Clothing In The Great Gatsby

In life, masks are used for a wide range of different things, whether it is for a theatre production, to complete a Halloween costume for a costume contest, or even just to try on in a store for fun. The thing about those masks is that they are visible. In Scott Fitzgerald's book The Great Gatsby, the characters in the book put on masks, the difference is, is that these masks are not visible to others, and are used to conceal their imperfections. The characters that apply are two of the most obvious ones in the novel, Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. These two women portray that wealth is better than everything else, and they both base their lives on it. Also, the novel shows the hardships and difficulties they have in their marriages; they are never satisfied with what they have, and are always longing for more.

Numerous people admired the materialistic life, and followed whatever it was considered popular. Due to precipitous economic boom in America, new technology also developed intensely, especially cars. America during the 1920s manufactured more than 40% of world’s goods, including automobiles production. Automobiles soon became a trend, and car consumption skyrocketed. In the Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby owned a ‘Yellow Rolls Royce’, the Roaring twenties that many individuals longed for. The popularity of automobiles could be seen in the scene where people show up to Gatsby’s parties with fancy automobiles. Although the mass production of automobiles happened shortly the end of WWI, majority of Americans possessed automobiles during the 1920s. Fashion was also a great deal in the Roaring Twenties. Since people enjoyed and were passionate about newest trends, there were fashion clichés, where people dressed in very similar styles. Many women, including Jordan and Daisy, wore similar fashionable dresses “ They were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house” (Fitzgerald 13). Additionally, Gatsby’s colorful suits also reflect how men were also greatly conscious about fashion

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, provides a reflection on the societal issues and attitudes of a modernist, post-war era. The “Roaring Twenties” was an age of prosperity, consumerism and liberalism that led to unprecedented economic growth and significant changes in culture and lifestyle. The right to vote redefined women’s roles and gave rise to a “new breed” known as the flapper, that drank, wore excessive makeup, and flaunted her disdain for conventionalism. The introduction of prohibition led to an increased demand for black market alcohol and bootlegging, thereby providing a financial basis for organized crime. Despite the progression, the 1920s was an era of social tensions

Thanks to Coco Chanel, the iconic flapper image most closely associated with the roaring twenties came about. The flapper and flapper image didn’t actually come to be until around 1926 and even then was only in style for about three years. Typical flappers were women who appeared to have a bold attitude and were independent women who didn’t adhere to the previously innocent housewife image. A flapper usually had a bob haircut, a shorter than average dress, a flat chest, wore tons of make-up, drank illegal alcohol, smoked with a long cigarette holder, exposed her limbs and danced the Charleston. This was a drastic change from the typical American housewife to the reckless rebel. The flapper dresses stressed above the knee hemlines and construed straight, sleek shapes. This was the first time in centuries women’s legs were being seen in a garment. (1920s Fashion 1) Flappers loved to jazz up their costume and even their image. Many flappers’ dresses were adorned with jewels and intricate beading. The main object of the flapper image was to appear almost boyish rather than looking feminine. (1920s clothing 1)

Many of the trends from the Roaring Twenties were set or seen at the parties thrown by the rich such as Gatsby did in the novel. Many of the trends were fashion, especially women, music, and dances. Fashion had changed a lot after and during the war. Dress making and custom styles were beginning to break out. New textures and patterns created the 1920’s style. For women many more options were now acceptable. A daring new style of skirts and dresses worn above the knee were popular. “1920's Dresses were lighter and brighter and shorter than ever before” (1920's Womens Fashion). Jewelry and many other embellishments were added now more than ever. “An increased sense of freedom was expressed in simple yet elegant designs, with carefully selected fabrics, and an intelligent use of color” (1920's Womens Fashion).

The roaring twenties was the period known for its exuberant, overwhelming and free pop culture of all time. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, represent the past historical modernization of a male subjugated social system. The Great Gatsby is a mysterious love tale, and a social interpretation towards the American Life. This story explores the journey for happiness and wealth through the American Dream, and shows how perfectionism, deteriorated relationships, and deceitfulness occur during the Jazz Age. The Great Gatsby, however, is not the story about a woman’s journey for happiness and improperly shows the representation of females during 1920. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby shows the historically male controlled social system through women being portrayed as shallow beings, which are dominated by men, and seen as flawed individuals.

A flapper was a modern woman of the 1920’s with bobbed hair, short skirts, and dramatic make-up. (sparknotes.com) The flapper was also used to represent a new type of young woman. It represented a woman that was bold, rebellious, and energetic. Only a small percentage of American women were flappers. The image of the flapper had a huge impact on the rest of the nation’s fashion and behavior. Most women began to cut their hair short. It was called bobbing. Many parents wouldn’t allow it. To the older generation, it seemed taboo to have short hair. Some of the daughters of these people felt old-fashioned for not having their hair cut short. (Hakim, 42) Before the twenties, it was rare for a woman’s ankle to be glimpsed upon beneath long skirts. Yet, during the ’20’s, the ankles were highly visible as the hemlines for women’s skirts rapidly went up and up, as

The Gibson glamour girl preceding the flapper wore long tresses, a high-neck starched shirt, and a long skirt over restrictive undergarments. The flapper did not adhere to these types of restrictions. Pantaloons and corsets, the Gibson girl’s undergarments, were not conducive to the dancing of the flapper or the need for physical freedom. They were replaced by underwear called step-ins (Rosenberg 2). The flapper fashion showed much more skin than the Gibson girl’s outfit. She wore a loose fitting dress that came just to the knees, with a dropped waistline and often showed the arms. The look worn by the flapper was called the “garconne” meaning little boy. The hair was first cut very short into a “bob” then even

We look back in history in order to learn from our mistakes and to help society progress in the present and in the future. “The Great Gatsby” was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. Fitzgerald wrote this piece during the 1920s after WWI and it perfectly replicates the time period. The narrative captures the essence of the Jazz Age by depicting characters, showing power struggles and by defining the societal conflicts of the time. The novel tells us about different influences on the 20’s such as the Prohibition Act, the success of Wall Street, and aspects of the American Dream. “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald possesses the social constructs and ideas of the Roaring Twenties.

One of the major topics explored in The Great Gatsby is the sociology of wealth, specifically, how the newly minted millionaires of the 1920s differ from and relate to the old aristocracy of the country’s richest families. In the novel, West Egg and its denizens represent the newly rich, while East Egg and its denizens, especially Daisy and Tom, represent the old aristocracy. Fitzgerald portrays the newly rich as being vulgar, gaudy, ostentatious, and lacking in social graces and taste. Gatsby, for example, lives in a monstrously ornate mansion, wears a pink suit, drives a Rolls-Royce,

     The fashionable clothing flaunted in The Great Gatsby is an example of life in the 1920s. Gatsby’s parties are used as a spacious “catwalk” for men and women to exhibit the latest and most expensive designer wear. At one of Gatsby’s parties, Lucille, a young female guest, chats with Jordan and Nick about an expensive new gown she received. She states, “When I was here last I tore my gown on a chair, and he asked my name and address–inside of a week I got a package from Croirier’s with a new evening gown in it…It was gas blue with lavender beads. Two hundred and sixty five

The selfishness of the American dream in the 1920’s is presented through Gatsby’s flaunt, and strive for wealth. Gatsby throwing all his expensive looking shirts into a pile demonstrates his flaunting of wealth. When he “took out a pile shirts and began throwing them, one by one, before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel, … the soft rich heap mounted higher”, he is bragging about his wealth to Daisy, his one way ticket to the American dream (92). All of these expensive looking shirts make him look wealthier than he really is. For instance, the class looking flannel is a soft-woven fabric typically made of wool or cotton, and is very inexpensive. Gatsby wants to boast about his wealth to Daisy so she can see that he does have lots of money, and they can get back together. Daisy’s voice is full of money, and is a symbol of old money. If Gatsby can get Daisy, then he can be completely accepted as high class and ultimately achieve his American dream,

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, the reader sees a common theme of corruption of the American Dream. In the 1920’s, the times are changing in America and morals are becoming looser and the lifestyle of the wealthy is more careless. New fashion, attitude, and music is what nicknamed this era the “Jazz Age,” greatly influencing Fitzgerald’s writing. He created similarities between many things in pop culture and the journey his characters Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Myrtle are taking to achieve the American dream. Through the use of the lively, yet scandalous, jazz music from the 1920’s, Fitzgerald reflects the attitudes of the characters in The Great Gatsby at the end of innocence and prevalence of

Due to the disillusionment of the First World War and the rapid increase in the economy, Americans decide to ignore their problems and proceed to pursuit for pleasure in the moment with consumer goods. New fashion trends are in town for both the upper class and the middle class, and with their new lifestyle and values staying in fashion is a must. As mention above, fashion is not just a form of clothing, but it is the way of life; therefore, houses, furniture and cars also fits into the fashion category. The prosperity and elegance in the sense of fashion in The Great Gatsby reflect that people really do have an speculated amount of money to spare, pondering about their choice in purchase are no longer necessary. Being the “old rich,” the taste and the sense of fashion for the Buchanan is exceptionally important. For instance, Tom when ridiculously excessive in throwing the wedding and gifting his Daisy with expensive, it was not necessary; however, it was for the enjoyment of himself and in a way to boast about his wealth and taste. Moreover, Tom is incredibly proud of his own home, throwing “lavish”

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the setting of New York in the nineteen twenties performs an extensive role in the novel. Although the nineteen twenties are a time of economic prosperity, they appear to be a time of corruption and crime as well. In New York, particularly, the nineteen twenties are a time of corruption and moral scarcity. The setting is during the Jazz Age as well, where popularity, fashion, and commerce are a primary inclination. The setting of The Great Gatsby efficaciously portrays the behavior of the characters in The Great Gatsby, as well as the plot and development. The setting assiduously delineates how themes, motifs, and symbols can fluctuate in relation to the time or location. The setting of The