The 1920s flapper costumes embrace the women of the Roaring Twenties. Flappers really came "alive" in 1926. They represented all things/styles modern. A fashionable flapper had short sleek hair, and wore a straight, shapeless shift dress (shorter than usual. These women were generally flat chested, applied makeup in public, smoked cigarettes in a holder, and symbolized rebels who danced the Jazzy nights away! Want to be a flapper? There's more to it than just the costume, you have to walk the walk as well. To walk like a flapper, swing hands forward and back in the opposite direction of the matching foot. Fingers should be held together, pointing sideways away from body, leaving palms even to the floor. Accomplish this and you're on your way!
Flapper Culture and Style
Short hair, short skirt, turned down hose and powdered knees, a flapper was a young women who was often considered fast and unabashed. She offended older generations because of her unacceptable "feminine" behavior. The flapper was "modern." She wore makeup - often applying it in public. Wearing baggy dresses with exposed arms and legs from the knees down, she scandalized her elders. Flappers did more than revolutionize the fashion industry; they personified the spirit of the Jazz Age. Do you know what Jazz is? Jazz originated from African Plantation dances starting as early as 1518. It includes popular moves such as the Charleston, Jitterbug, Swing, and Twist. These days musicals and dance in theaters are popular everywhere, particularly in cities like New York.
Attainable Fashion for 1920's Women
Until the 1920's", fashion was only for the richer women of society. However, the construction of the flapper dress was so uncomplicated that most women were capable of creating the straight shift dresses (trimmed with fringe) using Butterick dress patterns. Flapper fashion style thrived among the middle classes, which closed the fashion gap between the middle and upper classes, yet continued to distinguish them both from the lower class. Although rich ladies continued to wear brilliantly embellished silk evening clothes, most basked in their newfound sophistication of fashionable flapper clothes. What were the favorite colors for a flapper dress? Black tops the list followed by red, navy, mauve and gray.
1920's Short Skirt Misconception
People often assume that all dresses were short in every year of the twenties and that flappers were the only style. However, most dresses and coat lengths were to the calf for most of the decade. The flapper period, between 1926 and 1928, was the only period when evening and day dresses were both short enough to reveal the knees! Why the misconception? The movie industry that played up the flappers doing the "Charleston" probably had a lot to do with it.
What were 1920's fabrics and colors?
1920's fabrics included the likes of linen, cotton, and wool mixed with acetates, rayon and pure silk. Daytime clothing was medium to lightweight in crepes, georgette, knits, and light suiting with natural color tones of browns, blues and grays. Evening wear meant silk, in sheer chiffon and denser fabrics boasting of more vivacious colors. Prints for both day and night were common but as small, checks or floral. Want to add a little spice to your 1920's attire? Add a colorful boa, roll out those fishnet stockings, get a long, feminine cigarette holder and don those 72" beads to jazz up your outfit!
1920's Accessories
The necessity of the times brought along with it the creation of accessories for women! Cigarette cases and/or cigarette holders became available and useful jewelry (such as perfume scent bottle rings) was the "in" thing. Fishnet or incredibly shiny, but affordable rayon stockings hit the stores. And, evening time found ladies sporting feather headbands, 18" gloves and large strands of pearls. Coco Chanel made sun bathing so popular that Jean Patou invented the first sun tan oil called Chaldee.
1920 shoes as an accessory
Shoes had become an accessory item once the over-the-knee, fashionable "Flapper" dress permitted more visibility. Woman began to select their footwear more seriously, according to style and complimentary value. Heels were over 2 inches high and ankle strap button shoes called Mary Janes were in style. T bar shoes or others with buckles and bows made attention-grabbing fashion statements along with sequin or diamante trims that were customary.
Top Rated "1920s" Movie Titles
The Big Parade (1925), The Wind (1928/I), Metropolis (1927), Greed (1924), Safety Last! (1923), Napoléon (1927), The General (1927), Nibelungen: Siegfried, Die (1924), Faust (1926), The Last Command (1928), Kabinett des Doktor Caligari, Das (1920), The Kid Brother (1927), The Gold Rush (1925), The Crowd (1928), The Wedding March (1928), Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed, Die (1926), Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927), The Kid (1921), Letzte Mann, Der(1924), Tagebuch einer Verlorenen, Das Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922), Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, La (1928), The Cameraman (1928), Bronenosets Potyomkin (1925), He Who Gets Slapped (1924), Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache, Die (1924), Our Hospitality (1923), Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928), Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925), The Circus (1928), Müde Tod, Der (1921), Seven Chances (1925), Körkarlen (1921), The Man Who Laughs (1928), The Freshman (1925), Stachka (1925), Girl Shy (1924), The Navigator (1924), Show People (1928), The Unknown (1927), Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler - Ein Bild der Zeit (1922), Oktyabr (1927), Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928), The Scarlet Letter (1926), Büchse der Pandora, Die (1929), Way Down East (1920), The Thief of Bagdad (1924), My Best Girl (1927), Seventh Heaven, Kurutta Ippeji (1926)
The image above is an original oil painting titled "1920s Flapper Fashion Victims" by Juan Coronado
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