Flappers In The 1920's

In the time of the 1920s, a group of women decided that they were done being shown around like dolls and given no respect. These women wanted rights and to have independence, and to not constantly have to rely on a man to get the job done. They decided to get and hold onto steady jobs and became single, young, middle class women. These women were called flappers. They were ones who went to jazz clubs, vaudeville shows, and danced the Charleston. You could also find them smoking and drinking just like any other man would. Flappers extinguished any social double standards about women that was out there in that time. The look of that time was one that has stood out in history since it was first worn. Bobbed, shoulder length hair, loads of makeup,

Before flappers came along women were very modest. They were brought up to be "lady-like" and did not even date men unless their parents came along. They would wear clothes that were long and fancy and would cover their bodies head-to-toe, because they were not allowed to even show their ankles. Flappers went against all theses customs. Their irresponsible actions included: around kissing men, dancing on men provocatively, and just not caring about what the rules were. Women had limited freedom in the 1900s until the Flappers came along and changed many things for women through the way they dressed and acted, creating the "New Woman" or the 1920s.

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)

Flapper: Flappers were northern, metropolitan, single, young, middle-class women. Many held steady jobs in the changing American economy. The clerking jobs that formed in the Gilded Age were higher than ever.The number of phone operators increased as phone usage increased. The consumer-oriented economy of the 1920s saw an increasing number of department stores. Women were needed on the sales floor to cope with the most precious customers — other women. But the flapper was not all work and play was involved. By night, flappers engaged in the active city nightlife. They would frequently visit jazz clubs and watch vaudeville shows. Speakeasies were a common destination, as the new woman of the twenties adopted the same attitude as a man. Ironically,

The 1920’s which was also called the Roaring Twenties was a era of economic prosperity and dramatic social change. The 19 amendment that was ratified on August 1920 gave the right of women to vote and the impact of World War I resulted in women questioning traditional morals and values, becoming rebellious. When men left for the war it caused women to have new jobs such as working in factories. Also, “the number of women attending college rose to 10% of the population by the end of the 1920's." Due to women having the opportunity to have jobs and go to college women became more mobile. The corset limited women to be mobile in this era which caused the production of coresets to quickly decline. Less women wearing corset made their figure to be more boyish and straight. The women of this era was called the Flappers, free spirited women, representing the new change of how women looked. The Flappers “lacked hips, breasts, and a defined waist”. They would dress in dresses above their knee and ankle showing more legs and having bare arms. They would also stray away from having long hair and cut their hair into a bob to symbolize freedom and independency. As a reason of women questioning traditional values they began to drink, smoke and be more sexual in this era. The 1920’s was also the age of Jazz which influenced women to go out and dance and women having more flamboyant and exuberant moves. In the 1920’s to be equal among men they had to have a figure of men,

The Roaring Twenties also know as a new era which was a great time for a revolution.We think of this “New Era” as a freedom for women. Now women were “breaking down the spheres of Victorian values (Zeitz). ” In 1920, the powerful women 's rights movement gave the women right to vote after so many years. Now they started to become more independent and had less restriction put into them.This time period gave rise to the flapper girls who smoke, drank, and had sex as they pleased.Many women became rebels, where they started to wear short dresses and tight bathing suits which exposed their skin, and put makeup on. All these actions taken were considered immoral and disrespectful. The early 20th century was a battle between modernism and

The flapper was a women that did what she wanted, and had lots of fun. The flapper could be recognised by her signature look of bobbed hair and easy to move in clothing which resembled that of a boys clothing. Flappers wore this so that they could easily dance and move about freely instead of being restricted to what they normally could do. Flappers were able to take charge of their lives and do what they wanted and do it when they wanted to, which really made the lives of women during the 1920’s exciting and fun. A great example of this was smoking, flappers started to smoke in the 1920’s which up until this point in time had only been done by man. The image of a women smoking would have shocked anyone during the start of the Roaring Twenties, but by the end of the decade women smoking was just a normal occurrence. Women smoking showed how they now had freedom to do what they wanted and that they did have the right to do what men do, if men are smoking cigarettes why should women not smoke. The flapper girls started to smoke as a way to both rebel and to live a little, it was fun for them and it almost made them more powerful as it pushed the boundaries of what women could do. Smoking for the flapper girls as a result of pushing these boundaries became a fun activity that made their lives much more exciting. Next another new thing flappers started to do was driving cars. Cars were new and were very exciting and fast which was perfect for the fun flapper lifestyle. Flappers loved cars as they were fast and very risky which was a great activity for the flappers as they could now push the boundaries even more because they were doing the same thing that the men were doing. Driving cars truly was able to show off a flapper’s wild side as they just wanted to have the excitement and the fun that comes along with driving a car. Finally flappers drank alcohol during a time when it was prohibited.

Rosenberg, Jennifer. “The New, Modern Woman: The Flapper.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo., 14 Feb. 2017, W. O. Saunders, "Me and My Flapper Daughters," The American Magazine 104 (Aug. 1927): 27., www.thoughtco.com/flappers-in-the-roaring-twenties-1779240. Accessed 11 Apr.

Flappers in the 1920s where the girls and women that dressed less modestly. They also disobeyed the rules that most women and girls followed. They did what others would not ever think of doing in this time period.

Although the roaring twenties are usually thought of as a time of universal prosperity, the reality is that unless one was Caucasian and well-to-do, society tended to shun the outliers (women, minorities, etc), propelling them out of political affairs and social scenes. Women rebelled, becoming increasingly promiscuous as the decade wore on. In 1920, it would have been unheard of to show an ankle, sport a bob haircut, or darken one’s eyes with what seemed like paint. By 1928, the younger generation was revealed as socially progressive, engaging in previously unthinkable behavior such as smoking, drinking in bars, and sex. Flappers became prevalent, with their flouncy skirts and short hair adorned with a jeweled headband. The decade earned its second nickname, “The Jazz Age”, from the incredible musical talents that emerged out of Harlem and other areas of the United States, leading to a less “restrained” entertainment.

The 1920s was the era of the Flapper. Young women started to cut their hair, shorten their skirts, so that they could more easily dance the wild, flapping dances of the age (hence the term 'flapper'). They drank and smoked and wore makeup, and went out with boys without a chaperone. They played sports, golf, tennis, and swimming were all very popular. Sunbathing became popular with women for the first time.

The Roaring Twenties also know as a new era which was a great time for a revolution.We think of this “New Era” as a freedom for women. Now women were “breaking down the spheres of Victorian values (Zeitz). ” In 1920, the powerful women's rights movement gave the women right to vote after so many years. Now they started to become more independent and had less restriction put into them.This time period gave rise to the flapper girls who smoke, drank, and had sex as they pleased.Many women became rebels, where they started to wear short dresses and tight bathing suits which exposed their skin, and put makeup on. All these actions taken were considered immoral and disrespectful. The early 20th century was a battle between modernism and

Because of all the advances made by women in the 1920's, some might describe it as a golden age for women. The 1920's are often portrayed as a very progressive, forward thinking era in time; the word "Flappers" was even donned upon the women of this time to further mislead people into gathering the understanding that this period in time was nothing but a glorious era of progression and advancements for women with no kind of downside or repercussions of any kind for the true progression and respect that suffragettes had actually hoped to gain or accomplish. However, if one is to delve deeper into the texts, and other historical sources of this time, it's clear that although women did gain some rights and privileges this isn't the "golden age"

We chose our topic because it had tons of factual information, interesting points, and lots of evidence. During our lifetimes, we both danced and thought a project including that type of information would really be interesting to dig into. Based on our strengths and weaknesses, we thought doing a performance would be the best and this topic really incorporated a play. This topic took place during the Roaring 20’s and thought the flappers topic about the lifestyles of women would be captivating. One of us has a family member in the dance industry that pushed us to dig deeper into dancing history. This made us want to explore origins of the flappers history.

Women in the 1920s challenged how women were supposed to behave. They cut their hair short, wore makeup, and short dresses. These women were known as flappers. They replaced corsets with camisoles and over that they had on short dresses or glamorous silk gowns. They expressed themselves through accessories like feather boas, pearl jewelry, and headbands.