Within the next months we will take a closer look at the single decades of the last century. I will explain why the fashion changed and show you the most important key looks of the decade.
We're starting with the 1920's.
With the era of modernism, both the corset and the suffocating Victorian values of the time were torn apart and in 1909 a new linear silhouette came into fashion.
Following the tragedy of the Frist World War and post-1918 fashion, women went wild. Hemlines went up, waistlines went down and flappers boogied to the Charleston, the Bunny Hop and the new hot sound of jazz. Fringes, beads and tassels ornamented short dresses worn above the knee and the accent was on youth and "misbehaving".
By the 1920's the media age was beginning. People started copying stars, they've seen in the cinema and reading about the fashions in "Vogue" and "Vanity fair". The growing poularity of sports such as tennis and cycling prompted a new and simpler look. Jean Patou, Madeleine Vionnet and Coco Chanel were among the designers who created the first modern style for women still seen today.
Key looks of the era:
Hobble and kite dresses:
After the emancipation from the strict "belle epoque" silhouettes, dresses finally became looser. Paul Poiret created "the hobble", which was groundbreaking in developing the narrow, shorter hemline.
Beading and fringing:
Evening dresses had often big amounts of surface decorations, made of sequins, feathers and tassels.
Kimono style:
This kind of Japanese-style dresses were seen as very exotic. A new form of beauty, based on simplicity and oriental design was born.
Velvets and furs:
Fur coats, or coats trimmed in fur, were popular. Velvet was often used in jackets, wraps and dresses; this material was part of the style and the luxury of Art Deco fashion.
Geometrics:
Sweeping bold curved patterns in deep colours that included dramatic red, black and blue appeared from 1910, along with other geometric patterns and Cubist motifs.
All photos and information from: " Vintage fashion - collecting and wearing designer classics/ CARLTON"
