Clothing of the 1920s
The glamor, audacity, love for all things luxurious and shimmery, the suaveness; the synonymous characteristics of the 1920s are inspiring fashionistas of today. If you want to strut your stuff and showcase your 1920s-inspired look, you need to know what these styles were. We give you a lowdown.
Click on the images to reveal the twenties' fabulous fashions.
The Flamboyant Women
If there was one style that is synonymous with the 1920s, it is the image of the flapper girl. This style was pioneered by Coco Chanel. The dresses that the flappers wore were about comfort. They aimed to flatten the bust line. These dresses normally had a straight waistline and the hemline was above the knees. They were often embellished with beads, sequins, or fringes. A boyish figure was favored over the more curvaceous figures. Charleston dresses or low-waisted dresses with a full skirt that started at the hemline became popular towards the mid 1920s. It was the outfit to wear while dancing the Charleston because it allowed them freedom of movement.
Towards 1925, a new style of dresses emerged known as the shift dress that had absolutely no waistline. By the end of the decade, the shift dresses metamorphosed into a style of dress that had a straight bodice and collars.
Knife pleat skirts also gained popularity during this time. These skirts generally fell to a length that was one inch below the knee. Women from wealthier familiar were expected to follow a dress code according to the time of the day and the activity they were indulging in. For afternoon teas, they wore tea gowns that were long, looser versions of evening gowns with long sleeves and accessorized with sashes or bows.
The Dapper Men
The 1920s brought about quite the revolution in men's fashion as well. Towards the start of the decade, men wore suit jackets that were distinctly short, leaving longer jackets to be worn only as formal wear. Slowly there was a shift towards high-waisted belted jackets that were buttoned up higher. The influence for these jackets came from the military-wear of the First World War.
Trousers too had distinct phases. While in the earlier part of the decade men wore narrow, short pants with cuffs that often showed off the socks, in the mid 1920s the style shifted to broader trousers. These pants known as Oxford bags were the forerunners to bell bottoms and were extremely loose.
Suit jackets returned to having a normal waist. Many men also took to wearing single-breasted jackets with double-breasted vests. Sportswear which included sweaters worn with short trousers or knickers were in vogue.
Most men wore morning suits during daytime and switched allegiance to short tuxedos in the evenings.
The Hat Story
Hats were an importance accessory for men and women both in the 1920s. Cloche hats were a favored accessory. Women cut their hair in the bob style.
The hats that men wore distinguished them from each other and were reflective of the class they belonged to. Upper class men wore the top hat. Men from the middle class wore either the fedora or the bowler hat.
During summers, men from both these strata of society wore straw boaters. Men who belonged to the working class often wore a newsboy hat.
After the conservatism of the earlier decades, the twenties was a breath of fresh air. Trousers, sleeveless dresses, sportswear, etc., were all acceptable clothing for women. Clothing became more about comfort. In the 1920s people were trying to express themselves through fashion trends like never before. Consumerism was at an all time high with people purchasing clothes to indicate their level of prosperity. With being well-groomed and styled becoming so important, fashionable clothing was a status symbol like before. Being glamorous was a way of life. The 1920s made us aware of fashion like never before and it was an awareness that never died down.
