March 28, 2012

1920s Fashion


The poufy hair styles of the 1910s were gone as women started trimming their hair. More modern and stylish cuts such as the Bob Cut, the Marcel Wave, the Eton Crop or shingled styling’s increased in acceptance and popularity. Those that resisted this trend would often draw their hair back and knot it with a chignon. The 1920s fashion-conscious male would commonly part their hair close to, if not in the center. They would then slick it back with a product called “Brilliantine”; an oily, perfumed hairdressing that added sheen to the hair as well as holding it in place. This was a look made extremely popular by the Silver Screen Star, Rudolph Valentino among other.To accompany evening wear, headbands or Spanish hair combs would often hold the knotted chignons in place. The Bob hair style was made popular in the U.S. by Irene Castle and actress Louise Brooks and to this day is still referred to in jokes, cartoons and movies. For 1920s fashion, makeup was simple: Cream rouge circling the cheekbones, eyebrows plucked and thinly penciled in and pale powder. Vivid red lipstick was used to emphasize the “Cupid’s bow” of the upper lip, and to exaggerate the width of the “P” on the lower lip. Thus creating what we now know as the “Rosebud Pout”.

1920s fashion, it is interesting to note, was still being made either at home, or by tailors and dressmakers.  Ready to wear fashion of the industrial age didn’t exist until the 1930s. The design houses of Paris would assemble two collections on an annual basis; a fall collection and a spring collection.  Each designer would then display their new creations on models in their salons. The designs would then be bought, replicated and altered to suit the physique of the wearer. This process would often require several fittings and the time and skill of seamstresses, tailors and their apprentices. 1920s fashion designs had to be simplistic enough to be reproduced and altered without too much added expense.
In the years 1880-1910, the ideal female profile would resemble the letter “S”. Ladies would force themselves into corsets and squeeze their waists down to often below 20 inches in diameter. This would raise their ribcage producing a prominent chest or “pigeon front”. The sides would be pushed back and the rear raised or padded to produce the lower curve of the “S”. Skirts were full length, often touching the floor as the glimpse of an ankle was considered rather racy.
1920s fashion brought change and women began flattening their busts and removing their corsets creating a less shapely look which became known as “Garçonne” which was French for “boyish”.

FASHION ICONS OF 20s

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel  (1883-1971)

French designer, Coco Chanel, was one of the first women to employ pants in her designs, cut her hair short and totally reject the corset. Because of her vision she became one of the most influential designers and entrepreneurs of that century.
Her first Chemise was designed (by her) in 1920 and in 1925 she designed the collarless cardigan jacket. Chanel No.5, her signature perfume scent, was also released in 1925.
Elegance, luxury and simplicity were a trademark of her style. Chanel, in her own way, helped greatly in the freedom and emancipation of female fashion as well as the evolution of 1920s fashion.

Jean Patou

A new French designer, Jean Patou, became a success with his two-piece, wool jersey sweater and skirt outfits. The women of America were now leading increasingly active lives and so saw appeal and value in Patou’s 1920s fashion range.

Elsa Schiaparelli

By the end of the twenties, the younger generations had started searching for their own style. The 1920s fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli elegantly filled this gap. By combining the classical styles of the Romans and Greeks with the now modern “Bohemian” style, she introduced a range of elegant dresses that didn’t hide the body as the chemise did, but enhanced the natural contours.

XOXO Anisa

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