Pre-Flapper

In the mid to late 1910s there was a World War. Men were enlisted to go overseas and fight for their country leaving behind families. Many of these men never returned. While the war was on, the soldiers needed weapons and ammunition, workers were in short supply and companies and factories were desperate so recruited women to do the men’s jobs.

Prior to the war many women were taking part in the Suffragette movement, where they were fighting for women to have the right to vote. This was mostly peaceful, but went to a whole new level in 1905 when two women interrupted a political meeting demanding 回答 as to whether the Liberal Politicians believed that they deserved the same rights to vote as men. This resulted in them being arrested and changed how the suffragettes garnered attention, with women willing to go to prison and going on hunger strikes and throwing themselves in front of race 馬 claiming it in the name of the Suffragettes. Unfortunately this didn’t help their cause.

It wasn’t until these women began participating in the war effort that men began 表示中 them もっと見る respect because they were proving that they could work hard and do the job just as well as any man. They were contributing によって working in munitions factories, which could be dangerous and did cause women to lose their lives. The work involved mixing chemicals such as nitro-glycerine and gun-cotton, which was a job done mostly によって women. This was a dangerous job as kneading these two chemicals together could cause an explosion if the temperature was not carefully monitored; and on some occasions this happened. It was tragic. Then the war ended and the country was thought to have been returning to the way things were before. They were wrong.

Along with the war, came an independence that women had never had before. They were working, earning their own money, providing for their families and could do with it what they pleased. The war took the normal structure of society and threw it out the window; leaving that era shattered in time as both young women and men couldn’t fit back into the roles that they were supposed to fit into.

The Flapper

It wasn’t long after the First World War that the term “flapper” came into use. It was used to describe a bird who was learning to fly and then took on a whole new meaning during the roaring 20s. A definition of Flapper during this period was “a young woman, esp. one who, during the 1920s, behaved and dressed in a boldly unconventional manner.”

Definitely a huge contrast from what came before. Before the wore, fashion known as Gibson Girl was what girls aspired to; wearing long, straight skirts and high collared shirts - this was the fashion. Then the war came and changed everything. The new fashion brought with it an unconventional style that brought out an attitude and freedom that they hadn’t expressed before.

Clothes were trimmed and made lighter to allow freedom of movement, which meant throwing away the corsets so that they could keep up with the jazz age, which had a faster tempo than the Victorian era. Then came Coco Chanel, the legendary fashion designer who developed the “garconne” look which emphasised the roaring twenties. Young girls would ラップ their bodies in cloth so that their chests would appear smaller, waistlines were dropped to the hipline and the hem line rose too.

And who can forget the “bob”? A hairstyle that’s still stylish today, sported によって the likes of Clara Bow and Louise Brooks, who are seen as the pinnacle of the Flapper look. Girls all over would take their long locks and chop them off.

Of course the flapper look isn’t complete without make-up. Prior to 1920, women wearing make-up was frowned upon. If a girl had make-up she usually had to hide it. Though, back then it was better to avoid the stuff since most of it contained lead and sulphur, making it a risky decision to wear it, and it wasn’t lady like to do so anyway.

Then along came the Flapper. They had a carefree attitude and wanted to look their best. So, the norm for makeup was generally bright red lipstick, heavy eye makeup and rouge for your cheeks; brought to the masses によって Clara Bow and Theda Bara. In the liberal era women didn’t have to hide their makeup in shame, the proudly carried it with them, applied it wherever they felt like it. So it was so much better when manufacturers improved the condition of their makeup and brought out もっと見る choices in colouring and shades to go better with any outfit that the flapper wore.

Well, woman's fashion has changed a lot since the 20s but the Jazz era is still remembered better than most for it's unique style and trends, changing how women were looked at and treated. They were allowed to be beautiful and be carefree and have fun, and fashion was something creative rather than covering yourself up head to toe. Women owe a lot to this era in terms of freedom and dress sense, and who could forget that this was the era of silent 映画 and jazz 音楽 to go with the flapper style?