The Flapper

3 Pages 759 Words

The Flapper

The idea of the fashion in the 1920’s causes the brain to think of wild women with their skirts shorter then ever before. This image did not actually appear until 1926. Between the years of 1916 and 1929 hemlines rose steadily. The skirt lengths first began to rise in the late 1918, where it was just below the calf length.
Between 1920 and 1924 skirts were at calf length fluctuating one to two inches due to the style of the garment. The skirts were longer, but they were designed to confuse. The Basque dress was considered the compromise between the straight twenties figure and the old fashioned designs. This outfit was considered extremely popular for afternoon and eveningwear.
It was 1925 when skirts rose 14 to 16 inches. This is the style that we associate with the era. By 1926 skirts were at their shortest in the Twenties decade. This type of clothing could be affordable for everyone. As the decade progressed it was a great deal faster and easier for the women to get dressed. They could even home sew their own clothing. The “one hour dress was designed in 1926 as well, it could be made in one hour. With all these innovations the eveningwear continued to follow the pattern. Women began wearing the dresses almost above the knee. This was a major change from growing up in a world that barely acknowledged knees. This fashion stayed this way until around 1928. By 1929 hemlines began to transition back to longer silhouette and waistlines began to make a tentative reappearance.
The clothing was not the only reason in being a “flapper.” Appearance played a major role in the transition into a more dazzling age. The physical appearance of the women of the twenties changed from round figures and older faces to slender, flat-chested tanned bodies. The face of a 15 year old became the desired figure of the youths in the 1920’s. When the women started to show more leg skin, there became a nee...