Why Is Women's Clothing Important In The 1920s

The 1920’s also famously known as “The Roaring 20’s” was filled with many positive and negative things that have had a strong impact on the society in that time period. From the “Great Gatsby” like parties, with the swing dancing, and the big rise in the stock market, to the abolishment of distributing alcohol, the 20’s were glamorous times. There were new innovated and some might say “scandalous” styles in the fashion.

The new women were independent, bright-eyed alert and alive eager to gain new freedom (p.1035). Tradition women wore petticoat and floor length dresses whereas the new women wore skirts that stop at the knee with minimal undergarments. Flappers went to bars and drank publicity, they experiment with premarital sex whereas the traditional womanhood this was unspeakable sex was something that was between a married couples. The new women symbolized the new liberated women of the 1920s. (p.1036) more middle class women attended college in the 1920s than ever before, many women were recruited for jobs that usually held my men. One development that influenced the reshaping of the womanhood is the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote.

What do you know about “being in the shoes” of women in the 1920s ? The 19th amendment gained women the right to vote. With more freedom came fashion/style with flappers, skirts, hats, hairstyles and many more styles or fashion that started a movement. Following the roles of women after the war the result were sexually liberated. In the 1920s women succeeded well but not without some struggles. Along the way with 19th amendment being so hard for them gaining the right to vote, women’s roles seeing that there not good enough for other than housework and the fashion or style movement with being able not to express yourself the way you should.

As the 18th century was coming to a close, women 's fashion took on some changes. In art and architecture, many things from ancient Greece had become fashionable and this had an effect on fashion too. Skirts became narrower and waists became higher. Gowns had less lace, frills, and ruffles. Some fashions in the early 1800 's made women look much like statues of Greek goddesses!

The social life of women in the United States took a progressive leap in the 1920s.

Change within a society is extremely difficult to achieve, however, in the 1920s, Flappers altered societal norms by becoming the face of change and progress. Due to the flappers attempt at diminishing the suffocation and expectations that existed for women, society was slowly beginning to veer away from a patriarchal lifestyle where women were portrayed as inferior. As a result of flapper’s rebellious behavior and actions, more women became comfortable creating lives for themselves and becoming independent. Flappers were the first step to a soon to be skyrocketing development known as the feminist movement. Women began working, wearing less confined clothing, and started going out at night to drink and smoke like men did but, “these young

During the roaring twenties women gained a new set of personal freedoms. These freedoms were expressed through fashion, lifestyle, and occupation. Women fought hard against the stereotypes and prejudices of the the roaring twenties which had been carried in from past generations, broke free from many expectancies, and we have carried their beliefs into current times.

During the 1920s, advertisement started to increase and expand. Many ideas and tactics were used to lure the attention of the consumers. After World War I, America started to grow with a stable and growing economy. This flourishment made many American's live out the 1920s in prosperity. This caused America to flourish with new inventions, for example the automobile, household machinery, television, etc. Even old inventions and ideas were improving, like the radio, movies, and the use of advertising. The radio, movies, driving, and buying the various new products became a part of the daily lives. These inventions created a sense of ease for daily lives in America in the 1920s. It made life, jobs, and experiences easier.

The 1920s was new start for women. Not only did they obtain the right to vote, but contraception was becoming popularized. Women were becoming more progressive not only with their ideas, but with their fashion as well. They began to lose the drab and conservative clothing of the older times, and began to reach for the new and more revealing clothing. When most people think of the 1920s many think of flappers and how they help revolutionize women to who were are today. “The most familiar symbol of the “Roaring Twenties” is probably the flapper: a young woman with bobbed hair and short skirts who drank, smoked and said what might be

Men and women nowadays are starting to lose self-confidence in themselves and their body shape, which is negatively impacting the definition of how beauty and body shape are portrayed. “...97% of all women who had participated in a recent poll by Glamour magazine were self-deprecating about their body image at least once during their lives”(Lin 102). Studies have shown that women who occupy most of their time worrying about body image tend to have an eating disorder and distress which impairs the quality of life. Body image issues have recently started to become a problem in today’s society because of social media, magazines, and television.

Before the 1900s, the Rubensque women painted by Rafeal and Renoir dominated the ideal female body image. The Bathers, painted by Pierre Auguste Renoir in 1887 was also an example of what the ideal female body looked like. Women having extra weight reflected wealth and beauty then. In the early 1800s, women preferred having pale skin because it showed that they spent less time outdoors working, which reflected wealth. Also women at that time were expected to have small hands and feet as a sign of their feminism, otherwise they would be considered as masculine-looking. During the nineteenth century, corsets were really common among women. They were a type of body suit laced to the back, which was worn to enhance a woman's hips and breasts, while make her waist seem as thin as possible. The use of corsets continued till the 1920s, as it was later attacked for its restrictiveness, both in breathing and movement.

Ideal Body Types of American Women Throughout History This project will delve into the ideal bodies that have emerged throughout the past century, and possible causes for the change in ideals. Accompanying this paper will be a series of drawings depicting the bodies that I, after researching, have decided are

It was a warm spring morning in May when my mother and father headed to the hospital to give birth to a little girl. On May 18th, 1998 at 7:34 a.m. I, Allison Michelle Keitel, was born. A lot has changed in these past 18 years, but growing up in a time period between “the good old day” and technology was one of the best generations to live during. Getting to roll around in mud with my siblings and playing outside everyday was one of my favorite memories, however, my generation is also the first generation to grow up with technology. We were born in an era of change. All of the changes I have encountered in my 18 years of living have shaped me into the woman I am today. Since 1998, the perception of women has changed the most. Women have always had this pressure to have the “perfect” look, until our generation has been changing the way women feel forever.

Self-image, according to dictionary.com, is the idea, conception, or mental image one has of oneself. Self-image can be affected by many outside sources. One of the biggest factors affecting self-image is media. As per an article on the HuffPost website, 60% of people using social media reported that it has impacted their self-esteem in a negative way. This was proved by a poll of men and women 28-73 who were active social media users. If 60% of people are negatively affected, just imagine how many of them are women! A blog on the “Just Say Yes” website claims that social media influences the way that females see themselves to the point that their mental perception of what they look like can become distorted. This can lead to eating disorders, drug and alcohol use, cutting, bullying, and sexual addictions. All of this can be used to show that the media definitely does not have a healthy effect on the female self-image.

American society has created unhealthy beauty standards that people want to live up to, but they ridicule those same standards when their goals can’t be achieved. Woman criticize how other women look but are offended when others do the same to them. There is “fat-shaming” and “skinny-shaming,” and now, no one's body seems to fit the “ideal” mold that Americans have crafted. It’s a hypocrisy of ideas. Body shaming is certainly not a new phenomenon, but social media outlets have caused it to spiral out of control. In today’s day and age, there are a variety of apps dedicated to looking at, evaluating, and commenting on other’s bodies. The growth of social media has caused widespread body shaming, leading women and men alike to cast their self-morals aside, and bully others for