Vintage Images Of 1920s Women's Fashion

1920s Historical Events

The 1920s witnessed great change and prosperity for many parts of the Western world, but particularly so for the United States. This decade became famously known as the 'Roaring Twenties' or the Jazz Age, and the significant impact of the Harlem Renaissance had redefined arts and culture in America. New exciting technologies and innovations emerged throughout this decade, which complemented other factors that caused the US economy to flourish and transform into an era of mass consumerism. Importantly, American white women of a certain age (19th Amendment, 18th August 1920) won the right to vote for the first time. Moreover, women were given greater independence in many other respects. Also, the 1920s witnessed the origin of the flappers, who were a minority of women notorious for shocking society with the impropriety of their dress sense and public behaviour. Meanwhile, in France, this decade was coined the années folles (the crazy years) to describe the artistic, social, and various cultural collaborations and integrations in the 1920s.

In China, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was established in 1921, co-founded by university professors Chen Duxiu (born 1879 - died 1942) and Li Dazhao (born 1889 - died 1927). In Spain on 13 September 1923, General Miguel Primo de Rivera (born 1840 - died 1930) overthrew the Spanish government and proclaimed himself as the first Spanish dictator of Spain. After the Civil War in Russia, in October 1922, Vladimir Lenin, who had led the Red Army to victory, assumed power in Russia and established the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) on 3 December 1922, which emerged as a one-party state under communism. Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (born 1883 – died 1945) became Italy's first dictator in 1922, after he came to power in office, and later, Mussolini founded the National Fascist Party (PNF), and as the party leader, he governed Italy from 1922 to 1943. Meanwhile, in Britain, the first Labour government of the United Kingdom came to power with Ramsay MacDonald as its leader. It was a minority government, which briefly spanned from January to November 1924, after which it lost a vote of no confidence, and subsequently, it was defeated by the Conservative Party in the next election.

The 1920s: The Jazz Era

The Jazz Age, which began in America, is a term used that is synonymous with the Roaring Twenties, which marked an era of economic prosperity for many nations across the globe, but particularly the United States. After the First World War, the United States had already significantly surpassed the British Empire as the world's most productive economy. During the 1920s. America began to experience unprecedented economic growth. Moreover, the US was now widely viewed as a completely independent global superpower and no longer under the shadow of the British Empire. Jazz music genre originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th century from the music culture of African Americans, specifically with roots from ragtime and blues music. And with its fast rhythmic beat and spontaneous, improvisational style, this music genre attracted many admiring audiences. According to many historians, the term Jazz Age was already in popular use before the 1920s. However, after the famous American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald published his book of short stories entitled ' Tales of the Jazz Age' in 1922, this event further popularized the term Jazz Age in American history. Importantly, Jazz also came to prominence in Europe through performances by African American regimental bands during World War I. Also, in 1925, when Jazz was in full swing and already being played in many nightclubs and dance halls across the US, especially on nationwide radio stations. The great Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington made their first recordings in the 1920s. Jazz came to symbolize the decade's economic success, as well as the nation's spirit for social and cultural liberation.

The 1920s: US Prohibition

The American prohibition (18th Amendment, ratified in 1919) officially took effect from 1920 to 1933. This amendment prevented the production, importation, transportation, and sales of alcoholic drinks to the general public across the United States. The 18th Amendment was introduced because of the combined efforts of religious groups, progressives, women activists, and particularly, the powerful lobbying of two hugely influential American organizations called the Temperance Movement and the Anti-Saloon League. Both organisations claimed that the moral and health decline of the American nation was due to the abuse of alcohol consumption, and they lobbied intensely to protect American society from moral deterioration by demanding a nationwide ban on all alcoholic drinks, aiming to protect the general well-being of American society. But unfortunately, when the US prohibition was finally implemented, it led to the rise of organized crime across America, as numerous illegal or unlicensed drinking venues, known as speakeasies (bootlegging) became infamous. Passwords were required to gain entrance into those events, meanwhile, crime syndicates employed many diversionary tactics to avoid capture by law enforcement officers. Speakeasies were held in clubs, hair salons, private houses, basements, and office buildings. During the 1920s, alcohol consumption and organised crime increased significantly from what it was before the prohibition, and due to the unprecedented rise in black market alcohol production, by the late 1920s, there were reportedly well over a million speakeasies across the United States.

The 1920s: The Tulsa Race Incident

The Tulsa Race Riot, also described as the Tulsa Race Massacre, was cited as one of the greatest injustices ever to have taken place in modern American history. The incident occurred at Greenwood, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, between 31 May - 1 June 1921. At that particular time in US history, Tulsa was the home to a large population of African Americans. It was during the second half of the 19th century that the US government passed a law, which provided some African Americans with the option of resettlement within the region of Oklahoma. In around 1897, fossil oil was discovered in Tulsa, meaning that over the ensuing years, Tulsa materialized into a booming oil city, which contributed to providing economic support for a considerable portion of the Tulsa population. A large section of the Tulsa community had succeeded in becoming well-educated professional African Americans, who had attained self-sufficiency by creating successful businesses and services within their own neighbourhoods, and eventually, as a consequence, Tulsa city evolved into an economically successful and affluent region to such an extent, that it was once famously described as the 'Black Wall Street' of the United States.

The Tulsa riot began after it was alleged that a young black male shoe shiner, by the name of Dick Rowland, had assaulted a young white woman by the name of Sarah Page. Rowland was eventually arrested by the local police, but following his arrest, rumours began to circulate across neighbouring regions about the incident, and subsequently, a very large congregation of incensed white men, who had armed themselves with guns and various other weapons, gathered outside the jail where Rowland had been arrested. The alarming news that a lynching would take place began to circulate around town, and later during that evening, those rumours initiated a smaller group of local black men, all of whom had apparently arrived at the jail armed with firearms and with the intention to protect Rowland. Unfortunately, it did not take long before angry altercations erupted between the two groups of men, and following some skirmishes, an exchange of gunfire took place, which tragically resulted in the deaths of men on opposing sides.

After hearing the disturbing news about the unfolding events, a much larger gathering of well-armed, vengeful white males, who had been deputized by certain police forces, proceeded on a rampage through the black neighbourhoods of Tulsa, while perpetrating criminal acts, such as burning down people's homes, businesses, and committing theft and acts of violence against the local residents. Once the riots had finally ceased, the authorities conducted a full investigation, but this process had produced conflicting reports from various sources, and initially, the precise death toll was not certain. However, eventually, the authorities concluded that at least 300 people had died during the riots, most of whom were African Americans, and hundreds more victims were injured and hospitalized. In addition, over 6,000 black residents were rounded up and then placed in internment facilities for several weeks, while others were unfairly forced to work to repair the city.

The 1920s: The Birth Of The Soviet Union

Ivan Vasilyevich (born 1530 - died 1584), commonly known as 'Ivan the Terrible', was crowned the first Tsar (supreme monarch) of Russia on 16 January 1547, Ivan ruled until his demise in 1584. However, Russia became a major European power under the reign of Peter I (born 1672 - died 1725), otherwise known as 'Peter the Great'. He reigned as ruler of Russia between 1696 - 1725. The Russian Empire of the tsars was founded by the Russian senate on 1 November 1721, at which time Peter the Great was proclaimed the first Emperor of Russia until his demise in 1725. The end of the Russian Empire and its ruling Romanov dynasty concluded on 15 March 1917, after Nicolas II was overthrown and forced to abdicate by the Red Army (Workers' and Peasants' Red Army), who were victorious over Nicholas II's White Army. However, communist Russia started as a result of the 'October Revolution', also known as the 'Great October Socialist Revolution'. This event began on 25 October 1917 and was instigated by the Bolshevik Party, otherwise known as the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), which was led by Vladimir Lenin. The Russian Empire formally became a communist state in 1922, and Soviet Russia existed (1917 - 1922), while Soviet Union Russia officially existed (1922 - 1991). The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was originally comprised of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics, namely, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus (formerly Belorussia), Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The USSR eventually became a world superpower with over 90 ethnic groups across its vast domain, which spanned 11 time zones. Finally, the Soviet Union (USSR), as it once was, officially dismantled in 1991.

The 1920s: The Irish Free State Act 1922

There had been deep festering resentment against British rule in Ireland since well before 1918. However, the general election that took place within the United Kingdom in December 1918 ran concurrently with the Irish general election, which proved to be a momentous occasion in modern Irish history. In the 1918 general election, the radical Sinn Féin Republican Party won a spectacular landslide victory over the moderate nationalist Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP). Sinn Fein (which translates 'ourselves alone') had claimed 73 seats out of 105 that were available in Ireland. Meanwhile, in Ulster (Northern Ireland), the Unionist Party had been established as the most successful political party within that region. Moreover, this was a significant political transformation within Ireland, because the IPP had dominated the Irish political landscape since the 1880s. The Sinn Fein Party had made a solemn commitment within its manifesto to establish an independent Irish Republic, and as a result, on 21 January 1919, Sinn Féin formed a breakaway government and declared Irish independence. On that same eventful day in Ireland, January 1919, while MPs had assembled in Dublin in order to form the Dáil Eireann (Irish parliament), two members of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) were killed in Soloheadbeg in County Tipperary. This tragic event instigated the Irish War of Independence (Anglo-Irish War), which was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from January 1919 to late 1921, between British forces and the Irish Republican Army, whose aim was to achieve an independent Ireland. On 5 December 1922, the Irish Free State was finally inaugurated, this law was brought into existence under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which had been signed by the British and Irish governments one year earlier on 6 December 1921. This treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between the British and Irish forces. The Irish Free State is recognised as a sovereign nation comprised of 26 counties from a total of 32 counties within Ireland. Northern Ireland is situated in the north-east region of Ireland, and it is made up of the remaining six counties. When the Irish Free State became law, the Northern Ireland government immediately exercised its right under the Treaty to remain within the UK. Finally, on 18 April 1949, the Irish Free State officially became known as the Republic of Ireland.

1920s Women's Fashion

There was a new breed of bold, brazen, and independent-minded women called 'flappers' in the 1920s. They were mostly rebellious-natured young women who expressed disdain for the expected moral standards of behaviour placed upon women of their era. The flappers infamously indulged in carefree lifestyles, such as drinking, smoking, and dancing daringly and provocatively, especially at public social events. Flappers were the first generation of women in America to wear and popularize knee-length skirts and dresses, as well as bobbed hairstyles. However, during the 1920s, most women's garments were simple styled full-length dresses with loose, straight fit, and dropped waistlines. Also said to be popular were boat neck and V-neck blouses and dresses, with the addition of necklace jewellery. Some women preferred button-down blouses with straight full-length skirts, and wide-legged or chiffon trousers, while other common fashions were bobbed hairstyles and cloche hats. The upper classes sometimes donned glamorous and glitzy attire, and during the evenings, many women indulged themselves in loosely designed luxurious silk pyjamas.