Out With The Corsets In The 1920s

During the 1920’s many changes were happening with women's lives. With the end of the suffrage, movement women were finally gaining more opportunities in politics and in the workforce. However, majority of the country still held the belief that a women’s role was to stay home and take care of their children. From their occupation to the way they dressed women were forced to a strict lifestyle. Not only were they pressured to stay home but pressured to dress. The Flappers movement changed the traditional belief people held on women, women were breaking barriers by dressing and acting against the norms. Flappers were known for not acting “ladylike”, meaning they would act against the expected behavior. Women were dancing, smoking and drinking, women were taking risks and finally making choices for themselves. Flappers strived to be treated equally as men and would dress how they please, going against the social construct. Women took this movement to show society that they are more than just a housewife. Through the flapper's movement, women were slowly gaining more independence and freedom in society. The Flapper movement pushed for women’s movement and has inspired several

The style and cut of women's clothing during the 1920's changed drastically. Waistlines dropped dramatically while hemlines rose scandalously. Turned-down hose were no longer black, but beige. Rouged knees, bobbed hair, and figureless figures characterized the "radical flappers". These women violated many of the rules dictating appropriate clothing and behavior for women. The

Before the 1920’s, women’s attire was considered fairly modern. Women would have worn clothing with more of a silhouette than clothing that was loose and flowy. The length of their dresses never revealed more of their leg than just their ankle. Women received bad reputations when showing their knees or even their calfs. Women in the 1920’s also had a different ideal figure than most women do today. The body types women wanted to achieve also transformed into a more feminine look. This look consisted of low bust lines, higher hems lines, and showing off more curves than ever before. These women became unapologetically fearless.

In this essay I want to examine how the corset evolved from a staple of the British feminine wardrobe of the Nineteenth Century into a symbol of an outmoded tradition – only to later return as a statement of female liberation. I am going to look at different aspects of this development including technological advances, economic facts, external events, particularly the First World War and changes in social, political and aesthetic attitudes. I will also look briefly at the role of Chanel on the silhouette and how this impacted on the corset: focusing on the trend to towards ‘opulent androgyny’ in the 1920’s. Finally I will examine the resurgence of the corset

Fashion in the early nineteen twenties was all about comfort. Men’s pants got wider and women stopped wearing their corsets and tight dresses, while older women of the age considered this scandalous and still held the thought that women should not show their ankle. Though the majority of adults disagreed with the fashion revolution, young women continually hiked up their skirts, stayed out late, and kept up with fashion trends. Times were changing, and thus the flapper age was born. Hemlines rose to the knee, and then later above it- exposing the muscular dancer’s legs-toned

How adolescence behaved during the 1920’s altered the future generations to come in many different ways. One of these ways includes how they dressed themselves. Before the 1920’s girls wore dresses normally past their knees, but during this era they began to wear shorter clothing items above their knees. Very similar nowadays, girls are wearing

Women “changed the rules”. The Flappers was a new ideal for some women. Many women rejected the model of behavior from the 19th century and tried to

As Coco Chanel quotes: “Fashion is an architecture: It is a matter of proportion.” Fashion during the Harlem Renaissance and the roaring 20s define the culture of males, females, whites & blacks.

The reputation and culture of women changed substantially with the emergence of the Roaring Twenties. Gone was the traditional, and sheltered All-American girl who aspired to a housewife. It was seen as inappropriate for these women to even show their ankles out in public. The new “Flapper” girl was a young woman who wore short and relaxed dresses, used makeup, smoked cigarettes, drank alcohol, and attended glamorous parties (Document 2a). Flappers were liberated and bold, and were the complete opposite of the traditional American housewife. The Flapper girl

Throughout the ages, different body types have been considered the ideal. From antiquity to the 1800’s, being thin definitely was not in. The idea that skinny was pretty did not become a major trend until around the 1920’s when females desired boyish figures in line with the popularity of “flapper styles”. As you move to the 50’s the ideal body goes more in the direction of the hourglass and only becomes

The perceptions of a womans body image and sexuality though revolving, have gained momentum since the late 1880’s. The advent of department stores during the Gilded Age opened a new opportunity to woman who for the first time were targeted consumers. The department store’s of the Gilded Age aimed to transform the shopping experience into a leisure activity. Women were not heading to a shop because they needed a dress, but rather because they needed a distraction. Many stores provided public restrooms- a first for women, as well as pampering services, refreshments, and top of the line customer service. In addition woman could congregate and shop with friends while discovering new fashion to wear to whatever pop-up exhibit was in town. The movement towards premade fashion, at fixed prices meant that women were able to buy their clothing on the spot. This was the first time that women were “allowed to attract attention, and they were rewarded if they did so with proper panche” However, as time goes forth and fads change, the tribulations of a woman 's body image has stayed a constant struggle even with acceptance of women in the public sphere.

In the 1950s, excessively feminine silhouettes were celebrated thus accentuating curves, full bosoms and narrow waists was a prevailing way for women to dress. Nevertheless, with her sphere of influence on women, Audrey Hepburn introduced an alternative to this limited standard of how women—through various aspects of dressing and behaving—should be (Keogh 1). Some of the popular stars who eventually became sex symbols in the period were Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot and Grace Kelly. Hepburn’s physique however, was totally different from these women. She did not have a big bosom or a bottom. She was not curvy. Unlike Audrey Hepburn’s

Another area in which women made changes was with their appearance. Women used their attire and style to show an independence, a certain freedom in which they alone had control. Starting with the “Gibson Girl”, women dressed in long, slim dresses, freeing themselves of the poufy petticoats of yore. Women started wearing shorter dresses and shorter hairstyles, leading to “Flapper Jane”. “Women started wearing “less” clothing, shorter dresses, cutting off their hair, and just being more “sensual” than normal”, (Bliven, 1925).

Before the 1920’s, women’s attire was considered fairly modern. Women would have worn clothing with more of a silhouette than clothing that was loose and flowy. The length of their dresses never revealed more of their leg than just their ankle. Women received bad reputations when showing their knees or even their calfs. Women in the 1920’s also had a different ideal figure than most women do today. The body types women wanted to achieve also transformed into a more feminine look. This look consisted of low bust lines, higher hems lines, and showing off more curves than ever before. These women became unapologetically fearless.

The 1920s was a period of change and reform in many things ranging from entertainment, consumerism, and fashion. Fashion, one of the greatest changes in the 1920s was influenced by designers such as Coco Chanel, Jean Patou, Clara Bow, also known as the “It Girl” all influenced fashion for both women and men in the 20s. Previously, women had to behave polite and modestly and had to wear long dresses down to the ankles. But some women started to go past those social boundaries that were set by society. These women would go to speakeasies and smokes in public. The women who did these things are referred to as flappers. Men and some women saw flappers as a disgrace and were disgusted by their way of living. Slowly, as the years began to pass, women such as Coco Chanel, Jean Patou, and Clara Bow came into the fashion and entertainment industry changing the fashion and women’s ideas.