Western fashion in the 1920s underwent a modernization. Women's fashion continued to evolve from the restrictions of gender roles and traditional styles of the Victorian era. Women wore looser clothing which revealed more of the arms and legs, that had begun at least a decade prior with the rising of hemlines to the ankle and the movement from the S-bend corset to the columnar silhouette of the 1910s. Men also began to wear less formal daily attire and athletic clothing or 'Sportswear' became a part of mainstream fashion for the first time.
Fashion in the 1920s was largely impacted by women. They challenged the standard of femininity through clothing, as many of their typical dress items were impractical to move around in. For many, fashion had become a symbol of women's social liberation or the modernization of womanhood. However, it had also become a place where slim body structures and restraints of gender roles were implied.
The 1920s are characterized by two distinct periods of fashion: in the early part of the decade, change was slower, and there was more reluctance to wear the new, revealing popular styles. From 1925, the public more passionately embraced the styles now typically associated with the Roaring Twenties. These styles continued to characterize fashion until the worldwide depression worsened in the 1930s.
Overview After World War I, the United States entered a prosperous era and, as a result of its role in the war, came out of isolation onto the world stage. Social customs and morals were relaxed in the optimism brought on by the end of the war and the booming of the stock market. Women were entering the workforce in record numbers. In the United States in 1920, there was the enactment of the 18th Amendment, or as many know it, Prohibition. Prohibition stated that it would be illegal to sell and consume alcohol. This lasted until 1933, so it was a constant for the whole 1920s era. This "noble experiment" was intended to reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, reduce the tax burden created by prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene. The nationwide prohibition on alcohol was ignored by many resulting in speakeasies. Another important amendment in the United States was the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. There was a revolution in almost every sphere of human activity. Fashion was no exception; women entered the workforce and earned the right to vote, and they felt liberated. Fashion trends became more accessible, masculine, and practical, creating the emergence of "The New Woman". Flappers was a popular name given to women of this time because of what they wore. While corsets gradually started to become less relevant for the emerging silhouette, shapewear was very widely used. To better allow for more general mobility amongst working women, undergarments with little to no boning, often referred to as corselets, become quite popular. In many ways, it is considered the predecessor of the girdle.Marsha West. Fashion Trends of the Twenties. July 1, 2008.
The development of new fabrics and new means of fastening clothing affected fashions of the 1920s. Natural fabrics such as cotton and wool were the abundant fabrics of the decade. Silk was highly desired for its luxurious qualities, but the limited supply made it expensive. In the late 19th century, "artificial silk" was first made in France, from a solution of cellulose. After being patented in the United States, the first American plant began production of this new fabric, in 1910. This fiber became known as rayon. Rayon stockings became popular in the decade as a substitute for silk stockings. Rayon was also used in some undergarments. Many garments before the 1920s were fastened with buttons and lacing, but the development of metal hooks and eyes during the decade meant that fastening clothing became easier. Hooks and eyes, buttons, zippers, and snaps were all used to fasten clothing.
Vastly improved production methods enabled manufacturers to easily produce clothing affordable by working families. The average person's fashion sense became more sophisticated. Meanwhile, working-class women looked for modern forms of dress as they transitioned from rural to urban careers. Taking their cue from wealthier women, working women began wearing less expensive variations on the day suit, adopting a more modern look that seemed to suit their new, technologically focused careers as typists and telephone operators.Fashion in the 1920s (Overview). Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
Although simple lines and minimal adornment reigned on the runways, the 1920s were not free of luxury. Expensive fabrics, including silk, velvet, and satin were favored by high-end designers, while department stores carried less expensive variations on those designs made of newly available synthetic fabrics. The use of mannequins became widespread during the 1920s and served as a way to show shoppers how to combine and accessorize the new fashions. The modern fashion cycle, established in the 1920s, still dominates the industry today. Designers favored separates in new fabrics like jersey that could be mixed and matched for work and modern, informal, un-chaperoned social activities like attending films or the theater and car rides.
Women's wear
Paris set the fashion trends for Europe and North America.Mary Louise Roberts, "Samson and Delilah revisited: the politics of women's fashion in 1920s France". American Historical Review 98.3 (1993): 657-684. The fashion for women was all about letting loose. Women wore dresses all day, every day. Day dresses had a drop waist, which was a belt around the low waist or hip and a skirt that hung anywhere from the ankle on up to the knee, never above. Daywear had sleeves (long to mid-bicep) and a skirt that was straight, pleated, hank hem, or tiered. Hair was often bobbed, giving a boyish look.Steven Zdatny, "The Boyish Look and the Liberated Woman: The Politics and Aesthetics of Women's Hairstyles." Fashion Theory 1.4 (1997): 367-397.
Clothing fashions changed with women's changing roles in society, particularly with the idea of new fashion. Although society matrons of a certain age continued to wear conservative dresses, the sportswear worn by forward-looking and younger women became the greatest change in post-war fashion. The tubular dresses of the 'teens had evolved into a similar silhouette that now sported shorter skirts with pleats, gathers, or slits to allow motion. The most memorable fashion trend of the Roaring Twenties was undoubtedly "the flapper" look. The flapper dress was functional and flattened the bust line rather than accentuating it.
The straight-line chemise topped by the close-fitting cloche hat became the uniform of the day. Women "bobbed", or cut, their hair short to fit under the popular hats, a radical move in the beginning, but standard by the end of the decade. Particularly in France, the epicenter of art and fashion, the bobbed hairstyle came to be associated with controversy with constant stories and rumors of family members rejecting the women of their family because of their decision to get a bobbed cut. In the west, women won the right to vote in the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries; that may have played a role in the social reboot that was to come in the 1920s.
The pioneer of this hairstyle is often disputed; the primary figures frequently mentioned are the French fashion designer Coco Chanel who shortened her hair some time in 1916, Joan of Arc who was a powerful female symbol of strength in France and the novel La garconne by Victor Marguerite - the plot of a woman who lives a liberated lifestyle. Low-waisted dresses with fullness at the hemline allowed women to literally kick up their heels in new dances like the Charleston. In 1925, "shift" type dresses with no waistline emerged. At the end of the decade, dresses were being worn with straight bodices and collars. Tucks at the bottom of the bodices were popular, as well as knife-pleated skirts with a hem approximately one inch below the knee.Carol Nolan. "Ladies Fashions of the 1920s". Retrieved December 24, 2012.
In the world of art, fashion was being influenced heavily by art movements such as surrealism. Elsa Schiaparelli is one key Italian designer of this decade who was heavily influenced by the "beyond the real" art and incorporated it into her designs.
Proper attire for women was enforced for morning, afternoon, and evening activities. In the early part of the decade, wealthy women were still expected to change from a morning to an afternoon dress. These afternoon or "tea gowns" were less form-fitting than evening dresses, featured long, flowing sleeves, and were adorned with sashes, bows, or artificial flowers at the waist. For evening wear the term "cocktail dress" was invented in France for American clientele. With the "New Woman" also came the "Drinking Woman". The cocktail dress was styled with a matching hat, gloves, and shoes. What was so unique about the cocktail dress was that it could be worn not just at cocktail hours (6 and 8pm), but by manipulating and styling the accessories correctly could be worn appropriately for any event from 3 pm to the late evening. Evening dresses were typically slightly longer than tea gowns, in satin or velvet, and embellished with beads, rhinestones, or fringe.
Blouses and skirts Both blouses and separate skirts went out of fashion by mid-decade, and were popular during the early years of the decade.
During 1920, the lengths of the skirt went to the ankle with a slight bow around the hips and tapering slightly to the hemline.
In 1922, skirts went off from the ankle and reached mid-shin. And created a slightly A-lined shape by flaring out, or in a barrel-like shape by tapering around the hips. Blouses were worn often tucked in the skirt's waistbands and were pulled out a few inches.
Waistbands wide and patch pockets large, and the skirts were fastened with hooks on the sides. The buttons that were on the outside were often for decorative purposes and were non-functional.
Jewelry In the 20s, the jewelry was not determined by the cost of materials, instead, the focus was more on the design. In the 20s, precious gemstones were largely began to be replaced with both semi-precious stones and plastics as the visual appeal of jewelry shifted from the stones themselves to the designs of the pieces, as seen through the rise of jewelry taking more Art Deco-esque designs. Notable necklaces of the time were long pearl or beaded necklaces, Dog collar necklaces (similar to a choker, but worn lower), drop earrings, and large bracelets (typically made of thick or thin wood, bone, shell, metal, or plastic - sometimes with gems, often mimicking African tribal art).
Headbands
Headbands were known as bandeaus. They were worn in the evenings with the most formal dresses, until 1925. Style of these kind of accessories include
Brain Binder Feather Headband Haircomb Headwrap Skullcap Tiara Wrap style
Accessories One of the key accessories in the 20s was the Cloche hat. "In 1926 Vogue stated 'The Bob Rules', just 9 years after the influential dancer, Irene Castle, cut her hair. This trending topic inspired a 1920 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, called Bernice Bobs Her Hair, and many editorials in Vogue throughout the decade." The bob hairstyle matched perfectly with the loose and straight silhouette of the times. During this era Vogue gave credit to this new cut for the immense success of the hat business. New haircuts meant new styled hats, therefore there was a new craze for hats. The cloche hat and the bob were basically made for each other.