “flappers”. Women often wore corsets and other clothing that exposed their arms and legs. At that time, cosmetics, were not accepted into American society because of the association with prostitution that which later on became very
1920’s Fashion brought a new freely , modern lifestyle , which resulted in women abandoning the restricted fashions of previous years . The fashion of the 1920’s has tremendously changed the outlook of how women wanted to be perceived . This important decade has greatly influenced our fashion today.
An example of social transformation during this decade can be clearly seen in the radical change of the appearance and behavior of women. Before the twenties, women were arrested for dressing immodestly and for smoking and drinking. During this span of rebelliousness, women displayed their new privilege of drinking and smoking by doing so in public. Women also went from long flowing hair to short bob haircuts, modest attire to short-length clothes, and a low profile while having a jolly time to making themselves noticed by dancing in a loud expressive way. Women of this new trend were labeled with the title widely known as “flappers” (Keesee 474).
Also known as the Gatsby Era, the most renown look for men’s of the 1920s was the daily business suit. Following the cultural changes of post-war conflict, western male clothing underwent a radical transformation. In contrast to the formal long broad-shouldered look of their Edwardian predecessors, 1920s suits opted for slimmer jackets with sloping shoulders, notch lapels and welt pockets, as well as dress shirts with club collars and wide legged trousers. Suits had become an essential part of every man 's wardrobe in the 1920s. Upper-class men owned suits of every style, colour and material.
The fashion of the 1920 s is a reflection of peoples extravagant lifestyles and elevated thinking. It was an exciting time to be a woman because more freedoms and opportunities were available, not to mention woman gaining the right to vote . There were new patterns of clothing, bras,and smaller corsets not to mention that most of the clothing was made by the woman themselves. Through the years woman have stayed at home and not had much involvement in the society.
There was advancement in household items and more products started to receive more recognition by advertisement. Moreover, there were many social developments during the 1920s of America. After the war, men and women wanted to establish new ways of life. They left old traditions from past generations behind and questioned the customs of their parents and grandparents. For women, a change in clothing
The 1920’s was an amazing decade in american history. Life was great and the economy was booming. It didn’t seem that anything could ruin life at this point, but for men things were about to change and for most that was not good. Women were trying to change their role in society from just being in the house, taking care of children, and pleasing their husbands. They did this by cutting their hair short and wearing loose fitting dresses.
Describe what was innovative in fashion , art and society during the decade of the 1920s: The 1920s was a period of unconstrained optimism with people looking to the future and putting their trust in technological progresses. The First World War had changed the very fabric of society, and in its wake had brought women unmatched freedoms, and of course this was reflected in the fashions they chose to wear. From silk sack dresses and T-bar shoes to tight-fitting cloche hat and elegantly casual sportswear, the story of Fashion is never just a story.