1920s - The youth culture

After a war that was cause by the older generations, the younger generations started to question their elders’ after centuries of following their values. This was the first time that a youth culture came about which separated the fashion styles and attitudes of young men and women from their parents' and grandparents' traditions.

The opposite of the older fashions of the exaggerated female form was a straight up and down boyish silhouette and a short Eaton-cut hairdo; this was the age of “the flapper girl”. This style was brought on by the prohibition of alcohol in the US, pushing illegal cocktail bars with glamorous dancers underground. These flapper dancers wore loose fitting dresses that came down just below the knee with feathers in their hair. 

Left: The casual flapper girl look

Right: A flapper girl dancer/ evening-wear

Hollywood silent pictures inspired this glamour even more which introduced a positive view of red lipstick and nail varnish for women as previously this kind of make up was only worn by prostitutes. This style was also brought on by women’s new found freedom of enjoying sex due to the legislation of condoms; a free and liberating time for young, rebellious women as enjoyment of sex for women was seen as a taboo even to talk about.

Hollywood silent film stars Clara Bow and Louise Brooks wore obvious and bold make up and led the flapper style

As sports became more popular, clothes that were both comfortable and suitable for different sports came into demand. In England tennis, cricket, rugby and horse racing were all the range while in the US they favoured boxing, baseball and basketball which called for specialised shoes such as All Stars (The ChucksConnection, 2012). Day dresses for the home were also in demand as a middle class was starting to develop as well-off women started doing housework instead of maids.

         

Suzanne Lenglen, Wimbledon champion

Ipswich City Tennis Club with the Kerr Cup

Logan County basketball team

A 1920s pair of Chuck Tailor converse 

The happy-go-lucky attitude ended in 1929 however when the Great Stock Market Crash hit the economy hard turning the previous boom rapidly into the biggest depression in history. The era of underground cocktail bars and flapper girls also came to an end after the shocking Valentines Day Massacre which heavily discouraged gangs and clients.

References

The ChucksConnection. (2012) The History of the Converse All Star “Chuck Taylor” [online] USA: Hal Peterson Media Services. Available from: http://chucksconnection.com/history1.html [16/03/2012] 

Biliography

Art Deco Weddings (ND) 1920s Hollywood: Clara Bow [online] Art Deco Weddings. Available from: http://art-deco-weddings.com/1244/1920s-hollywood-clara-bow/ [25/04/2012]

Burch, M. (2010) Paris in the 1920s : Changes in Society Lead to Changes in Fashion [online] Richmond: Wordpress. Available from: http://uramericansinparis.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/paris-in-the-1920s-changes-in-society-lead-to-changes-in-fashion/ [26/04/2012]

Depechemoderox. (2011) Louise Brooks, 1920s [online] Tumblr. Available from: http://depechemoderox.tumblr.com/post/10794459494/louise-brooks-1920s [25/04/2012]

Hopeseguin (2011) Tennis in the 1920s [online] Wordpress. Available from: http://hopeseguin.wordpress.com/2009/10/13/tennis-in-the-1920s/ [25/04/2012]

Khachadoorian, M. (2012) Converse celebrates a century of shoes [online] Boston: NY Times Co. Available from: http://www.boston.com/business/gallery/converse100?pg=4 [25/04/2012]

Logan County Coordinator. (2009) Logan County, OK [online] Oklahoma: OKGenWeb. Available from: http://www.okgenweb.org/~oklogan/photo/20basketball.htm [25/04/2012]

Victoriana. (2012) Flapper [online] Victoriana. Available from: http://www.victoriana.com/1920s/images/flapper8.jpg [25/04/2012]

Whitehead, F. (2010) Ipswich City tennis club members in Ipswich, 1920 [online] Wikipedia. Available from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StateLibQld_1_292019_Ipswich_City_tennis_club_members_in_Ipswich,_1920.jpg [25/04/2012]