It's all about 20s fashion in todays blog post, one of my favourite eras of fashion. It was defiantly one of the more glamourous eras in our fashion history. With the flapper look, Charleston dance and jazz music the 1920s sure sounded like a great time to be alive...
After WW1 women started to work after previously staying at home and looking after children while men were out fighting at war. They also finally earned the right to vote in elections which inspired new fashion trends. They stared to ditch the tight-fitted clothing and started wearing short skirts and trousers giving them a more masculine look. Women wanted to feel as equal to men so having a more masculine look helped. Jazz music (the jazz age) was booming in the 1920s and called for a new dance named the Charleston. As the dance itself is very upbeat and jazzy, women needed clothing that was comfortable and suitable for the movements. This is were the 'Flapper' look came in.
The Flapper Look...
The women of the 1920s needed clothing that allowed them to dance their hearts out to the Charleston. Ditching the long dresses and skirts, women started to wear shorter dresses that gave to above the knee to allow for more movement. The waistlines on dresses were also lowered to the thigh area allowing for more freedom when twisting and jumping around. You would have seen a lot of tassels, beads, rhinestones and embellishment on these party gowns giving the 20s the glamourous feels. Coco Chanel was a huge influence in 1920s fashion. Although the dresses were very feminine from the glitz and the glamour they had a masculine feel to them as well. The bodice was often a corset style that flattened the breast, rather than accentuating them, giving them a more masculine look. I guess this was more comfortable for dancing around. In 1925 the shift dress emerged in the fashion industry. The longline straight dresses with no hem line we see today dates all the way back to the 20s. The dresses often had a straight bodice and collar with tucks at the bottom which then went into a knife-pleated skirt. This allowed for more comfort in day-to-day life and easy movement on the dance floor.
Teenage Fashion...
Teens in the 20s often wore shorter skirts and dresses with pleats, gathers and slits to give a more feminine look. Cloche hats were also popular in the 20s often worn with a bobbed hair cut to fit under the hat. Sportswear also started to become popular within the younger community bringing in the more masculine look.
Tea Dresses...
Women often wore 2 or 3 different outfits throughout the day. In the day time they wore tea gowns which were less-fitted dresses with long flowing sleeves, sashes, bows and artificial flowers at the hem.
Evening Gowns...
After wearing the tea dresses women often got changed into an evening gown. These dresses were much longer and often made from satin or velvet. They were then embellished with beads, rhinestones or fringing. Like I said before the 20s was a very glamourous era in our fashion history.
Underwear...
Previous to the 1920s women wore corsets under their clothing which was considered their underwear. In the 20s women started to ditch the corsets to allow for more movement while dancing. They started to wear camisoles and knickers instead with bloomers on top. Later on in the era it developed into shorter panties and mid 20s all-in-one lingerie became popular.
The Fabrics...
As it was just after the war fabric choices were quite limited. 20s fashion consisted a lot of natural fabrics such as wool and cotton. Silk was used but only by the wealthy as it was seen as a luxury expensive fabric due to it being very limited. However, many people started to use an artificial silk fabric called 'Rayon' instead as an alternative to silk. This was used mostly for stockings and underwear. Hook and eye fastenings were also created in this era allowing for more fastening options in fashion.
So that's all about 'The Roaring 20s'. I hope you enjoyed learning more about this amazing fashion era. If you want to learn more about other eras of fashion make sure to keep an eye out as I will be doing many more in the future. Let me know which era of fashion is your favourite. See you back here soon...
Emma Victoria
