Fashion, Style, Women

Flapper Culture and Style
The flapper, whose antics were immortalized in the cartoons of John Held Jr., was the heroine of the Jazz Age. With short hair and a short skirt, with turned-down hose and powdered knees - the flapper must have seemed to her mother (the gentle Gibson girl of an earlier generation) like a rebel. No longer confined to home and tradition, the typical flapper was a young woman who was often thought of as a little fast and maybe even a little brazen. The pop-up ads are a little inconvenient.

Men’s Fashions of the 1920’s
Outlining the post WWI mood in men's fashion, this essay includes descriptions of knickerbockers, patent leather, and the popularity of Oxford bags.

Women’s Fashions of the 1920’s
The feminine liberation movement had a strong effect on women's fashions. Most importantly, the corset was discarded! For the first time in centuries, women's legs were seen. A more masculine look became popular, including flattened breasts and hips, and bobbed hair. This is the accompanying page to the men’s fashion page.

Antique and Vintage Dress Gallery
While a commercial site, where the dresses are actually for sale, this is well worth a look to see what the real thing looked like.

1920’s Vintage Clothing: the Davenport Company
The dresses here are for sale, but are worth looking at to see the real thing. If anyone were in the market, the dresses here are much more affordable than the Antique and Vintage Dress Gallery.

Fashion History
Descriptions detail the silhouettes, common designs, available fabrics and popular prints of the Jazz Age.

Margaret Sangers: Women and the New Race
Margaret Sanger's 1920 booklet promotes birth control and women's rights.

Woman Suffrage and the 19th Amendment
Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change in the Constitution. Militant suffragists used tactics such as parades, silent vigils, and hunger strikes. The records of the National Archives and Records Administration reveal much of this struggle. This lesson makes use of these documents.