The Flapper
The Flapper
Throughout history there has always been rebels of society, flappers were the rebels of society in the twenties. Fashion at this time was a good indicator of the change the country was undergoing. Women in this time period disregarded traditional conduct and dress; they wore smaller, more revealing pieces of clothing. Flappers were a huge influence in the 1920’s by helping the American woman open up and become more independent and by demanding the same equality as men. Flappers influenced women in the decades to come by shaping the ‘new woman’ of society by their ways of dressing and acting, and by giving America a different perspective of women (Mccleary). The 1920’s came with a lot of changes in fashion. A flapper was a woman in the twenties who was fashionable and disregarded traditional behavior and ways of life and was young and risky (Swartz). The name Flapper comes from the sound “their galoshes unfastened [made] “flapping” as they walked” (Johnson). These women had completely changed from the previous generation; they danced, smoked, drank, went to jazz clubs and flaunted themselves in a new style of clothing (Johnson). Flappers “defied their parents by wearing makeup, eyeliner, powder and lipstick” (Roach). Flappers had short bobbed hair and wore short skirts stopping just below the knees, dresses that hid body shapes and “wore loose fitting sweaters to further minimize the appearance of their breasts” (Johnson and see fig. 1).
Fig. 1. Meyer, Adolf De. Ballerina Desiree Lubovska in a dress by Jean Patou, 1921. Digital image. Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web.
During this time people thought women couldn’t “handle the stress of competition” and therefore thought women were incapable of playing sports but many women were involved in individual activities such as golf, tennis and swimming (“Shattering Stereotypes”). The traditional woman was completely changed in the twenties by their ways of living and looking. Women in the 1920’s influenced
Throughout history there has always been rebels of society, flappers were the rebels of society in the twenties. Fashion at this time was a good indicator of the change the country was undergoing. Women in this time period disregarded traditional conduct and dress; they wore smaller, more revealing pieces of clothing. Flappers were a huge influence in the 1920’s by helping the American woman open up and become more independent and by demanding the same equality as men. Flappers influenced women in the decades to come by shaping the ‘new woman’ of society by their ways of dressing and acting, and by giving America a different perspective of women (Mccleary). The 1920’s came with a lot of changes in fashion. A flapper was a woman in the twenties who was fashionable and disregarded traditional behavior and ways of life and was young and risky (Swartz). The name Flapper comes from the sound “their galoshes unfastened [made] “flapping” as they walked” (Johnson). These women had completely changed from the previous generation; they danced, smoked, drank, went to jazz clubs and flaunted themselves in a new style of clothing (Johnson). Flappers “defied their parents by wearing makeup, eyeliner, powder and lipstick” (Roach). Flappers had short bobbed hair and wore short skirts stopping just below the knees, dresses that hid body shapes and “wore loose fitting sweaters to further minimize the appearance of their breasts” (Johnson and see fig. 1).
Fig. 1. Meyer, Adolf De. Ballerina Desiree Lubovska in a dress by Jean Patou, 1921. Digital image. Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web.
During this time people thought women couldn’t “handle the stress of competition” and therefore thought women were incapable of playing sports but many women were involved in individual activities such as golf, tennis and swimming (“Shattering Stereotypes”). The traditional woman was completely changed in the twenties by their ways of living and looking. Women in the 1920’s influenced