Flapper Fashion: Advice for The 21st Century Dancer A blog about flapper fashion trends and how to make a flapper costume.
Fashion is something I love to read about, but I know very little about the time period of the 1920’s. I am a dancer, and when I danced the Charleston in my first competition a couple of years ago, I was appalled at how little information there was on making authentic flapper costumes.
I decided that it was time to create a website that would help dancers find out everything they needed to know about making flapper costumes. And so Flapper Fashion: Advice for The 21st Century Dancer was born!
Flapper Fashion: Advice for The 21st Century Dancer
A blog about flapper fashion trends and how to make a flapper costume.
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A brief history of 1920s Flapper Fashion
The 1920s, also known as the Jazz Age, was a time of radical change in fashion and culture. A young generation was defining itself through style. Women were becoming more independent, smoking and drinking in public, going to nightclubs and having premarital sex. Gone were the days of restrictive corsets, ankle-length skirts and long sleeves. New fashions included shorter skirts, bobbed hair with bangs, visible makeup, scarves worn around the neck or head, sleeveless tops and low-waist dresses. While most women could not afford the high prices of couture designers, cheaper knock-offs were available from stores like Eaton’s in Canada or Sears & Roebuck in the USA.
The term “flapper” was originally used to describe teenage girls who embraced the new fashions, danced jazz music and acted with uninhibited enthusiasm. The term didn’t become popular until British author Norman Haire published a book in 1921 called “The Psychology of Sex.” In
Flapper Fashion: Advice for The 21st Century Dancer
A blog about flapper fashion trends and how to make a flapper costume.
Flapper fashion is one of the most iconic looks of the 1920’s. In this post, we’ll take a look at what made this style so special and how you can get the look today.
The Flapper Dress
Most people associate the flapper dress with high hemlines, but the truth is that hem lengths varied during those years. Frequently dresses were designed to sit just above the ankle. What was consistent between all flapper dresses was their looser, boyish fit.
The looser fit allowed women to dance more freely than they had been able to previously. It also meant that less undergarments were needed as well. Women were encouraged to shed their corsets and embrace a more liberating form of underwear (or lack thereof).
Swing dance was inspired by the rebellious “flappers” of the 1920s. Today’s dancers may not want to recreate the exact look of these wild women, but they can learn from their fashion sense and use it to create a unique flapper look for themselves.
The first step is to find a dress. The flapper’s signature item was a short, simple dress that ended above the knee. Typically, it would have a loose fit and a low waistline, which gave the wearer more freedom to move. Many also featured fringe or sequins, since flappers loved to dance!
Flapper dresses were often sleeveless or had very thin straps, but today’s dancers may want more coverage on top. They can choose an outfit with wider straps or sleeves, or they can use an accessory like a shawl or shrug to cover up a bit.
The second step is to choose shoes and accessories. Flapper shoes were usually high heels that laced up around the ankle – not exactly ideal for swing dancing! Today’s dancers might consider wearing flats or low heels instead. Flaps also wore jewelry like long pearl necklaces and feather headbands with their costumes; these items can add some 1920s flair without being too distracting once the music starts playing
When you’re choosing your 1920s flapper costume, you want to be sure it looks authentic. As the Great Gatsby movie comes out this year, we are sure to see lots of new and vintage inspired 1920s dresses. But how do you know what’s a true replica? Here are some tips for getting that authentic Jazz Age look.
1. Sequins on a Poor Girl’s Dress
There is an urban legend that poor women in the 20s would sew sequins on their dresses because they couldn’t afford beads. The idea is that they would sew sequins on their dresses to make them look like beaded gowns worn by wealthy women in the Roaring 20s. This is just a myth. There were no sequin dresses in the 1920s, period. Sequins were not even invented until 1934!
2. Colorful Sequin and Bead Embellishments
However, there was plenty of colorful beadwork and metallic embellishments on 1920s flapper dresses. During the day, young women would wear simple cotton or silk print shift dresses with no embellishments at all. For a fancy night out dancing at the nightclub, they would wear more glamorous beaded dresses made from rayon or silk crepe de chine
You may have attended a 1920s event or been invited to a 20s-themed wedding and are now looking for tips on how to dress the part. It can seem daunting if you’re not familiar with flapper fashion, so this article is going to make it easy for you.
If you look at pictures of the era, there’s no doubt that flappers dressed differently than most of their contemporaries. It wasn’t just their clothing, but also their hair, makeup and accessories that made them stand out from other women of the time. In this article we’ll explain how flapper fashion emerged, what it meant, and how you can recreate it today.
I’ll be writing a series of articles with tips on how to dress like a flapper. We’ll be looking at where you can buy flapper dresses and accessories, and we’ll also be looking at how to make your own 1920s flapper dress if you are handy with a sewing machine.
If you would like to share your ideas, or have any questions or comments, feel free to use the form below. I’ll do my best to answer all questions and comments within 24 hours.