Runway: The Roaring Twenties

This year I'm hosting a New Year's party, and the theme is the Great Gatsby.

The 1920's were the post-war period. Women embraced more casual, so to speak androgynous silhouette. Short hair, loose dresses, waistlines on the hip. On the other hand, fashion became daring with shorter skirts, excessive make-up and rolled-down stockings. Speaking about the Great Gatsby, we have to dress like flappers. Those girls were obsessed with dancing Charleston, drinking (prohibited) alcohol, smoking cigarettes and wearing rolled-down stockings. The Roaring Twenties period.

 

(Click to enlarge)



Here are some collages I made (images from Google and Tumblr). As we don't own any 20's dresses, I expended the scope of clothing, so you'll also see evening dresses and show girls (like dancers etc.). I think those photos above are stills from old movies.

 

Let's begin with dresses. They were shorter, but not that short! They went below the knee. Some evining dresses were long. Only costumes (as for dancers) were really short. The dress could have art deco motifs, fringes, beads, fur, ruffles, really any kind of ornamentals. They were not tight! Remember the androgynous silhouette!

 

 

Women did not wear high heels, but low thick heels. Especially dancers. Shoes had a speific form. When you see a shoe like that, you can't miss it's from the 20's. Dancers loved t-bar shoes the most. They were all closed toes and, it seems to me, quite comfortable. Other accessory were fur or feather wraps, big feather fans, stockings and sometimes long gloves. No bags! (All can be seen above.)

 

 

 

Hair! Women had short hair. Hairdo was made by fingering tehnique (those lovely waves), which is quite difficult for a beginner. Curls could be also drawn to the face. Or it was straight, but cut in a short bob. For long hair, the solution is low chignon. Here's a video how to make the 20's hairdos (avoiding fingering):

 

 

The most important thing is hair accessories. Beaded hair bands or turbans, with feathers again or simply glimmering, were a must for a flapper! Also, don't forget jewellery. Big earings, long beaded (or diamante) necklaces and bracelets. Bracelets were sometimes worn high up on the arm.

 

 

Moving on to make-up. It was bold and dark. Pale skin, dark eyes, red/purple lips, pink blush and thin long eyebrows. Here's a lovely video that includes some history lessons and a tutorial:

 

 

More pics:

 

 

 

(I would NOT recommend that hairdo in the top right corner for long hair, I just think it's funny!)

 

 

 

And, finnaly, here's how it looks in some modern versions. Those costumes in the middle are from the newest movie 'The Great Gatsby' and, as you can see, they are NOT historicaly accurate. But still, they carry the spirit of the times. Oh, and you can see how men dressed here as well! Bow ties or ties+suites+hats.

Wuh, such a long post. I hope it was informative and fun :-)

xxx