Fashion 20 years of the 20th century: clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelry

The 1920s are called "roaring twenties", "stormy twenties", "crazy twenties", "golden twenties". This is the era of jazz and art deco, the flowering of radio and cinema, the revelry of dances and nightlife. This is the time of people who survived the devastating world war, the time of great change and progress.

What influenced fashion?

In the 1920s, the social status of women changed dramatically. If before even feminists recognized that the fair sex should choose between career and family values, now the ladies wanted to combine both. Emancipated girls of the new generation were called flappers. Unlike their mothers and grandmothers, brought up according to the Victorian ideals, the flappers acted freely: their clothes opened their bodies more and more, they brightly dyed and listened to jazz, drove the car and built a career, smoked and danced.

In addition to emancipation, the worldview was strongly influenced by the First World War. When the men left for the front, it was women who had to get up at the machines in the factories and plants, dig trenches, take care of the wounded, extinguish fires and perform the functions of the guards of order. All these changes have affected the female character and, as a consequence, the fashion of the roaring twenties.

In the history of world fashion, this period was literally a turning point. It is changing so radically that it was in the 1920s that you can draw a clear line between the fashion of the 19th century, the trends of which were still felt before the war, and the fashion of the 20th century. Corsets and long skirts did not meet the modern requirements of convenience and functionality, complex hairs and wide-brimmed hats disappeared, dresses became easier to wear, fasteners moved from the back to the chest, more and more often there was an innovative "zipper", the style includes unisex.

Dress

Fashion 20 years of the 20th century dictated a new ideal of female appearance. The young lady-emancipse must be very slender, with narrow boyish hips and an inexpressive chest. It came down to the fact that women too tightly bandaged the bust of a woman. Androgynous figure helped to support the sport, which became popular among flappers. And to emphasize the almost boyish thinness and angularity was designed dress of direct silhouette. The waist line on such outfits was greatly understated, but the hem of the skirt was aimed upwards. If in the early 20-ies the length to the ankle was fashionable, then in the middle of the era the dress rose to the knee and even slightly higher, again sinking down at the end of the decade. Long sleeves disappear and give way to shoulder straps, the body is more and more exposed: a defiant neckline appears on the back.

The post-war world embraced so-called dansingomania. The popularity of dances has increased dramatically, the most popular were the foxtrot, American tango and waltz, blues and charleston, lindy-hop and swing have spread. Under the influence of dansingomania, the fashion of the 1920s also changed. Dresses in which it should be convenient to dance the night away became shorter, shiny fabrics, flying "tails", fringe and beaded embroidery, feathers and furs became popular, on the legs - high heeled shoes. The decollete on the back often reached the waist of the fashionista, narrow hips decorated bows, and almost flat breasts - multi-layer beads made of pearls.

Outerwear

The 1920s were a time of experimentation, innovation and frenzied ideas. Under the influence of new trends, the outer clothing has changed. If in the early 20th century it did not differ in the variety of styles, then after the war the situation changed dramatically: soldiers who fought abroad brought home many new ideas. The styles of other countries pushed European and American fashion designers to create collections, where different cultures interwoven and turned into something decidedly new. For example, it was in those years on the podium came out cap - coat sleeveless, known in our time.

But the most popular form of outerwear was the legendary trench coat ("trench coat"), created by the Englishman Thomas Bredberry. This cloak of waterproof gabardine was designed specifically for soldiers, gained wide popularity in the First World War and successfully conquers the podiums in our time. A new coat captured the minds of women of roaring twenties. Especially for women, Bradberry has established the production of more elegant and light models of soft fabrics. The trench coat perfectly matched the fashion for unisex, met new requirements for comfort and convenience.

Pants

Women in the 20s actively mastered male spheres of activity: they sat at the helm of the plane, drove a car and went in for sports. Of course, the fashion of the 20s of the 20th century reflected all the changes: emancipes wear working overalls and flight jackets, put on men's tuxedos and breeches. But the most, perhaps, revolutionary innovation are women's pants. So far, they could not press the dress of a direct silhouette, but pajamas that came to Europe from India, became fashionable clothes for trips to the beach. A little later, when the French fashion designer Jeanne Laven started to create elegant pajamas from flowing fabrics, decorated with lace, embroidery and fringe, the women ventured out in such outfits to the streets. We can say that pajamas became the prototype of the first trouser suits, which will come into fashion a little later.

Footwear

In addition to the short dresses of jazz dancers, dansingomania presented the roaring twenties with elegant heeled shoes, lavishly decorated with diamonds, belts and buckles. The highlight of such shoes were the eardrums. The pumps were valued quite expensive, so to protect them from street dirt fashionable women wore special rubber boots, something like galoshes with a small deepening on a wide heel.

Another hit of the season is high boots, called Russian. The spread of fashion to them contributed to the numerous emigrants from Russia who fled abroad after the revolution. They made their contribution and rapidly shortening women's dresses. For the first time "Russian boots" was demonstrated by the Parisian fashion designer Paul Poiret back in 1913, inspired by his trip to St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Hats

The obligatory attribute of a fashionable suit in the 1920s is still hats, but they only look different. The faded broad fields disappear into the past, capes and bonnets are forgotten. At the peak of popularity - bonnet-shaped hat, shaped like a bell. The appearance of the cloaks are due to the French milliner Carolina Reba, the "queen" of the hat fashion. Such headgear was sewn, usually from felt, velvet or satin, horsehair, straw or felt. Hat hats allowed to hide hair, were comfortable and practical. In addition to them, women of the jazz era chose berets and bandages. Evening headgear was embellished with decorative lines, satin ribbons, flowers and rhinestones, feathers and brooches.

After the migration from Russia to Europe and the United States, a traditional Russian headdress - kokoshnik - bursts into the world of Western fashion. It can rightfully be considered the most popular element of the national costume in the period between world wars. Women's fashion of the 20s suggests wearing a kokoshnik-crown for weddings, and his freely reinterpreted copies become a part of everyday attire. Zhanna Laven even produces a collection of so-called Russian hats, and fashion houses sell plastic kokoshniki.

Accessories

The designers of the 1920s used satin, velvet and silk to create costumes. The real discovery is knitwear: if in the 19th century only simple clothes and clothes for people from below were sewn from him, then in the roaring twenties he took off on his pedestal. Furs ceased to be a detail of outerwear: fashionable flappers wore fox or sable skin on bare shoulders, complementing them with evening dress. An indispensable accessory is a long cigarette holder and an ornate cigar case.

Fashion 20 years of the 20th century dictated the uniformity of costumes, and therefore their decoration was particularly rich. Clothes were decorated with beads, fringed and embroidered. People's motivations are incredibly popular: women choose Chinese embroidery and Persian ornaments. The discovery in 1922 of the tomb of Tutankhamun by the English archeologist Howard Carter led to Egyptianism that swept the whole Western world. In the fashionable toilets, the contrasting colors characteristic of the Egyptian culture, geometric forms of ancient art, hieroglyphs and traditional drawings, beaded bags and feather boas began to dominate.

Of course, the popularity of exotics has affected jewelry art, but fashion also includes fashion jewelry. Perhaps the main adornment of a woman of the 1920s is pearls made of pearls. They were wrapped around the neck several times, and the lowest of their length could reach the hips. Sometimes instead of pearls they chose rock crystal. In addition to beads, ladies wore large hairpins and brooches, wide ethnic bracelets and massive geometric earrings. The fashion includes a diadem, it is selected for evening toilets. The most popular metals are platinum and white gold, and this period in the art of jewelry was called "white".

Because of the fashion for short dresses, thin silk stockings with a belt, which, however, not everyone could afford, were in great demand, but instead they often bought synthetic ones. The new style of clothing required new clothes: the women of the 1920s chose short straight combinations, tight top, tight chest, silk pantaloons and narrow lower skirts.

Hairstyles and makeup

Fashion hairstyles of 20 years ordered to give up long hair in favor of short, almost boyish haircuts. Flapper, as a rule, choose a hanson - a hairdress "for a boy" of short hair. It becomes popular after the publication of the story of the French writer Victor Marguerite La Garçonne ("Bachelor") in 1922. Garson was worn as with a bang, and without it, hair got to the ears and had a clear shape. It was a comfortable simple hairstyle, allowing women to once again demonstrate their equality with men.

But not only a short haircut won the hearts of women of the jazz era. Fashion of the 20-30 years offers short wavy hair and neat tufts, available for those who did not dare to cut their hair. An important element are dressings: they were made of chic fabrics, generously decorated with pearls and laces, selected for each occasion and wardrobe. This bandage was fixed on the forehead and was considered a sign of luxury. Emancipation women also wore hairpins: in addition to purely decorative function, they held a hairstyle, which was especially true during solemn evenings and stormy dances.

Bright make-up becomes mandatory for every fashionista roaring the twenties. Delicate pale colors replaced the catchy cinematic make-up. Women painted their lips in bright red or wine, drawing a dramatic "bow", generously used powder and blush, drew delicate arcs of eyebrows. Particular attention was attracted to the eyes: in the fashion were dark shadows and thick black eyeliner, as well as false eyelashes decorated with beads and sequins for evening outings. The new manner of smoking without embarrassment required an emphasis on the hands, so in the 1920s, colored nail polish appeared.

Men's fashion

In the 1920s, a "dry" law was introduced in the United States, it was forbidden to produce alcohol, sell and consume throughout the country. It was supposed that this would reduce the growth of crime, solve social problems and strengthen the health of Americans, but everything turned out differently: corruption and smuggling developed in the United States. Members of organized criminal groups became known as gangsters. The fashion of America of the 20-30s falls under their influence: men, imitating the style of the head of the criminal world Al Capone, wear dark double-breasted suits in thin stripes or with a pattern in herringbone, two-color shoes and felt hats, suspenders and cuff links, rings and wrist watches

Men's fashion of the 20's popularizes and classical style. Conservative male costume assumed a jacket with an overstated waist and narrow shoulders: such a cut visually pulled out the silhouette. The jazz boom promoted the spread of the suit of the same name with narrow trousers and fitted jackets. Another trend that came from Oxford - a wide flannel pants. They began to put on in order to hide sports socks that were under strict prohibition. Frak gradually disappears into the past, it is replaced by a shortened tuxedo.

Russian Fashion

Not only the West touched the revolutionary new fashion of the 20s. Russia - more precisely, already the USSR - tried to keep up, world trends leaked into a country where there was not yet an "iron curtain". At this time, the first in the Union "Modern Costume Workshop" was opened. Russian and Soviet fashion designer Nadezhda Lamanova was instructed to create a workers 'and peasants' fashion, but she was given only cheap coarse cloth. And the "Atelier Mode", created later, gets at its disposal brocade, velvet and silk, confiscated from the stocks of emigrants.

NEP in the Soviet Union came to replace the devastation and poverty, avant-garde ideas and constructivist plans were in the air. Women of the USSR, like in the West, also preferred a boyish figure, loose dress, hats and jewelry. They wore pants, actively smoked, drove a car and went in for sports. The hair of the Soviet women of fashion also shortcut, but, unlike the American women and europeans, they preferred not to curl them. Avant-gardism introduced into fashion a geometric ornament that adorned women's outfits. Constructivists from household clothes abolished everything that required surplus fabrics - creams, cuffs and creases.

Perhaps, in the last century there was not a single decade when fashion changed so dramatically in just a few years. Fashion 20 years of the 20th century - a phenomenon that dictated the birth of absolutely new trends, styles and trends.