A woman looks in the mirror–her hair short and her silhouette straight. It’s a far cry from the fancy up-do and corseted figure that her mother had adorned. But she loves it. In a complete rejection of the Victorian era, where women had abandoned the air restricting corsets and elaborate yet conservative clothing, the 1920s brought along a completely new style of fashion. Curves were abandoned and fashion turned to trendy but comfortable.
The Beginnings:
Before the 1920s brought along its infamous flapper style, there was the Edwardian period. Similar to the Victorian era, Edwardian fashion consisted of long, elegant gowns, usually covering the body from neck to toe. Corsets were worn to create an “S” shaped curve. As uncomfortable as these corsets were, they also damaged the wearer’s body. The ribcage would be pushed in along with the internal organs. This of course means that the intestines and liver would be dangerously displaced within the stomach. And so when the 19th amendment had been ratified, and women gained the right to vote, women, for the first time, became empowered. Out with the old ways and in with the new it was. The first thing to go of course was the ill-fitting corsets. In short, curves were out of style. Instead, what was favored was the complete opposite: a boyish body. Waists were no longer nipped to ridiculously tiny sizes; rather, they were a more natural size in the 1920s. The goal was to have a waist that provided one with a rectangle body shape. Also, as a part of the ideal boyish body, having an ample bosom was out. Women would resort to wearing bandeaus in an effort to appear to have a flatter chest. And as with any era, the ideal body shape influences fashion heavily.
The Fashion:
Perhaps the one person that most influenced 1920s fashion was none other than Coco Chanel. Her own sense of personal style had always been about comfort. While others around her constricted themselves with corsets and spent hours on an elaborate hairstyle, Coco Chanel wore her own menswear inspired designs and cut her hair short. Her designs reflected her personality–she was a rebel against the social norms. Added to the liberation of women due to the 19th amendment, Chanel’s designs were a hit. The 1920s was all about “baggy” clothes, or in other words, clothes that hid the figure. The drop-waist dresses that were all the rage back then did just that-it gave women the desired straight and narrow silhouette. It wasn’t all about looking boyish though. Dresses were adorned with bows, ruffles, buttons and the infamous fringed bottom. Outfits were also often completed with a cute cloche hat. This cloche hat would of course be accompanied with short hair. As part of the rejection of Victorian ideals, women chopped their hair into a short bob. This short hairstyle would be styled with finger waves or blunt bangs. And of course, what outfit is completed without shoes? T-Strap shoes were popular in the 1920s, and of course had a moderate heel. Unlike the eras before, the clothing of the roaring twenties was really about comfort.
The Makeup:
At first, makeup use was mostly confined to skin creams and face powder. Later on when lipstick and eye shadow were beginning to be more commonly used, dark colors were popular. For the lips, deep reds, brown-reds, and plum colors were in vogue, while for the eyes, a black eye shadow would be used to create a Smokey Eye look. As for the brows, they were usually thinly plucked and slightly straight. They were normally darkened with eyeliner.