by Cheryl Bruedigam
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Actress Louise Brooks 1927 |
Flappers were the non-conformists of the roaring 1920s, originating with a film in the United States. According to Wikipedia, "Flappers were a "new breed" of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior." They openly smoked, drank, rode bicycles and went into bars and they danced with ferocious abandon.
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Violet Romer in a flapper dress c. 1915 |
This was a time when women in America had just received the vote, stuffy religious priorities were changing due to the Scope's Trial and women were overturning traditional roles. In America, the word flapper originally referred to female adult voters who might vote differently than men however it soon evolved to en-capsulize a feminine revolution in the west (in 1890 England it had referred to a young female prostitute who "flapped" on her back). Religious piety, homemaking and the former acceptable women's roles of the Victorian period were pushed into history as the flappers pulled us on into the twentieth century.
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French fashion designer Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel |
Their fashions were heavily influenced by the designs of Coco Chanel, a non-conformist herself who soon had women's clothing changing the face of acceptability everywhere. The flappers dresses were generally above the knee, sometimes beautifully fringed in lovely fabrics. Their hairstyles were the new boyish cuts and bobs, and heavy makeup drew in wise-eyed young women with darkened kohl eyes and red "bee-sting" lips. Little beaded handbags would complete the look.
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A "flapper's" beaded bag belonging to my grandmother,, mid-1920s |
These women helped to change the face of women of women everywhere, setting in motion long-lasting freedoms that eventually became the norm., They were intelligent free-thinkers who were their own person. They helped to set the pace for women of the future, paving the road a step further for women's equality in America and other countries of the West. "Hats on" to the Flappers!
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