After World War One, nearly an entire generation of young men had died. The women of this generation decided that they were not willing to waste their young years waiting for a man. They chose to embrace life. They dressed more scandalously, as considered at the time period, and wore more makeup, as well as embraced a more boyish body type and hair styles. They were called "flappers".
The Jazz Age, which they were a big part of, required them to move freely. Flappers trimmed down nearly every article of clothing to make movement easier, in both a metaphorical and literal way. Coco Chanel was the leader of this fashion movement, calling it "garconne", or "little boy". Women tightly wound their chest with strips of cloth in order to create a more flattened look and resemble a more boyish figure. The flapper clothes had their waistlines dropped to the hips. The bobbed hair trend was also inspired by Coco Chanel.
Flappers also had begun wearing make-up, which previously was considered to have only been worn by "loose women". Rouge, powder, eyeliner, and lipstick became extremely popular.
The stereotypical character of the flapper could be described as stark, truthful, fast living, and sexual. They were thought to be clinging onto their youth as if it's fleeting them. They were reckless risk takers. Smoking and drinking was also a big part of their general behavior. They not only insisted on riding in cars, but drove them too.
During the 1920's the Jazz Age led to on of the most popular flapper past-times, dancing. They took up dances such as the Charleston, Black Bottom, and the Shimmy, all considered "wild" by the older generations.
The flapper broke away from the Victorian image of women. They dropped their corsets, cut their hair, wore make-up, and moved to the city. They were considered by many the "new" or "modern" women.
great article. In great detail u showed how they broke each stereotype for a women's role in society. It got me thinking if this was only a movement among the white community or if it transcended among all races. In fact Jazz was created by African Americans and was the base of music for flappers to rebel with during the roaring 20's, so along with white flappers African American women began to expand their lives beyond stereotypical domestic roles. Harlem Sweeties, a poem by Langston Hughes, expresses the rebellious flapper movement.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47874/harlem-sweeties
https://www.bi.edu/research/business-review/articles/2015/04/how-flappers-rebelled-through-feminism-and-consumerism/
Nice article Keren! I thought the reference to the decline of men after the war was a really interesting perspective that I never thought about. There seem to be a lot of factors that influenced the rise of the flapper, so I decided to delve deeper on some of these reasons myself. I found that Prohibition and the 18th Amendment banning alcohol also furthered this era of the Flapper, because drinking ironically became even more popular, and this gave way to speakeasies where women could casually date, and explore their freedom. Knowing that there are so many factors that influence the rise of this group, are there ever any movements/groups that come to popularity with just one major catalyst?
ReplyDeletehttps://bellatory.com/fashion-industry/The-Roaring-20s-Jazz-Flappers-and-the-Charleston