The Modernization Of Men And Women In The 1920's

The 1920s marked the start of the Jazz Age, also known as the Roaring Twenties, as World War I came to a closure. It was a period of significant economic boom, cultural shifts and social changes. Prominent progress in technology brought about rapid modernization and urbanization after the war. This then resulted in many changes in people’s lifestyles. A bigger part of the population was able to enjoy higher standards of living due to higher affordability. Cultural wise, war affected the way both men and women viewed themselves and hence there was a major shift in mindsets and what was socially deemed acceptable.

During the war, men were sent to the battlefield while women stayed behind and gradually entered the workforce. Women had to leave their tradition of home making behind to substitute the men’s job that were left vacant. During the war, both the men and women of that generation had broken out of society’s structure. As a result of the lengthy war, they found it hard to settle back into life before war and were also reluctant to adopt those rules again. Modernization freed their thoughts and people wanted a less rigid and more liberated life. These led to the rise of flapper girls.

The term ‘flapper’ first came about in Great Britain after World War I. It was used to describe young girls in the awkward phase just before womanhood. Prior to the war, young women did not date. Instead they waited until a decent man formally paid her interest with suitable intentions. However, nearly a whole generation of young men died in the war, leaving nearly a whole generation of women without possible suitors. Thus, young women decided that they were not willing to waste their young lives away idly for spinsterhood. This was a breakthrou...

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...e constructed for comfort and beauty. Dresses still followed the styles previous eras, which were unflattering, during the first half of the 1920s. But as time progressed, dress styles also changed. Skirt hems began to rise in the 1920s, and by 1927, a flapper’s skirt ended just below the knee. Uneven hemlines were very popular. The most important feature of dresses in the 1920s was the low waistline, which went down to the hips. Coco Chanel, a big influence to flapper fashion, called this style ‘letting go of the waistline’.

Layer 5 – Shoes

When hemlines rose in the 1920s, this meant that shoes were more visible. Women therefore started to choose their shoes with more consideration. T-bar shoes, decorated with bows and buckles, and Mary Jane ankle strap button shoes were the most common shoes of the 1920s. Heels also became taller, some being over two inches tall.