1920s Fashion Essay

During the decade of the 1920s, both men and women’s fashions changed drastically. For women, Flappers became popular and they often set the trends for that decade. Women’s fashion was influenced by other cultures’ clothing and accessories such as Egypt, Japan, and India. The end of WWI ended the rationing of supplies including fabric. The hemline of dresses and skirts for women were getting higher and higher until the average hemline was at about the knee. Some fabric patterns commonly used in the clothes were geometric and often had raised designs like ruffles, bows, fringe, gathers, jewels, and fur for decoration. Along with shorter skirts, the clothing also became less layered and the use of corsets ended. As for women’s hair, the “bobbed” haircut was an edgy choice. Cosmetics started being used in the 1920s; they were used to enhance women’s appearance and were used in moderation. The women’s bathing suit also became much shorter and got a lot of public attention because due to how skimpy they seemed at the time.
For both men and women the shoes changed as well. Because of the common dances like the Charleston, a secure, lower healed, closed toe shoe is needed to ensure the shoe would not fly off during the dance. In the ‘20s the clothing industry became a big business, with not as much home made clothing. Universal sizes are started during this period. Most designers that were popular during the ‘20s were located in Paris, France. Designers like Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, Madeline Vionnett, Paul Poiret, and Jean Patou were all popular and even though many people could not afford their brand, knockoffs could be made.
Men suits were always common, but they added some twists in the ‘20s. The suits and tuxedos were transformed into what resembles our current style today. The men started wearing trousers known as “Oxford bags,” which were just trousers with a very wide leg. Specific style for watching certain sporting events, was developed as