The Unknown Clara Bow Summary

My first source for evaluation is a secondary source that is an online article, “The Unknown Clara Bow”. This article was written by William Cramer on February 24, 1998. Cramer’s purpose of this article was to educate and inform those who are interested in learning about flapper culture and, more specifically, Clara Bow. Cramer contains detailed knowledge of Bow through many sources, which he has cited on his website, from authors and historians who have focused on the 1920s with credible references and books on this time period. A value to this source is the amount of credible information provided with Bow’s films and quotes on her, as well as interviews discussing her success with other successful people of the 1920s. This is seen when Cramer
Even though flapper aspects have changed women forever since this time period and the image of flappers began in the United States’ Hollywood, many fashion gurus changed the look of women as well. This change specifically took place in Paris because of Bow’s influence through her acting. The Parisian haute couture from 1919 to 1929 completely changed the way women dressed and the overall fashion boundaries between the sexes. A French stylist named Paul Poiret “‘declared war’ on the corset” and he showed a “powerful reminder that in the world of fashion, no bigger design revolution has taken place.” This fashion up rise can be seen on all of Bow’s magazine covers. On the cover of one of Screenland’s magazines from June of 1929, Clara Bow’s face is depicted with her red short hair and her feminine bow tie. On the cover it even states, “Clara Bow’s bathing suit for the best letter” . All throughout magazines, Bow defines the new revolution of fashion by wearing a feminine bow tie and small bikinis which was very out of the ordinary. Bow’s influence is seen through both advertising and the movie industry by making “The flapper style- both in look and demeanor- reflected the exuberant, fast pace of modern America, with its mass production, mass marketing, and mass consumption.” according to Daniel Delis Hill. Overall these aspects of fashion led to what is
From that topic, I narrowed down to the idea of focusing in on the flapper culture that was created then. All of these ideas led to my research question, “How did Clara Bow influence the idea of flapper culture?” Promptly, I began looking for credible sources that explained not only Clara Bow, but included information on the flapper culture as well. Prior to my research, I knew I would come across the problem of finding a historian with accurate information on Bow’s influence in her time. To prevent this problem, I found a search engine in search for primary and scholarly secondary sources. I came across a few and I included them in my investigation. I would look for my main information by looking up the words “Clara Bow”, “Flapper girls”, and “Flapper culture”. Some limitations of the methods I used included not being able to fit in all of the evidence I had gathered and by having plenty of information found on only a limited number of perspectives. Personally, I felt like I had a true abundance of information, but it was not enough for some perspectives and more than enough for others. Overall, I was able to answer my research question far beyond my expectations. I came across the answer that intertwined today’s society and world with Clara Bow and the flapper girls/culture all in one