Katlyn Fertig
Mrs. Mowery
American Literature
4/29/18
Girls With Attitude,
“The world of a Flapper, live free, wild and young- that energy is intoxicating.” -Lily James. The Roaring Twenties featured many things, it was an age of new music, clothing, and mindset; changing clothing, attitude, and society for future generations. Flapper girls in the 1920’s created a turning point in american culture, decreasing clothing and increasing attitude.
Clothing is one of the more visible differences in the 1920’s, females shortened dresses, and cut the long wavy hair. In my opinion, females of all ages had more of an attitude and no longer wanted to wear the clothing norm. The women of the time had something to prove and they chose to start with clothing
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differences to start. According to Flappers In Fashion the 1920’s “Women wore garnish colored lipstick and rouge and drew dark circles around their eyes. They bobbed and dyed their hair.” Many women of this time were prone to wearing corsets, long hair and long dresses, and they wanted nothing to do with it. The passage “They didn’t wear corsets, and exposed their legs below the knee” suggests the women were awaiting a new era of clothing with open arms, defying expectations. Many girls wanted to promote the male body, purposely making the chest look like nothing. “In came the ‘little boy’ look think flat chests and short hair.” As told by Flatten Chest to flapper Embrace 1920’s attitude with star- studded ‘Gatsby’ look for less. Of course females today may be hesitant to embrace this iconic fashion of the golden age, they wanted a change, and the best way was to change societies outlook. In addition to the change of clothing, mood and tone changed drastically.
The attitude of females had become more aggressive, in addition they became more assertive, and cocky. According to Flappers In Fashion the 1920’s “Women could dance the suggestive shimmy, the tango and the Charleston with abandon.” Normally dance changes, it wouldn’t typically be associated with the person in general except in this case. As these women danced the night way, and the hours flew by many women of the time flirted with other men outside of their relationships. Just ask the female in her mid- twenties; Rose ross. Impregnated by a man she didn’t know, that wasn’t her husband. The baby was born and the husband was furious that the child wasn’t his own, suing the wife's parents. At the time, many women wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing. Also as told in Flappers In Fashion The 1920’s “Women bobbed and dyed their hair (in 1925 alone, it is reported that American women were spending six million dollars a day on hairdressers, beauty products and salons.) Women of the 1920’a were saucy, flirty, and soon earned the sobriquet of “flapper.”” The mood changed drastically, lust became more pronounced and, the a new edgy era for women were …show more content…
born. Third, the generation of flappers inspired a new view of women in society.
For instance, in the article Flappers In Fashion the 1920’s; the author Jailer- Chamberlain, Midred states the following. “For women the Jazz age sparked the most significant changes since the first colonists arrived in the 17th century. After a hard-won battle the 19th amendment was added to the constitution giving women the right to vote in the 1920’s.” Another example of this changing societies outlook is the changing of relations between people. To avoid society shaming homosexual women, they began dressing in a male-like manner. According to the passage Passing Fashions: Reading female masculinities in the 1920’s, “A hetrosexual passing as a woman passing as a lesbian? A lesbian passing as heterosexual? A woman of any sexual preference dressing boyishly or mannishly to pass as a woman of fashion? The time is long overdue to challenge the commonly held belief that the most pervasive image of lesbianismin these years is of women who appear at first glance to be male.” This suggests to blend more into the time period and seem normal, many females that like the same gender would cut their hair in a bob and promote a boyish look.
In conclusion, The Roaring Twenties was many things, it was an age of new music, clothing, and mindset; a change in culture and attitude, changing new generations, and changing the
future. Works Cited Ahuja, Snigdha. "Fearless, Flapper Fashion: Back to the Roaring 1920S." Hindustan Times, 13 Mar. 2014. EBSCOhost, libprox.northampton.edu:/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=2W62816057974&site=ehost-live. DOAN, LAURA. "Passing Fashions: Reading Female Masculinities in the 1920S." Feminist Studies, vol. 24, no. 3, Fall98, p. 663. EBSCOhost, libprox.northampton.edu:/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=1483356&site=ehost-live. "Flatten Chest to Flapper Embrace 1920S Attitude with Star-Studded `Gatsby' Look for Less." Townsville Bulletin, 09 May 2013, p. 27. EBSCOhost, libprox.northampton.edu:/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=201305091027637013&site=ehost-live. Jailer-Chamberlain, Mildred. "Flappers in Fashion the 1920S." Antiques & Collecting Magazine, vol. 108, no. 7, Sept. 2003, p. 24. EBSCOhost, libprox.northampton.edu:/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=10684694&site=ehost-live.
From coast to coast people were reading the exploits of a new type of woman called flapper. Prior to World War 1 Victorian ideals still dictated the behavior of American women and girls. Frederick Lewis Allen describes the traditional role of women. Women were the guardians of morality. They were made of finer stuff than men. They were expected to act accordingly. Young girls must look forward in innocence to a romantic love match which would lead them to the altar and to living happily ever after. Until the right man came along they must allow no male to kiss them. Flappers did the opposite. Flappers danced the Charleston, kissed their boyfriends while they played golf and sat behind the wheels of fast cars. The liberated usually young female disdained the traditions of her mother and grandmother before her. Flappers would smoke and drink alcohol, she cut her hair and wore short dresses. They also changed their views on courtship rituals, marriage, and child rearing. With these they could have the same freedom as men could. The time period also saw a highly physical change in women’s lives like how they dressed and looked. For the first time in American history women could choose to be free from long hair and voluminous clothing. Before the women changed they wore very restrictive clothing consisting of long skirts with layers of petticoats over tightly laced corsets that produced an hourglass figure with wide hips and a narrow waist.
... fewer children was stressed to the patriarchal, consumerist society. The roaring twenties were a consumerist and capitalist age for America, and the liberalization of women occurred naturally as the younger generation was born into the new age of Freudian sexuality, however the flapper as a symbol for young women is incorrect. Out of proportion, and unfounded the flapper was a consumerist to exploit a rising cultural market. Women gained the right to their bodies, as America gained the right to its profit.
Their style was introduced in the early 1910s but did not spark until the 1920s. The style was said to be more comfortable, but was not appealing to the more conservative. Before the change of style, most women were dressed modestly; however, women's fashion in the 1920s showcased a more “boyish” and comfortable, look which led to huge controversy and affects how women dress today. Although to society now, these changes may not be seen as a big deal, back then it would split society.
Some people hated this idea of the Flapper and they blamed the war for these women’s new behaviors. After World War I, young women and young girls started to act free and go against their families. “Some people in society blamed the war for triggering this rebellion of youth and they claimed it had upset the balance of the sexes and, in particular, confuse women of their role in society and where they truly belonged” (Grouley 63). Some people hated the idea of the flappers and these women had become. These women, the flappers, in the 1920s felt free after the 19th amendment was passed. “Since the early twentieth century, the sexual habits of these American women had changed in profound ways” (Zeitz 21). Flappers drank, partied, and had romantic evenings with men. All of which were illegal for women. In addition, they were an embarrassment to society and they were able to get away with anything. “Flappers were a disgrace to society because they were lazy-pleasure seekers who were only interested in drinking, partying, and flirting” (Dipalo 1). For instance, Flappers went to clubs, drank, and hung out with men and were too lazy to do anything. Therefore, one consequence of the war was the creation of a new woman and this led to a movement like no other.
In the 1920's the term flapper referred to a "new breed" of women. They wore short skirts and dresses which were straight and very loose. The arms were left bare and the waistline was dropped to the hips. By 1927 the length of the skirts had rose just below the knee which when they danced would be shown. The chests appeared to look very small and women would tape themselves to look even smaller. Bras were also sold to make them appear very small. Their hairstyles were cut very short and were known as a bob, another popular style that was later introduced was the "Eaton" or "Shingle". These styles had slicked the hair back and covered the ears with curls. Women started wearing "kiss proof" lipstick in shades of red, their eyes were ringed a dark black color, and their skin was powered to look very pale. One of the big things with the flappers were that they smoked cigarettes through long holders and drank alcohol openly in public now. They also started dating freely and danced all night long very provocatively. Jazz music was rising in population and the flappers brought it out even more. Not all women changed into becoming a flapper, yet the little numbers impacted the 1920's in a huge way.
The early 1920s, referred to as the Roaring Twenties, were characterized by economic prosperity and tremendous social, artistic, and cultural dynamism.
When one thinks of flappers, the first thing that comes to mind is the image of a woman dressed much like Julie Andrews in Thoroughly Modern Millie, bobbed hair, fringed low-waisted dress, flat-chested and highly made up face. This, though a stereotype is close to the truth. In the 20’s after the first world war women’s roles in society began to change, primarily because they started becoming more independent – both in their dress and action. They started to defy what was considered to be appropriate feminine behavior and along with those actions came new fashions. The sleek, boyish look became popular and women began to wear lower waistlines, higher hemlines, sleeveless dresses that showed off their arms, long strands of pearls and rolled down pantyhose to show their knees. Women who had larger breasts even went so far as to bind them down to fit into the flat-chested ideal of beauty. The “in” look now was boyish, much in contrast to the feminine big skirted, shirtwaisted dresses of their mothers’ age. Women began to gain the independence and social liberties that men had always possessed, they wanted to physically display their newly gained freedoms. Short hair, first as a bob, later as a slicked down “shingle” that curled above the ears emphasized the new androgynous look women were trying to obtain. These “modern” women asserted their independence by going out dancing, moving to the city alone, drinking even during prohibition, flirting and having love affairs.
In the 1920’s, the Nineteenth Amendment was passed, which gave women the right to vote. During this decade women became strong and more independent. Women were accomplishing a lot more than they had before. Women started going to college so she could earn her own living. More women started leaving the home and working at a factory or as a secretary. Women were discriminated at the work place. They received lower wages then man did. In the 1920’s, the term flapper was introduced. It was first used in Britain after World War 1. Young women were labeled as flappers who wore makeup shorter skirts. Fl...
Fashion of the 1920’s was also known as the roaring 20’s. Fashion in the 1920’s became more relaxed in the 20’s. In the early 1920’s the normal fashion was dropped waistlines, long, cylindrical skirts, 7” to 10” below the knee. Women finally received the right to vote, with this new right women also
Time flew by and as the war ended in 1918, the 1920’s decade of change soon approached. The year was famously known as “The Jazz Age” and “The Roaring 20’s” because of the newly found freedom, social and political changes, and the time of prohibition. Among these powerful new changes was the freedom that women were finally able to vote and enjoy what was about to come. Instead of being confined at home, the women joined labor forces, worked with wages, and experimented with different types of behavior that would have been unreasonable a few years back. Along with these dramatic changes were their fashion styles. This style changed their rights and relationships with others completely. With that change, a new woman was born. There were not many ways for women to stand up for themselves and what they believed in. They had no voice but in the 1920’s, women found a way of freely expressing themselves and changing their relationships with others all with the start of fashion.
So basically, the 1920's or “Roaring Twenties” was a time of major change for America as a nation. Just following the Great War America was on the fast track to new times. There was the model t car, the stock market boom and crash, the banning of alcohol, the radio, jazz music, women seeking independence, Americans seeking higher education, union strikes, the red scare, the death of President Harding and many more. Many people say this was an enjoyable time of constant dancing and entertainment galore, while others would say that the hardships of racism and poverty made this time period one of struggle and hardships. While others only remember the 1920's as the creation of mickey mouse or babe Ruth. This decade truly was “The Roaring Twenties”.
Women during the 1920's lifestyle, fashion, and morals were very different than women before the 1920's. Flappers became the new big thing after the 19th amendment was passed. Women's morals were loosened, clothing and haircuts got shorter, and fashion had a huge role in these young women.
Some women in the 1920s became more provocative these women were called flappers. Flappers were women that wore short skirts, drank, smoked, and cursed. These women usually have their hair in a bob. Most young women however, worked in “pink” collar jobs such as sales clerks, office secretaries, telephone operators or they were nurses. The changing role of women was a result of the work they did during the war. Women also got the right to vote in 1920.
According to the book Flappers: a Guide to an American Subculture written by Kelly Boyer Sagert, “Early in the 1920s, flappers epitomized the battle for freedom in terms of self-expression, female equality, and indulgence in pleasures.” The first of these three components of this fight for autonomy was conveyed through fashion and beauty choices highly popularized by flappers, such as bobbed hair, bold makeup, short skirts, and rolled stockings; all of which redefining the perception of the feminine form and silhouette. Significant gains were also made towards the battle for gender equality when women were granted suffrage, therefore permitting their opinions and ideologies to be present in political decisions and allowing women to be more involved in local, state, and national affairs. In addition, flappers went against societal norms for women and began indulging in pleasurable activities, such as attending speakeasies, dancing the Charleston with numerous male suitors at jazz clubs, and engaging in casual sex as opposed to remaining reserved and modest as women in earlier generations had (Sagert, 2010). As said by author Jonathan Zeitz in his book Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern, “They believed that life should be lived moment to moment, not according to
One way to describe the change in personalities for the people in the 1920’s is the different types of clothing they wore. It all really depended on what your plans were for the day. For instance at home housewives would wear a simple collared dress with a white collar, an apron, black stockings, and low heels. The dresses themselves were colorful with plaid, checks or stripes. Women normally would make their aprons from scratch. For church women would wear a blouse, sweater, and a skirt. But long sleeves were preferred and if they were short, a shawl, wrap, or jacket was to be worn over top. They also would where this for street wear. Also it was required for them to wear hats, gloves, with a matching purse (Vintage Dancer). For men the style was more classic. Suits, ties, and accessories is what was normally worn from day to day. Haircuts were to be neat, it would help make the gentlemen kind of style men portrayed in the Roaring Twenties (nextluxury).