Ladies fashion of the 1920s

Several various social trends were at work during the 1920s. Historians have characterized the decade as a time of frivolity, abundance and happy-go-lucky attitudes. Several years had passed since the end of World War I. People felt free-spirited and wanted to have fun. As a result, fashions became less formal [10].

At the same time, vastly improved production methods enabled manufacturers to easily produce clothing affordable by working families. The average person's fashion sense became more sophisticated.

The Feminine Liberation movement had a very strong effect on women's fashions. Most importantly, the corset was discarded! For the first time in centuries, women's legs were seen. A more masculine look became popular, including flattened breasts and hips, and bobbed hair.

Style, at many social levels, was heavily influenced by the newly created, larger-than-life movie stars. For the first time in history, fashion influences and trends were coming from more than one source.

Paris continued to be the seat of most haute couture (high fashion). Coco Chanel exerted a great influence during the decade, appealing to the practical American woman through her use of simple ensembles, scarves and inexpensive jewelry.

For women, face, figure, coiffure, posture and grooming had became important fashion factors in addition to clothing. In particular, cosmetics became a major industry. Glamour was now an important fashion trend, due to the influence of the motion picture industry and the famous female movie stars.

The 1920s saw the first 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.

During the early 1920s, waistlines were right at the waist, but were loose and not fitted. Women wore suits with long hemlines and somewhat full skirts, often with belts at the waist of the jackets. Dress and suit bodices alike were worn loose, even baggy.

In 1923, waistlines began to drop to a point between the natural waist and hips, while styles continued to be very loose and baggy. In 1924 the waistline dropped to the hip.

In 1925, "shift" type dresses with no waistline emerged. At 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 with a hem approximately one inch below the knee.

In 1928, styles changed again! Hemlines rose to the knee and dresses became more fitted. These changes laid the foundation for the elegantly styled fashions of the 1930s.

Many garments of the 1920s fastened with buttons. The closer-fitting flapper- style dresses fastened with a continuous lap, usually applied to the left side seam of the garment. Hooks and eyes, buttons, or snaps were all utilized to fasten the lap. The zipper, first patented in 1893, was not utilized in garments until the latter part of the decade. It was originally known as a “locker”, and did not receive its current name until 1926. It was not widely used until the late 1930s.

Undergarments changed to suit the new fashions. As noted, the feminine liberation movement helped women discard the confining corset, although boned corsets continued to be readily available. The chemise or camisole was employed in place of the corset. During the early part of the decade, chemises paired with bloomers kept a woman decently covered beneath her outer garments. Bandeaus gained popularity later in the decade.

Cotton and wool were the abundant fabrics of the decade. Silk was highly desired for its luxurious qualities, but the limited supply made it expensive. In 1891, "artificial silk" was first made from a solution of cellulose in France. After being patented in the United States, the first American plant began production of this new fabric in 1910. In 1924 this fiber became known as rayon. Rayon stockings became popular in the 1920s as a substitute for silk stockings. Rayon was also used in undergarments.

The garment industry experienced great growth during the 1920s, maybe as a result of the simpler styles. Mass produced garments became available to almost everyone. Moderately priced clothing became more popular than one-of- a-kind garments.

2.2 Men’s fashion of the 1920s

The beginning of this decade witnessed the end of World War I. Men returning from the war faced closets full of clothes from the teens, which they wore into the early 1920s [3, p. 33].

During this time, the sacque suit, which had become popular since the mid eighteen-hundreds, constituted appropriate “day” dress for gentlemen. (Edwardian etiquette commanded successive changes of clothing for gentlemen during the day.) With the suits, colored shirts of putty, peach, blue-gray and cedar were worn. Shaped silk ties in small geometric patterns or diagonal stripes were secured with tie pins. Black bowler hats completed the ensemble.

A tail coat was considered appropriate formal evening wear, accompanied by a top hat. Starched white shirts with pleated yokes were expected with the tail coat, although bow ties and shirts with white wing collars were also seen. Tuxedos were increasing in popularity but were not yet completely acceptable.

Black patent-leather shoes were very popular during this era and often appeared with formal evening wear. Casual clothing demanded two-tone shoes in white and tan, or white and black. Fringed tongues on Oxfords and brogues were seen frequently. Lace-up style shoes were most in demand.

Knickerbockers, later shortened to the popular term “knickers”, were popular casual wear for the well-dressed gentleman. Variations of knickers included plus-fours, plus- sixes, plus-eights and plus-tens. The “plus” in the term referred to how many inches below the knee they hung. Norfolk coats as well as golf coats were worn with knickers. The coats sported large patch pockets, a belt, usually one button and often a shoulder yoke. Gentleman’s shoes or boots were the appropriate footwear to coordinate with knickers.

During the 1925 the era of the baggy pants dawned. This fashion would influence mens wear for three decades. Oxford bags were first worn by Oxford undergraduates, eager to circumvent the University’s prohibition on knickers. The style originated when knickers were banned in the classroom. As the bags measured anywhere from twenty-two inches to forty inches around the bottoms, they could easily be slipped on over the forbidden knickers.

John Wanamaker introduced the Oxford bags to the American public in the spring of 1925, although Ivy League students visiting Oxford in 1924 had already adopted the style. The trousers were originally made of flannel and appeared in shades of biscuit, silver gray, fawn, lovat, blue gray, and pearl gray.

Jazz clothing passed quickly in and out of fashion during the twenties. These tightly-fitting suits were considered an expression of passion for jazz music. Jackets were long and tight-waisted with long back vents. The buttons were placed close together whether the jackets were double or single breasted. Trousers were tight and stove-pipe skinny.

Tweed cloth became popular at this time. The word “tweed” is an English variant of the Scottish word “tweel”, itself a variation of “twill”. Tweel refers to hand-woven wool fabric from the Scottish highlands and islands. Historians differ on whether tweed originated in the highlands or the south of Scotland. The name became associated with the Tweed River which forms part of the boundary between England and Scotland. Tweed eventually became the general term for all carded “homespun” wool, whether it was Scotch tweed, Irish tweed, Donegal tweed, Cheviot tweed or Harris tweed.

Flannel was the other popular fabric of the era. The word flannel may be derived from the Welsh word “gwalnen”, meaning woolen cloth. Flannel was originally made as a heavy, comfortable, soft and slightly napped wool cloth. Gray was the most popular color, and thus gray flannel trousers became known as “grayers”. Other popular colors were white, beige and stripes. Flannel trousers were traditionally worn in warm weather.

While Paris was unmistakably the world seat of women’s fashion, for men, it was London. Tailors in France weren’t quick to admit the fact, however, all men’s fashion magazines featured styles and trends from London. During the decade of the twenties, students at Oxford and Cambridge violated - for the first time ever - the Edwardian practice of different types of dress for different times of the day. The students wore flannel trousers and soft collars all day. When the English empire stood intact, it was easy for London to dictate men’s fashion.

The crash of the American stock market on October 24, 1929, marked a change in the worldwide economic situation that had a drastic effect on men’s clothing.

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