The Creation of the Modern Woman: An Ode to the Twenties
By Daniella Haghani
The legacy of twenties fashion is the creation of the modern woman who pushed the limits of modesty and conventionality through an androgynous yet provocative style. Traces of her are found in fashion today not solely because she represents timeless beauty, but because we maintain a nostalgic sentiment to reconnect with her dazzling, vintage and revolutionary nature.
The twenties we know and love was a time when people — primarily the rich — secretly distracted themselves from the outside world with booze, music, casual sex, smoking and entertainment. Inside speakeasies were glamorous and pleasure-seeking souls who lived for themselves, one of them being the iconic flapper girl. She was a silhouette of curves, brightening the room with embroidered beads and sequins. She wore a short and sleeveless dress, subverting the traditional look of women’s fashion. While one could say she satisfies the male gaze or perpetuates the objectification of women, another could say she is the archetype of empowerment, rebelling against centuries of shying away from the center of attention or covering herself to restrict a man’s desire. She was flamboyant, daring and confident.
Josephine Baker was a bold, bisexual Black woman who challenged conventional gender expression through exotic, naked dancing, ornate lingerie, flamboyant feathers, layers of pearls and exaggerated makeup. She exemplified fashion as an art, as well as a means to showcase performative gender identity, paving the way for drag queens and burlesque dancers. Baker showed us that clothing was not merely something someone wore, but rather a weapon against society’s patriarchal confinements, and more specifically, a reflection of collective sentiment against a repressive, Christian order.
However, twenties fashion went beyond the flapper girl. In everyday life, women collectively challenged modest wear of multiple layers in favor of comfortable materials. For example, house dresses were long, slim and loose, accentuating the details of the body’s figure while preserving some modesty that made the woman wearing it all the more mysterious. Undergarments were easy to slip on and off. The silk slip dress replaced complicated and covered corsets. These garments reflected the free and wild nature of women during the time of prohibition, and served as an indication of facilitated access to sex — another way women claimed authority over their bodies.
Having the means to spend on fashionable clothing was mostly for the privileged, wealthy woman. Even though working-class women may not have worn expensive, decadent designer dresses, it was easy for girls at home to recreate designer styles, using materials such as jersey fabric and artificial silk. In other words, the twenties represent a “democratization of fashion” in which the ordinary woman could achieve the fashionable look, especially since the style consisted of simple, straight and shorter hemline pieces.
During this time, women also subverted feminine roles of gender by expressing androgynous imagery. Women cut their hair short, a popular style being the bob cut. Additionally, the once desired hourglass figure, assisted by ‘S’ bend corsets of the Edwardian age, was replaced by a more masculine silhouette: flat-chested, skinny, tall. It was common for women to wear hats, which gave them a more boyish look, as well. While house dresses were made to fit the slim woman, the flapper costume was made for those curvy and voluptuous. Despite how this age created appreciation for certain body types, it also allowed women to explore themselves outside a hyper-feminine and modest image through gender-fluid performance and semi-naked imagery.
Overall, the twenties recreated the image of feminine fashion and sexuality. Women were able to escape the confines of home life and enter spaces where they were once not welcomed: the workforce, political representation, and social gatherings, which encompassed the values of profanity and rebellion. As women gained more representation and inclusion in a male-dominated world, they developed a sense of autonomy over their bodies and used fashion as a statement to pronounce their presence. These women and the designers at the time influenced how we perceive and appreciate differing body figures and gender expressions today. More precisely, twenties fashion influenced the dichotomous relationship between simple wear and decadent wear, and used fashion as a vessel that redefined the feminine and masculine image. A century later, it’s significant impact continues to drive our nostalgic desires for a vintage, carefree and decadent America.
The twenties we know and love was a time when people — primarily the rich — secretly distracted themselves from the outside world with booze, music, casual sex, smoking and entertainment. Inside speakeasies were glamorous and pleasure-seeking souls who lived for themselves, one of them being the iconic flapper girl. She was a silhouette of curves, brightening the room with embroidered beads and sequins. She wore a short and sleeveless dress, subverting the traditional look of women’s fashion. While one could say she satisfies the male gaze or perpetuates the objectification of women, another could say she is the archetype of empowerment, rebelling against centuries of shying away from the center of attention or covering herself to restrict a man’s desire. She was flamboyant, daring and confident.
Josephine Baker was a bold, bisexual Black woman who challenged conventional gender expression through exotic, naked dancing, ornate lingerie, flamboyant feathers, layers of pearls and exaggerated makeup. She exemplified fashion as an art, as well as a means to showcase performative gender identity, paving the way for drag queens and burlesque dancers. Baker showed us that clothing was not merely something someone wore, but rather a weapon against society’s patriarchal confinements, and more specifically, a reflection of collective sentiment against a repressive, Christian order.
However, twenties fashion went beyond the flapper girl. In everyday life, women collectively challenged modest wear of multiple layers in favor of comfortable materials. For example, house dresses were long, slim and loose, accentuating the details of the body’s figure while preserving some modesty that made the woman wearing it all the more mysterious. Undergarments were easy to slip on and off. The silk slip dress replaced complicated and covered corsets. These garments reflected the free and wild nature of women during the time of prohibition, and served as an indication of facilitated access to sex — another way women claimed authority over their bodies.
Having the means to spend on fashionable clothing was mostly for the privileged, wealthy woman. Even though working-class women may not have worn expensive, decadent designer dresses, it was easy for girls at home to recreate designer styles, using materials such as jersey fabric and artificial silk. In other words, the twenties represent a “democratization of fashion” in which the ordinary woman could achieve the fashionable look, especially since the style consisted of simple, straight and shorter hemline pieces.
During this time, women also subverted feminine roles of gender by expressing androgynous imagery. Women cut their hair short, a popular style being the bob cut. Additionally, the once desired hourglass figure, assisted by ‘S’ bend corsets of the Edwardian age, was replaced by a more masculine silhouette: flat-chested, skinny, tall. It was common for women to wear hats, which gave them a more boyish look, as well. While house dresses were made to fit the slim woman, the flapper costume was made for those curvy and voluptuous. Despite how this age created appreciation for certain body types, it also allowed women to explore themselves outside a hyper-feminine and modest image through gender-fluid performance and semi-naked imagery.
Overall, the twenties recreated the image of feminine fashion and sexuality. Women were able to escape the confines of home life and enter spaces where they were once not welcomed: the workforce, political representation, and social gatherings, which encompassed the values of profanity and rebellion. As women gained more representation and inclusion in a male-dominated world, they developed a sense of autonomy over their bodies and used fashion as a statement to pronounce their presence. These women and the designers at the time influenced how we perceive and appreciate differing body figures and gender expressions today. More precisely, twenties fashion influenced the dichotomous relationship between simple wear and decadent wear, and used fashion as a vessel that redefined the feminine and masculine image. A century later, it’s significant impact continues to drive our nostalgic desires for a vintage, carefree and decadent America.