The 1920s are called the "roaring twenties", "roaring twenties", "crazy twenties", "golden twenties". This is the era of jazz and art deco, the heyday of radio and cinema, rampant dancing and nightlife. This is the time of people who survived the devastating world war, the time of great change and progress.
What influenced fashion?
In the 1920s, the social status of women changed dramatically. If earlier even feminists recognized that the fair sex had to choose between a career and family values, now the ladies wanted to combine both. The emancipated girls of the new generation were called flappers. Unlike their Victorian-raised mothers and grandmothers, the flappers were markedly free: their clothes became more revealing, they wore bright makeup and listened to jazz, they drove cars and built careers, they smoked and danced.
In addition to emancipation, the First World War had a strong influence on women's worldview. When the men left forfront, it was women who had to stand behind the machines in factories and factories, dig trenches, care for the wounded, put out fires and act as law enforcement officers. All these changes were reflected in the female character and, as a result, in the fashion of the roaring twenties.
In the history of world fashion, this period was literally a turning point. It changes so radically that it is in the 1920s that a clear line can be drawn between the fashion of the 19th century, the trends of which were still felt before the war, and the fashion of the 20th century. Corsets and long skirts no longer met the modern requirements of convenience and functionality, complex hairstyles and wide-brimmed hats disappeared, the cut of the dress became simpler, fasteners pass from the back to the chest, innovative “lightning” is increasingly common, unisex style is coming into fashion.
Dress
Fashion of the 20s of the 20th century dictated a new ideal of female appearance. The young lady-emancipe should be very slender, with narrow boyish hips and inexpressive breasts. It came to the point that a woman's too magnificent bust was tightly bandaged. The androgynous figure was helped to maintain a sport that has become popular among flappers. And to emphasize the almost boyish thinness and angularity, a dress of a straight silhouette was called upon. The waist line on such outfits was greatly underestimated, but the hem of the skirt strove up. If at the beginning of the 20s ankle length was in fashion, then in the middle of the era the dress rose to the knee and even a little higher, falling again at the end of the decade. Long sleeves disappear and give way to straps, the body is more and more exposed:a defiant cutout appears on the back.
The post-war world was swept by the so-called dancing mania. The popularity of dances increased dramatically, the foxtrot, American tango and w altz were the most beloved, blues and Charleston, lindy hop and swing spread. Under the influence of dancing mania, the fashion of the 1920s also changed. Dresses, in which it should be comfortable to dance the night away, became shorter, shiny fabrics, flying “tails”, fringe and beaded embroidery, feathers and furs, pumps with heels became popular. The neckline on the back often reached the fashionista's waist, the narrow hips were decorated with bows, and the almost flat chest was decorated with multi-layered pearl beads.
Outerwear
The 20s were a time of experimentation, innovation and wild ideas. Under the influence of new trends, outerwear has also changed. If at the beginning of the 20th century it did not differ in a variety of styles, then after the war the situation changes dramatically: soldiers who fought abroad brought home many new ideas. The styles of other countries prompted European and American fashion designers to create collections where different cultures intertwined and turned into something decidedly new. For example, it was in those years that a cape appeared on the podium - a sleeveless coat, known in our time.
But the most popular type of outerwear was the legendary trench coat ("trench coat"), created by the Englishman Thomas Bradbury. This waterproof gabardine raincoat was designed specifically for soldiers and has gained wide popularity inWorld War I and successfully conquers the catwalks in our time. The new coat captured the minds of the fashionistas of the roaring twenties. Especially for women, Bradberry launched the production of more elegant and light models from soft fabrics. The trench coat perfectly matched the unisex fashion, meeting the new requirements of convenience and comfort.
Pants
Women in the 1920s actively mastered the male spheres of activity: they sat at the helm of an airplane, drove a car and went in for sports. Of course, the fashion of the 20s of the 20th century reflected all the changes: emancipes wear work overalls and flight jackets, put on men's tuxedos and breeches. But perhaps the most revolutionary innovation is women's trousers. So far, they could not push the dress of a straight silhouette, but pajama pants, which came to Europe from India, have become fashionable clothes for going to the beach. A little later, when the French fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin began to create elegant pajamas from flowing fabrics, decorated with lace, embroidery and fringe, women dared to take to the streets in such outfits. We can say that pajamas became the prototype of the first trouser suits, which will come into fashion a little later.
Shoes
In addition to the short dresses of jazz dancers, dancemania gave the roaring twenties elegant pumps with heels lavishly embellished with diamonds, belts and buckles. The highlight of these shoes were webbed fasteners. Pumps were valued quite expensive, so fashionistas wore them to protect them from street dirt.special rubber boots, something like galoshes with a small indentation on a wide heel.
Another hit of the season - high boots, called Russians. The spread of fashion for them was facilitated by numerous emigrants from Russia who fled abroad after the revolution. The rapidly shortening women's dresses also contributed. For the first time, "Russian boots" were demonstrated by the Parisian fashion designer Paul Poiret back in 1913, inspired by his trip to St. Petersburg and Moscow.
Hats
Hats are still an obligatory attribute of a fashionable costume in the 20s, only they look completely different. Fanciful wide fields are becoming a thing of the past, caps and bonnets are being forgotten. At the peak of popularity - a bell-shaped cloche hat. Cloches owe their appearance to the French milliner Caroline Rebu, the “queen” of hat fashion. Such hats were sewn, as a rule, from felt, velvet or satin, horsehair, straw or felt. Cloche hats made it possible to hide hair, were comfortable and practical. In addition to them, fashionistas of the jazz era chose berets and headbands. Evening headdresses were intricately decorated with decorative stitching, satin ribbons, flowers and rhinestones, feathers and brooches.
After migrating from Russia to Europe and the USA, the traditional Russian headdress, the kokoshnik, suddenly bursts into the world of Western fashion. It can rightly be considered the most popular element of folk costume in the period between the world wars. Women's fashion of the 20s suggests wearing a kokoshnik-crown for weddings, andfreely rethought copies become part of everyday attire. Jeanne Lanvin even produces a collection of so-called Russian hats, and fashion houses sell plastic kokoshniks.
Accessories
Fashion designers of the 20s chose satin, velvet and silk to create costumes. Knitwear becomes a real discovery: if in the 19th century only simple underwear and clothes for people from the bottom were sewn from it, then in the roaring twenties it soared to its pedestal. Furs ceased to be a detail of outerwear: fashionistas-flappers wore fox or sable skins on bare shoulders, complementing their evening attire. A long mouthpiece and an elaborate cigarette case become an indispensable accessory.
The fashion of the 20s of the 20th century dictated the uniformity of the costumes, and therefore their decoration was especially rich. The clothes were decorated with beads, fringe and embroidery. Folk motifs are becoming incredibly popular: women choose Chinese embroidery and Persian ornaments. The discovery in 1922 of the tomb of Tutankhamen by the English archaeologist Howard Carter led to Egyptomania that swept the entire Western world. Contrasting colors typical of Egyptian culture, geometric forms of ancient art, hieroglyphs and traditional designs, beaded bags and feather boas began to dominate fashionable toilets.
Of course, the popularity of the exotic has affected the art of jewelry, and costume jewelry is also in fashion. Perhaps the main adornment of a woman of the 1920s was pearl beads. They were wrapped around the neck several times, and their lowest tier could reach the hips. Sometimesrock crystal was chosen instead of pearls. In addition to beads, ladies wore large hairpins and brooches, wide ethnic bracelets and massive geometric earrings. The tiara comes into fashion, it is selected for evening dresses. The most popular metals are platinum and white gold, and this period in jewelry is called "white".
Due to the fashion for short dresses, thin silk stockings with a belt were in great demand, which, however, not everyone could afford, and therefore synthetic ones were often bought instead. The new style of clothing called for new lingerie: fashionistas of the 1920s opted for short, straight slips, tight tops that squeezed the breasts, silk knickers and tight petticoats.
Hair and makeup
Hairstyle fashion of the 20s ordered to abandon long hair in favor of short, almost boyish haircuts. Flappers, as a rule, choose garcon - a hairstyle "under the boy" from short hair. She became popular after the release of the story of the French writer Victor Marguerite La Garçonne ("The Bachelorette") in 1922. Garcon was worn both with and without bangs, the hair reached the ears and had a clear shape. It was a comfortable, simple hairstyle that allowed women to once again demonstrate their equality with men.
But not only a short haircut won the hearts of fashionistas of the jazz era. The fashion of the 20s and 30s offers short wavy hair and neat buns, accessible to those who do not dare to cut their hair. Bandages become an important element: they were made fromluxurious fabrics, generously decorated with pearls and lace, selected for every occasion and wardrobe. Such a bandage was fixed on the forehead and was considered a sign of luxury. Emancipe women also wore hair nets: in addition to a purely decorative function, they held their hair, which was especially important during gala evenings and stormy dances.
Bright makeup becomes a must for every fashionista of the roaring twenties. Delicate pale colors were replaced by catchy cinematic make-up. Women painted their lips in bright red or wine colors, drawing a dramatic “bow”, generously used powder and blush, drew thin arches of eyebrows. Particular attention was drawn to the eyes: dark shadows and thick black eyeliner were in fashion, as well as false eyelashes, decorated with beads and sparkles for evening outings. The new way to smoke without hesitation required to emphasize the hands, so colored nail polishes appeared in the 1920s.
Men's Fashion
In the 1920s, the United States introduced a "dry" law, alcohol is prohibited to produce, sell and consume throughout the country. It was supposed that this would reduce the growth of crime, solve social problems and improve the he alth of Americans, but everything turned out differently: corruption and smuggling were actively developing in the States. Members of organized crime groups began to be called gangsters. American fashion in the 20s and 30s falls under their influence: men, emulating the style of crime boss Al Capone, wear dark pinstripe or herringbone double-breasted suits, two-toneshoes and felt hats, suspenders and cufflinks, rings and watches
Men's fashion of the 20s popularizes the classic style. A conservative men's suit assumed a jacket with a high waist and narrow shoulders: such a cut visually stretched the silhouette. The jazz boom contributed to the spread of the eponymous suit with tight trousers and fitted jackets. Another trend that came from Oxford is wide flannel trousers. They began to be worn in order to hide sports socks that fell under a strict ban. The tailcoat is gradually receding into the past, it is being replaced by a cropped tuxedo.
Russian fashion
Not only the West was touched by the revolutionary new fashion of the 20s. Russia - more precisely, already the USSR - tried to keep up, world trends seeped into a country where there was no "Iron Curtain" yet. At this time, the first in the Union "Workshop of modern costume" was opened. Russian and Soviet fashion designer Nadezhda Lamanova was commissioned to create worker-peasant fashion, but she was provided with only cheap, coarse fabrics. And the Fashion Atelier, created later, gets at its disposal brocade, velvet and silk confiscated from the stocks of emigrants.
NEP in the Soviet Union replaced devastation and poverty, avant-garde ideas and constructivist plans were in the air. Women of the USSR, as well as in the West, also preferred a boyish figure, loose dresses, hats and jewelry. They wore trousers, smoked heavily, drove cars and played sports. Soviet women of fashion also cut their hair short, but, unlikeAmericans and Europeans, preferred not to curl them. Avant-gardism brought into fashion a geometric ornament that adorned women's outfits. Constructivists from everyday clothes have eliminated everything that required excess fabric - tucks, cuffs and pleats.
Perhaps there was not a single decade in the last century when fashion changed so dramatically in just a few years. Fashion of the 20s of the 20th century is a phenomenon that dictated the birth of completely new trends, styles and trends.
