So, I thought it would be great to show life in the Flapper days. Here are many photos to take you back in time. Some of the photos depict famous women. Some are just photos from someones family album and are nostalgic. I like the fact that I can see the fashion and the attitude of the "Flapper" in these little pieces of history. A feminist might view these as an outrage, when first looked upon. Why, these women were just sensual objects, they might say. They might say that this was typical of what feminists fought against. But, let me remind you, the Flapper was flamboyant and daring. She stood out and stood up against the litany of must do's that a woman of her time was expected to do.
The Flapper drew her dresses up. She drank in night spots and danced till dawn. She was more interested in education than getting married and settling down with children. She removed the shackles of corsets and high buttoned shoes, of collars starched and binding that covered her neck and chest, of hats that covered her face. She went against all the proprieties of young ladies, and she cut her hair in a "Bob". She even smoked cigarettes. (Not condoning that, just saying, she rebelled against everything that her mother and grandmother had thought proper.)
So, if the Feminist is looking for an early example of women empowerment in earlier history, I say it started with the Flapper! Now, when you look at the photos, see the sensual woman, the flirtatious Flapper, the rebel who went against all cautions and lived richly, and loved deeply. The Flapper is the Matriarch of Women's freedom today. It was won by later warriors but it was the Flapper who cut the barbed wire down so the later ladies could charge through!
The Flappers
Going to the ball, one could expect to where corsets and heavy velvet and brocades as depicted here in this photo. There was a sense of royalty at large in the fashion world, just before the Flapper.
Enter the late teens and twenties of the era, and radical fashion changes abound!
Gowns hugged the bodice and hips. Flowing material was meant to swirl as the ladies danced. Shimmering lightweight fabrics with daring skirt slits , beads and pearls to dress it up, and feathers for the hair finished off the young ingenue!
Oh how they would show off those legs. Shiny shoes, built for dancing all night long, garters to hold up silk stockings, and fringe, fringe, fringe for swirling and shaking! She was quite the vamp!
Her makeup was bold!
They called her a Vixen!
But she knew exactly who she was!
She was Free!
Sonja Henie
She was athletic!
The Flapper was not home-bound!
She was not her mother!
She was dazzling!
Josephine Baker
They sang around the world!
The Andrew Sisters
The Flapper was a Flapper, by day as well as night! She was confident, sassy, outspoken!
She was educated, smart, wasn't afraid to show off her intelligence. She was the first of the women to move into some of the corporate high spots, albeit fashion, as in Coco Chanel.
Coco Chanel
One of my personal heroes. Did I ever tell you that in high school, when everyone else was wearing hot pants, mini skirts and bell bottom jeans, I was wearing Palazzo pants,
Midcalf Skirts
and a tweed mid-calf Flare Coat?
Found these examples on the web for your visualization! LOL. Add a french beanie to it and you can see that I was definitely born too late!
The following photos come free and clear of my gab. Just enjoy as you scroll through the past.
Zora Neal
The college game!
Prohibition?
At the beach.
They never stop dancing!
And who says we can't do the whole look and lifestyle today? Get your Flapper on!!!
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