Twentieth century fashion inspiration has been popping up across pop culture recently, so it’s time examine how these modern, vintage styles came to be.

The 1920s was the first decade to see a major shift from the corseted gowns of the Victorian and Edwardian periods.

The economic boom post-WWI led to a rise in materialism and mass production, with store catalogs and credit installment plans taking over.

Movies, magazines and marketing took over the fashion landscape, and we see the rise in celebrity and influencer culture affecting style trends.

The rebellious youth defined the styles of this generation, and influences came from jazz music, the sexual revolution and the rise of higher education.

For women, hair and hemlines got shorter, and corsets and most undergarments from the previous era were thrown out altogether.

The flapper is the defining character to come out of this decade.

According to a 1922 Flapper Magazine article, a stereotypical flapper had “bobbed hair; powder and rouge on the face; use of lipstick; ‘plucked’ eyebrows; low-cut, sleeveless bodice; absence of corset; little underclothing, often only a ‘teddy-bear’; high skirts; and ‘roll-your-own’ stockings.”

Photo of flapper girls. (Contributed/medium.com)

However, flapper wasn’t the only style of the time.

The La Garçonne or Tomboy look appealed to women looking for a more masculine style.

The style featured designs that hid typical feminine curves and had higher hemlines typical of youth.

Chanel created the eponymous little black dress in 1926, turning black from a color of mourning to a color of high fashion.

For those seeking a more romantic look, the robe de style was a gown with a floaty, gathered skirt with no waistline.

For men, London dictated the fashion trends, and two-piece suits inspired by Savile row and the Prince of Wales were popular.

The Roaring Twenties began the age of commercialized fashion we see today, but the decades to come would take these innovations and make them their own.

Author