Fashion in the 1920s

The Edwardian Silhouette

Edwardian undergarments were intricately created to provide women with a standardized figure that was considered fashionable. The S-Shaped corset provided women with the desired look of a large Monobosom and a 16 waist. An Edwardian womans undergarments consisted of a corset, corset cover, camisole, a pair of drawers, cotton petticoats, and flannel petticoats.

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Factors that lead to the reforms of fashion in the 1920s

World War I Newfound buying power in the Roaring Twenties Feminine Liberation Movement and the 19th amendment Prohibition Advancements in the textile and garment industries Ready-to-wear fashion Fashion Magazines

World War I
During the War, women entered the workforce to fill jobs left open by soldiers. After the war women continued to work outside of the home. Womens fashion altered to suit the workforce, constrictive undergarments such as whalebone corsets were abandoned to allow for an ease of movement Also with the lack of men due to the war and its aftermath, women began wearing more alluring clothing to attract a husband.

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Newfound buying power in the Roaring Twenties

The Economic prosperity of the Roaring Twenties allowed more women access to luxurious clothing. More woman began buying their clothing as opposed to making them themselves.

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Feminine Liberation Movement and the 19th Amendment

The ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 was a large leap forward for Womens Rights. Women soon began wearing loose pantsuits called pajama suits, a direct result of the newly gained right to vote and the strong cries for further female empowerment.
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Prohibition
Due to Prohibition, drinking took place in the home and women became included in drinking. Women soon began drinking in public at Speakeasies. This new social freedom was matched in fashion with new styles that were more scandalous, revealing, and freeing.

Advancements in the textile and garment industries

With the Garment Industry becoming increasingly Industrialized, rapidly evolving womens styles were more available to those of lower economic standing, the new luxurious styles were available to the middle class, as opposed to just the economic elite.

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Ready-to-wear fashion
Because clothing was now easily manufactured, stores began selling clothing, carrying outfits in a variety of sizes to fit almost any customer. Because Women were more frequently buying their clothing as opposed to making it, the style was dictated by fashion magazines.

Fashion Magazines

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Fashion Timeline
1891- Artificial silk created in France from a cellulose fiber 1910- first American plant begins producing the new synthetic silk 1923- Waistline drops to a point between the natural waist and the hip 1924- Waistline drops to the hip, synthetic silk is named Rayon 1925- shift types dresses with no waist emerge 1926- "One Hour dress" designed 1928- hemline rises to the knee, also dresses become more fitted Oct. 24, 1929- the Stock Market crashes

Characteristics of 1920s Fashion

Loose-fitting clothing Dropped, loose waistlines Shorter hems on some styles of dresses Loose fitting pants for women A long, lean, flat-chested silhouette An overall androgynous appearance

The Progression of Style through the Decade

As the decade proceeded, fashion continued to rapidly change. Hemlines rose from an inch below the knee to knee-length Waistlines dropped to the hips and then disappeared altogether creating a shift dress

Flapper Fashion
The Symbol of the Roaring Twenties, the Flapper, emerged in 1926 and embodied the decades modern fashion elements such as short sleek hair, a short shapeless dress, and a flat chest, and exposed limbs. Flappers had a reputation that added to their style as well. Flappers smoked from long cigarette holders, applied makeup in public, and danced to jazz with reckless abandonment of propriety.

Flappers
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