The 1920's have arrived! |
The 1920's were full of change for women, we gained the right to vote, for one, and fashion underwent some rather drastic changes. The classic Jazz Baby cut her hair off, smoked cigarettes in public and wore lots of make-up. She stayed out and danced the night away. Unlike earlier fashion eras, styles changed by the minute, the sewing machine marched into women's living rooms and it became much easier and faster for women to adapt to the current modes using simple directions like the ones given in a booklet from 1924 called the "One hour dress", by the Women's Institute of Arts and Sciences in Scranton, PA. Pattern companies like Butterick and McCall's, who had offered clothing patterns since the turn of the century, also made it easy to make your own fashionable frocks at home. The general body shape became slim, straight and curveless, women desired to look as boyish as possible by actually flattening their chests with cinchers and wearing hip encasing corsets. If your natural body shape already looked like that, you had a grand time,flimsy bra-contraptions were worn only to prevent the bust from wobbling. Hemlines went up and down and reached the knee around 1926 before going back down to mid calf for the 1930's. Hemlines were not short during the entire period, most dresses were rather long. Sleeveless gowns were deemed appropriate only for evening wear. In general, there were 2 styles of dress, the robe de jour with the skirt being gathered at the hip for day wear and a straight, tubular style for evening wear. The kimono sleeve, cut in one with the front and back of the bodice, was extremely popular. To host and anchor my 1920's sewing adventures, I selected one of the most magical faces of the time, in my personal opinion, Louis Brooks. Louise Brooks was an actress, talented dancer and accomplished writer and starred in some of the best silent movies of the time, 24 in all. To find out more about her click here: |
