FashBlog.com

Fashions for women have become such a part of each society's culture, that it is often fun to take a look back to see how fashions have changed, not only over the centuries, but over the decades. History shows that the more things change, the more they stay the same; in fact, fashions often seem to be cyclical. Either way, fashions do change as the times change and as people move into different mind sets and beliefs. One time in history where women's fashions changed considerably was the 1920s. Known as the "flapper" era, the 1920s were that and so much more.

The 1920s found the United States at the end of World War I. Life had changed in ways no one could have imagined, and suddenly our world had become much smaller. Women had been petitioning for ages to earn the right to vote, and the nineteenth amendment had just been ratified. Suddenly, women were finding that their voices were being heard that their opinions respected. What they had to say mattered and counted. Perhaps for the first time, women felt they could relate better to men, or that they were seen as more man-like. This might account for the new fashion trend of the 1920s, which focused on a more masculine or boyish look for women. Most of us associate flappers with the 1920s, even though the flapper image was not popular until half way through that decade. Still, the flapper look was modern and boyish. Women who adopted the flapper image had their hair cropped into a short bob and wore shapeless shift dresses that toned down their feminine figures. In France, the flapper was known as a "garconne," which is a variation of the French word for "boy."

In many ways, the flapper fashion was a welcome relief to women who could now make their own dresses in a much quicker and easier way. With few tucks and trims, the flapper dress was a simple one to make, but not all women embraced the short flapper skirt. The wide, shapeless shift dress was popular with everyone, though only the very racy few wore their dresses cut above their knees. Everyone else had hemlines well below their knees, usually at about mid-calf length.

One of the problems of the 1920s fashions was the thin, flat-chested boyish body that many women wanted. While women could not change their body type, they worked hard to thin out their rounded figures. Lanky figures with small chests and thin arms were the rage of the day. Traditional bras were abandoned, and many young women began bandaging their breasts to flatten out their chests. Corsets were abandoned, but girdles, which kept figures looking slim, became very popular.

Not only was boyishness and slimness the order of the day in 1920s America, youth was also the latest desire. While many of us associate the obsession with youth to have come out of the 1950s and 1960s, the 1920s found women all wanting to look like a teenager in face and in body.

The short hair of the 1920s was a shock to nearly everyone who was older than twenty-five. For centuries, women had been encouraged to keep their hair long and then wear it in a variety of ways. Long hair was associated with femininity, beauty, and hair was considered a woman's crowning glory. When women began bobbing their hair in the 1920s, older women were appalled. Many of the bobs were very straight lined and severe, often looking just like the hair cut of a man; but near the end of the decade, more women began introducing waves back into their hair, and allowing it to grow below their ears. Cloche hats, which were also popular during the 20s, closing covered a woman's bob and was another form of fashion statement.

Lastly, excessive make up was a clear sign of a 1920s woman who was fashionable. Most women used heavy eye make up and dark lipstick, with light face powder and very little, if any, blush or rouge. The popular thing to do was to apply make up in public, rather than retreating to a powder room.

Many of the styles of the 1920s have followed us into the 21st century. Perhaps the 1920s era, with women earning the right to vote and suddenly being allowed to adopt fashions which before would have been illegal, were the first step to us becoming the women we are today.