Known for their distinctive style, they wore knee-length skirts, bobbed their hair, and embraced jazz music. Flappers boldly challenged societal norms by wearing makeup, drinking alcohol, smoking in public, driving cars, and having a casual attitude towards sex. This behavior, seen as rebellious, allowed them greater freedom of movement and privacy, especially with the increased availability of automobiles. These women became symbols of the Roaring Twenties, a time of significant social and political change, along with heightened cultural exchange between America and Europe. The spread of American jazz culture played a crucial role in this cultural shift. However, the flappers’ behavior and fashion choices were often criticized by more conservative, older generations. Critics labeled their dresses as “near nakedness” and described flappers as “flippant,” “reckless,” and unintelligent, reflecting the tension between traditional values and the new, modern attitudes of the era. The slang term “flapper” likely originates from an earlier usage in northern England, where it referred to a teenage girl whose hair was not yet put up, causing her plaited pigtail to “flap” on her back. Another possible origin is an older term meaning “prostitute.” The non-slang use of “flapper” first appeared in print around 1903 in England and 1904 in the United States. Novelist Desmond Coke used it in his Oxford college story, Sandford of Merton, writing, “There’s a stunning flapper.” By 1908, even serious newspapers like The Times used the term, though they often provided explanations. For example, they described a “flapper” as a young lady who had not yet started wearing long dresses or putting her hair up. One significant factor in the change in young women’s behavior was World War I, which ended in November 1918. The war resulted in the death of many young men, and shortly after, the Spanish flu pandemic struck, killing between 20 and 40 million people. This period of immense loss inspired a sense of urgency among young people, leading them to believe that life was short and unpredictable. As a result, young women sought to enjoy their youth and embrace their newfound freedom, rather than simply staying at home and waiting for marriage. The flapper style first appeared in the United States through the popular 1920 film The Flapper, written by Frances Marion and starring Olive Thomas. Although Thomas had played a similar role in 1917, it was in The Flapper that the term became widely used. In her final movies, she embodied the flapper image. Following her lead, actresses like Clara Bow, Louise Brooks, Colleen Moore, and Joan Crawford built their careers around this image, achieving significant popularity. In the 1920s, many Americans saw flappers as a threat to conventional society, symbolizing a new moral order. Despite most of them being middle-class daughters, flappers openly defied middle-class values. The idea of being a flapper appealed to many women across the United States. Rival organizations such as the National Flapper Flock and the Royal Order of the Flapper emerged. Flappers shrugged off their chaperones, danced suggestively, and openly flirted with boys. They prized style over substance, novelty over tradition, and pleasure over virtue. Ruth Gillettes, a singer from the 1920s, had a song titled “Oh Say! Can I See You Tonight?” which expressed the new behavior of girls in the 1920s. Before this era, it was impossible for a woman to call a man to suggest a date. Flapper dresses were straight and loose, often leaving the arms bare and sometimes featuring no straps at all. The waistline dropped to the hips, creating a distinctive silhouette. Silk or rayon stockings, held up by garters, were common. By 1927, skirts rose to just below the knee, revealing flashes of leg when a girl danced or walked through a breeze. The energetic dance styles of the time caused these loose skirts to lift, showing even more leg. Some flappers even applied rouge to their knees to enhance the view. Popular dress styles included the robe de style, which contrasted with the typical flapper look by featuring a fitted bodice and full skirt. High heels became fashionable, with heights reaching 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cm). Favored shoe styles were Mary Janes and T-straps in classic black, gold, silver, or nude shades, adding to the overall chic and modern look of the flapper era. Flappers abandoned corsets and pantaloons in favor of “step-in” panties. Instead of the old restrictive corsets, they wore simple bust bodices to provide some restraint for their chests while dancing. New, softer corsets that reached to their hips were also popular, smoothing the whole frame and giving women a straight up and down appearance. This was a departure from the old corsets, which emphasized a slender waist and accentuated the hips and bust. The shift away from curvy silhouettes promoted a more boyish look. To enhance this appearance, the Symington Side Lacer was invented and became a popular everyday bra. This type of bra was designed to pull in the back, flattening the chest and further contributing to the boyish aesthetic favored by flappers. Boyish cuts became fashionable, freeing women from the tradition of having to grow their hair long. Popular styles included the bob cut, Eton crop, and shingle bob. Finger waving was a common technique used for styling these short haircuts. Hats remained a required accessory, with popular styles including the newsboy cap and cloche hat. Jewelry typically consisted of art deco pieces, with many layers of beaded necklaces being particularly popular. Pins, rings, and brooches also became stylish accessories. Additionally, horn-rimmed glasses were a popular choice for eyewear during this time. An obituary for the “Flapper” appeared on the front page of The New York Times at the end of 1928, suggesting that she was being replaced by the “Siren,” described as a mysterious and stylish woman with a “vaguely European” allure. The flapper lifestyle and look faded, and the era of glitz and glamor of the roaring ’20s came to an end in America following the Wall Street Crash of 1929. With the onset of the Great Depression, the once-vibrant flapper women could no longer afford the latest trends and lifestyle. They returned to more conservative dropped hemlines, and the flapper dress vanished from fashion. The high-spirited attitude and hedonism of the flapper era became less acceptable during the economic hardships of the 1930s. As hemlines began to rise again, many states passed laws restricting women from wearing skirts with hemlines shorter than three inches (7.5 centimeters) above the ankle.
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