Flapping Fashion from the 1920s

Before world war one, women wore floor-length dresses, the waist was cinched restrained by the corset and arms and legs were always covered. But then the war ended, times changed and the world grandly entered the Roaring Twenties!

The 1920s witnessed many changes one of which was the social position of women. The 19^th Amendment passed during this time gave women the right to vote. Women had joined the workforce during the war and life beyond homemaking appealed to them.

Fashion along with every aspect of the society, had an impact. There were two distinctive styles that ruled the 1920s, the first half had a more conservative outlook, but as the roaring twenties took root women became more liberal. The latter half of the decade saw a new class of women called the ‘The Flapper’.

Flapper was the slang word, which used to refer to young bird flapping its wings while learning to fly. In 1631, the word ‘flap’ was slang for a young prostitute, but over the centuries the meaning underwent a change. In the 1920 when women wore their galoshes unbuckled it would make a flapping noise as they walked. But flappers represented women who rebelled against the norms of the society and adopted unconventional ways.

As the fussiness of prewar years dropped away, women forsook the restrictive corsets and ridiculous petticoats of bygone years. The la garconne became the new fashion, where women desired to have a figure like a teenage boy. To flatten the bust line a piece of cloth was tied around the chest. The waist was dropped to the hip in order to hide their womanly hourglass figures. The typical flappers cropped their hair into boyish bobs, they wore make-up, began to wear shorter, straight loose-fitting garments that allowed far greater freedom of movement.

Once the war ended morals and rule went for a toss. Entertainment gained importance; silent movies were on the rise and fashion magazines like Vogue was started. Instant gratification became the mantra and the night life came alive. The flappers with their new fashioned clothes, red lips and dark eyes frequented the illegal clubs where they danced to jazz music all night long, and had affairs, indiscriminately. 

They drove cars, drank, a defiant act in the American period of prohibition, and smoked through a long cigarette holder. The decade was a reckless abandonment of propriety.  

The morals may have diminished during this period but fashion sense acquired a new sensibility. Stocking attracted new attention. With the dress losing length women flaunted their stockings. 

Women would wear a string of pearls that are typical of that age. The light weight, sequenced dresses are something that still exists. The flappers revolutionized fashion added jazz into it and made the life of the coming generations a lot easier and more colorful!