Women's Clothing

Woman in the 1920s experienced a wave of freedom that allowed them to be more daring than ever before. The waistline began to drop below the waist until it reached the hip in 1923.  Skirts and dresses became more tightly fitted and hemlines were at the knee by 1928.  For the first time ever, women's legs were seen in public. 

A popular dress at the time was the Basque dress or Robe de Style created by Jeanne Lavin.  It was made up of a tubular bodice and then a skirt that gathered around the waist, reaching the ankle.  This was widely worn during the afternoon and evening.

As the decade progressed, the long straight style of the dresses became a day dress while the evening dresses became shorter and straighter.  The day dress later on followed this style as well.  It was in the evening dresses that new innovations developed to mark the decade.  More skin was shown with the low necklines and backless dresses.  An important part of the dresses was the intricate bead designs.  The concept of the flapper was introduced, meaning a young modern woman who went out on dates without supervision and wore makeup and fashionable clothes.

Another significant change in style was the bobbed haircut.  It was introduced into the United States by dancer Irene Castle when she returned from a European tour after seeing the French wearing it.

Complementing the bobbed haircut was the cloche hat, meaning "bell" in French.  It became an accessory for daytime wear that usually reached the eyebrows in the front.  The hat was often decorated with a pin in front.

The late 1920s saw a shift to longer silhouettes and a tighter fitting dress.  Again the evening wear led the change while the day dress still followed the Flapper style.  The style known as the Flapper look only lasted for three years (1925-1928).  But the innovations in fashion during those few years remain forever engrained in those that remember it.

Men's Fashion

The sacque suit which was popular in the mid-1800s became a day suit for men.  The suit was accompanied with putty, peach, blue-gray and cedar colored shirts and silk ties decorated with geometric patterns and diagonal stripes.  A black bowler hat finished off the look.

The tail suit was considered formal evening wear, worn with a top hat.  Gentlemen were usually expected to wear starched white shirts with pleaded yokes but some also wore bow ties and white wing collared shirts.  At this time, tuxedos were not generally worn.

Various shoes were worn depending on the occasion.  Black patent-leathered shoes accompanied formal evening wear.  For casual wear, a two tone shoes were demanded like white and tan or white and black.  Lace up shoes were common.

Knickerbockers were popular causal wear for men.  There were various sizes depending on how low below the knee they hung.  Norfolk coats and golf coats were worn with the knickers. 

The banishment of knickers from classrooms led to the age of the baggy pants, beginning in 1928.  They were first worn by Oxford undergraduates to avoid the banned knickers.  The pants measured twenty-two inches to forty inches around the bottom.

The jazz age also influenced men's fashion for a short period with its tightly fitted suits. Long jackets with close buttons and tight trousers are also the contributions of the jazz period.