How Did F. Scott Fitzgerald Use Fashion In The 1920's

In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald it took place in the Roaring Twenties. In the 1920’s they had their own unique way of fashion. They had all different types of wardrobes. Women wore Flappers to provide them freedom of movement. It provided women to be able to dance and to express herself. They didn’t want to wear tight stuck on your body clothes. Another trending in the 1920’s was the boyish look. Women wore men clothing but doesn’t mean they stopped being ‘’sexy’’ they just reconsidered what ‘’sexy’’ was. It gives an example of the boyish look in Great Gatsby which the Ralph Lauren shirts. They had different outfits for the day they had day dresses, afternoon dresses, and night dress they never wore one outfit a day.
They

had this other fashion also Art Deco fashion. Art Deco fashion came in state of art using primary colors and using geometric shapes to show the modern look. Scarves were also a part of the 1920’s they would roll it and tie it around their head just above their eyebrow and put a knot on the side or the back of their head. Their swimsuits were long clothing but doesn’t mean they stopped being ‘’sexy’’ they just reconsidered what ‘’sexy’’ was. It gives an example of the boyish look in Great Gatsby with the Ralph Lauren shirts. They had different outfits for the day they had day dresses, afternoon dresses, and night dress they never wore one outfit a day. The 1920’s also have another name called the Jazz Age. America experienced a big economic boom during this time. Women became independent and enjoyed taking over the men's job while they were overseas. After the war that's when they did financial independence and a freer lifestyle. Young women wore flappers, jewelry, and feather dresses. In the Great Gatsby Jordan Baker was an athlete, an independent woman, and moralistic view of life. She represented a new kind of woman in America (“Historical Context”).
At the end of the war people started believing in freedom. In the 1920’s Jazz and fashion had a relationship. Before the war everyone was up tight and wore tight clothes. The Roaring Twenties introduced many different cultural changes especially in fashion. Things really change alcohol became illegal, provocative dancing, and gambling. Restrictive clothing was put away and women wore shapeless shift dresses that let them dance and move freely. They cut their hair short which is shown in Gatsby defied the long hair tradition with women (“Influence of Jazz”).
The makeup they wore out in public defined what was lady like. The trendy women in the Roaring Twenties were called flappers. The wore colorful moving dresses with silk stocking and underwear. They had bob haircuts bare arms and long cigarette holders which is also show in Gatsby when they always wanted to take a smoke break.
In the 1920’s men had this ‘’tubular’’ look narrow jackets and loose fitting pants.

Most suits were made out of wool the three piece suits usually cost up to $30. They also had this Collegiate look they wore sports jackets and trousers that were 25 inches around the knee. College men also sold over coats. Men also had a certain style and lifestyle in the 1920’s. Men wore business attire also put on a robe or a smoking jacket. Most of the men wore boater hats and had 3-4 suits they wore during the week. They wore slim suits and their pants were loose because it was more comfortable to them. In Great Gatsby, Gatsby and Tom always wore a suit out. The jazzy suit was when men wanted bigger and looser clothings. They also had the gangster look it was a three piece suit using a walking cane which showed that they had ‘’old money’’. Gatsby wore the gangster outfit in the description in the book. In the summer time wearing wool was to hot for them and they started wearing light flannel suits. Pastel colors were big for awhile just like the pink suit Gatsby wore. Men and women both wore hats outside of the house. Men would wear coveralls and a shirt with leather boots to class (“Men’s Fashion’’).
The 1920’s was the time of political and dramatic change. More people lived in cities than in farms. “ The nation’s total wealth more than double between 1920 and 1929’’ (‘’Roaring Twenty’’). A lot of the Americans weren’t comfortable with the “urban” look but it brought a lot more conflict then celebration. In the 1920’s most Americans had extra money that they could spend on “ready to wear” clothes some of them even bought radios and

refrigerators.
In the 1920’s most people's dreams were to be rich but in The Great Gatsby that wasn't it at all. Gatsby's dream wasn’t to be rich, Daisy was his dream. He thought to get Daisy that he had to be high class and rich and to live up to the fashion and the way Daisy lived but in the end he doesn’t get her. In Great Gatsby it shows fashion, it shows wealth and the hunger of the upper class. It also comprehends social class.
“They were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in the after a short flight around the house’’ (Fitzgerald 8). This quote shows the loose fit and flowy dresses women wore. The color white back then represented wealth and the social class because Jordan and Daisy both were in the upper class. “Her eyebrows had been plucked and then drawn on again at a more rakish angle but the efforts of nature toward the restoration of the old alignment gave a blurred air to her face. When she moved about there was a incessant clicking as innumerable pottery bracelets jingled up and down upon her arms(Fitzgerald 30). This quote shows the difference in upper class and lower class. Myrtle and his sister Catherine are lower and more like flappers used more acute make up. In Great Gatsby fashion is a symbol for of money, wealth, and social class. What you wear shoes if your upper or lower class to show that myrtle is lower less and morals the expensive things that Tom gave her. Considering people who have money don't value the clothes as much and just cares about the newest bent.
To me Fitzgerald uses imagery to show the different outfits and fashion through the book to make it easier to dream up to what they were actually wearing. Myrtle is a flapper because she wears bright colors to show freedom that women in the 1920’s had. Daisy was in the upper class and wore white clothes to show what she had and how good her wealth was.