In the 1920's, women's
fashions changed dramatically. Before, women's hems always
covered their ankles. In the 1920s, hemlines went all the way up to the knee. Hair
styles changed too. Until this time, women always wore their
hair long. Young girls would wear their hair down, usually in braids or
otherwise tied back in some way. When a girl became
older, around fourteen or fifteen, she would pin her hair up as older
women did. This was consider an important moment in the life of a girl,
a sign that she was moving towards womanhood. Suddenly, in the 1920's,
women began to "bob" their hair, to wear it cut to about chin-length.
At first, this was considered scandalous. In the 1920s, for the
first time, it became acceptable for women to wear lipstick, rouge and
mascara.
This is a photograph of my mother-in-law, Clementina Wallack, in her bridesmaid dress on her sister's wedding day. The hemline of the dress is a bit low for the 1920s but this picture was taken near the end of the decade. In the 1930s, hemlines went down again, so it may be that fashion was already changing back toward lower hems.
Hemline aside, the style of this dress is typical for the 1920s. Notice how low the waist sits on the hips. This "drop-waist" was extremely fashionable at the time. Sleeveless dresses were never worn before this time, but suddenly, bare arms were considered acceptable. This must have been a welcome relief for women in summertime. Before the 1920s, dresses and blouses always had sleeves, usually to the wrist. Although dresses became shorter, elaborate tailoring was still considered an important part of fashion, especially for special occasions such as a wedding. The rows of flounces below the waist of this dress, the gather at the centre above the waistline and fabric "roses" at the waistline all demonstrate skillful tailoring and considerable attention to detail. Anyone looking at this dress would immediately know it is special.
This is a picture of my father's older cousin, Tina Hood, on her wedding day in the 1920s. Her hemline, which seems to sit just below her knee, is typical of the mid-1920s. Unfortunately, it isn't possible to tell from this photograph where the waistline of the dress was placed. The small cap sleeves are just barely there, so this isn't quite a sleeveless dress. But such sleeves would have been unimaginable before the 20s. The veil, which sits low on the forehead by present-day standards, is also very fashionable for the time. Elaborate lace veils were all the rage in the 1920s, and hats, wedding veils, even the headbands worn by maids were considered most fashionable if they reached almost to the eyebrows. Like Tina Wallack, Tina Hood is wearing high-heeled shoes. Both of these pairs of shoes would be unremarkable if worn today. Women's shoes in previous decades were much heavier and covered the foot to above the ankle.
More About 1920s Fashion
The Canadian Museum of Civilization has a very nice page about Hats in the 1920s.
Vintagegowns.com has a lovely page on 1920s Wedding Styles with lots of old photographs.
For general information on fashion in this time period, visit The Fashion Era's 1920s-1930s page. This page links to dozens of other pages.
For a very good overview of women's clothing in the 1920s, visit Christine Pascoe's Flapper Fashion page.
For detailed information on 1920s hairstyles, visit Revamp's 1920s Authentic Coiffures page. The link at the bottom of this page will show you how to bob your hair.
To find out how to make up your face like a flapper, visit Revamp's 1920s Cosmetic Application Page.
Information about the permanent wave (which will make you very happy to live in the 21st century):
Find out about Marjorie Joynor, the African American woman who invented the permanent wave machine.
In "My First Permanent," by Carolyn Benedict, you can read a first-hand account of what it was like to get a perm with this remarkable machine.
This is a photograph of my mother-in-law, Clementina Wallack, in her bridesmaid dress on her sister's wedding day. The hemline of the dress is a bit low for the 1920s but this picture was taken near the end of the decade. In the 1930s, hemlines went down again, so it may be that fashion was already changing back toward lower hems.
Hemline aside, the style of this dress is typical for the 1920s. Notice how low the waist sits on the hips. This "drop-waist" was extremely fashionable at the time. Sleeveless dresses were never worn before this time, but suddenly, bare arms were considered acceptable. This must have been a welcome relief for women in summertime. Before the 1920s, dresses and blouses always had sleeves, usually to the wrist. Although dresses became shorter, elaborate tailoring was still considered an important part of fashion, especially for special occasions such as a wedding. The rows of flounces below the waist of this dress, the gather at the centre above the waistline and fabric "roses" at the waistline all demonstrate skillful tailoring and considerable attention to detail. Anyone looking at this dress would immediately know it is special.
Tina's hair is also very fashionable for the time, "bobbed" shorter
than chin-length and treated to a new technology in women's hairdressing,
the permanent wave. The term "perm" that we still use today is short
for permanent wave. In the 1920s, perming hair involved a large machine
with heated rods. It took hours and was not for the faint of heart.
At the bottom of this page, you'll find links to sites that
explain more about this fairly scary method of curling hair.
This is a picture of my father's older cousin, Tina Hood, on her wedding day in the 1920s. Her hemline, which seems to sit just below her knee, is typical of the mid-1920s. Unfortunately, it isn't possible to tell from this photograph where the waistline of the dress was placed. The small cap sleeves are just barely there, so this isn't quite a sleeveless dress. But such sleeves would have been unimaginable before the 20s. The veil, which sits low on the forehead by present-day standards, is also very fashionable for the time. Elaborate lace veils were all the rage in the 1920s, and hats, wedding veils, even the headbands worn by maids were considered most fashionable if they reached almost to the eyebrows. Like Tina Wallack, Tina Hood is wearing high-heeled shoes. Both of these pairs of shoes would be unremarkable if worn today. Women's shoes in previous decades were much heavier and covered the foot to above the ankle.
More About 1920s Fashion
The Canadian Museum of Civilization has a very nice page about Hats in the 1920s.
Vintagegowns.com has a lovely page on 1920s Wedding Styles with lots of old photographs.
For general information on fashion in this time period, visit The Fashion Era's 1920s-1930s page. This page links to dozens of other pages.
For a very good overview of women's clothing in the 1920s, visit Christine Pascoe's Flapper Fashion page.
For detailed information on 1920s hairstyles, visit Revamp's 1920s Authentic Coiffures page. The link at the bottom of this page will show you how to bob your hair.
To find out how to make up your face like a flapper, visit Revamp's 1920s Cosmetic Application Page.
Information about the permanent wave (which will make you very happy to live in the 21st century):
Find out about Marjorie Joynor, the African American woman who invented the permanent wave machine.
In "My First Permanent," by Carolyn Benedict, you can read a first-hand account of what it was like to get a perm with this remarkable machine.