CWS: OMG! Let's Boogie to the "Charleston" Again!

by Becky Kenaan

The 1920's brought many things to western civilization.  It was a decade in which fashion entered the modern era, a time of prohibition and violence, and a time of spirit and creativity.  

The "Roaring Twenties," as it was aptly named, was also the first decade to emphasize the youth culture over the older generations. The flapper sub-culture that evolved had a tremendous influence on main stream America with many new jargons coined by the liberated women of this decade.

The slang of the decade was conceived in part from the counter-culture of the Victorian period. 

In this time of Prohibition, this cultural slang evolved - not so much used as a code to confuse the police, but more of a special code amongst those who wanted to appear as insiders to the many Speak Easy Clubs that flourished during this time.

Moll Doll Becks Being Tossed-Out of a Speak Easy

Big Frank Zig: "Tell me somethin' Babe, was it you or that other Moll Doll that called the Coppers that put Charlie-Boy in Bracelets?  Peaching on him like that got'em in the Slammer.  Are you the Stool-pidgeon? 

Lula Sunrae:"Why no, Big Frank!  Please, believe me! It was those Gum-shoe Bulls that got to Charlie-Boy.  I never fingered him, I swear! 

Big Frank Zig: "You Dumb Dora!  I bet you think that I am pretty stupid, don't you?  Why, I ought to teach you and that other Bim a lesson! No Sheba is gonna mess with my operation! You come clean now or you just might find yourself in a Chicago Overcoat in Big Sleep or hangin by your dogs! You hear me, Bearcat?"

The Roaring Twenties:

From the creation of beautiful fashions and the influence of the new film industry with its elegantly dressed celebrities & wild flappers - to the gangsters & the evolution of jazz music, it is not surprising why the time period became best known as "The Roaring Twenties."

Come explore with me the beautiful fashions of this remarkable decade of nightclubs and jazz music.  Come see why, out of this decade, came both a love and a hatred of the American gangster, and see just how the insatiable spirit of flapper dress culture shaped today's modern woman.

The Roaring '20s had a huge influence on some of today's most elegant fashions, and hair stylings for both men and women alike. For it was during this time period that women abandoned the past restrictive fashions to wear more comfortable clothing (such as short skirts or trousers). 

Men also abandoned daily formal attire and began wearing athletic clothing for the first time. The single-breasted lapel suits that men wear today are still based fundamentally on those worn in the late 1920s. 

There were two distinct periods of fashion during the 1920s.  In the early part of the decade, the change to flapper style was relatively slow, since many people were reluctant out of tradition to adopt new styles. However, from 1925 on, the public mindset changed and thus embraced the new styles of clothing we now associate with the Roaring Twenties. 

Womenswear:

The 1920s saw the emergence of three major women's fashion magazines: Vogue, The Queen, and Harper's Bazaar. Vogue was first published in 1892, but its up-to-date fashion information did not have a marked impact on women's desires for fashionable garments until the 20's. These magazines provided mass exposure for popular styles and fashions.




With the Woman's Suffrage movement came a time of change to woman's roles in society.  As a result, clothing fashions changed particularly with the idea of women's new found freedom.

Although there were certain society matrons that continued to wear conservative dresses, the sportswear worn by forward-looking and younger women became the greatest change to fashion during this time period.  

The tubular dresses just prior to 1920 had evolved into into sported shorter skirts with pleats, gathers, or slits to allow motion. The most iconic fashion trend of the “Roaring '20s” was undoubtedly “the flapper” look. 

The flapper dress was functional and it flattened the bust line rather than accentuating it. Many of these fastened with buttons. The closer style fitting flapper dresses fastened with a continuous lap. The lap was usually applied to the left side seam of the garment. Additionally, hooks, buttons, and snaps were all used to fasten the lap. 

Interestingly, the zipper (first patented in 1893) was not utilized in clothing until the latter part of the 1920's.  It was originally called the “locker,” and did not receive its  "zipper" name until 1926. It actually became more widely used in the late 1930's.

The straight-line chemise topped by the close-fitting cloche hat became the rage of the day. Women "bobbed" their hair short to fit under these popular cloche hats.  It was at first a scandalous look in the beginning, (just like putting on lipstick in public), but it grew into more of the custom and standard by the end of this decade.



A Shift in the Waistline:

During the early 1920s, dress waistlines remained at the waist, but were more loose and not fitted in appearance. Women wore suits with long hemlines and near full-length skirts often wearing belts at the waist of the jackets.  By 1923, waistlines began to drop to a point between the natural waist and hips, while styles continued to be loose and baggy. In 1924 the waistline dropped to the hip.

The new low-waisted dress look, with fullness at the hemline allowed women to  dance to the "Charleston."  And in 1925, "shift" type dresses emerged with no waistline at all. By 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. Dresses were rising quickly, one year mid-calf, the next year just below the knee.

In 1928, with the Great Depression, styles changed once more with hemlines now rising to the knee and dresses becoming more form-fitted. These changes laid the foundation for the elegantly styled art deco fashions of the 1930s.

Insofar as fabrics - Both cotton and wool were used in abundance during this period. Real silk stockings were highly sought after for its luxurious and sexy qualities, but its limited availability made it very expensive.  After "artificial silk" or more commonly called "rayon" was invented, stockings made of this fabric became a popular substitute for real silk in the 1920s. Rayon was also used in undergarments.

Society Speeds Up:

After the first World War, technology and manufacturing rocketed into the 20th century.  Fashion was now also being shaped and influenced by the ability to travel for it reflected society's rapid movement and change with the advent of plane travel and the emergence of the middle class (thanks to Henry Ford) to own cars. Airplanes were taking people across the country in a matter of hours instead of weeks, and automobiles could travel between several states in an evening instead of several days.

As a result, women were no longer willing to trade their new-found mobility in for the past old customs of the Victorian era. Old-fashioned corsets and the crinoline no longer served a useful purpose for the young woman who wanted to dance, go to work, travel by car, or simply walk around town. 

Additionally, the advent of the film industry with its female celebrities bolstered the popularity of the flapper culture.

However, in the early part of the decade, affluent women were still expected to change from their morning dress into an afternoon dress. The afternoon “tea gowns” were less form-fitting than evening gowns, and they featured long, flowing sleeves.  These gowns were adorned with sashes, bows, or artificial flowers at the waist. The evening dresses by contrast  were slightly longer than the tea gowns, and were typically made in satin or velvet, and accentuated with fringe, beads, and rhinestones.

Celebrities, Masculinity & The Short Hair Trend:

Girls all over the country, inspired by Coco Chanel and other fashionable celebrities like Clara Bow, began cutting their hair short. Just as with the streamlined clothes of the era.  Womens hairstyles reflected more of an androgynous look, with women wearing their hair in a more masculine style. 

The "Bobbed" cuts were as nearly as prominent as the flappers that wore them. Girls began bobbing their hair for many reasons -  one of which was so they could fit the fashionable cloche hats over their heads. Generally, the bob fell to the bottom of the ears, and it was cut square around the base of the head. Often the hair was parted on one side. Bangs were occasionally worn, but most of the time the hair was swept over to one side of the face.

The "Dutch Boy" hairstyle, though not popular as the Bob, remains probably the most iconic style of the 1920s hairstyles. The very square look with the bangs and sides to frame the face  showed the influence of the Art Deco movement with sharper angles and square lines.

The Shingled hairstyle had several variations that appeared throughout the 1920s. Antoine, the most famous French hairdresser of the period, perfected it in 1925. Shingled hair was notedly recognized with its very short length at the back of a woman's neck. Shingled hair laid flat to the forehead head, and it covered her ears. Spit curls were formed into the hair at the woman's forehead or cheeks.

Although fashion is as old as time itself, few will deny that the 1920s was the decade that ushered in today's contemporary fashions.  It also gave modern women the enormous freedom to choose.