Freedom of the 1920s

"Fashion should empower you as much as it dresses you
-it should make you a femme fatale one moment and a romantic the next.
Fashion is there to transport you -it's escapist and seductive"
-John Galliano

The 1920s was the decade in which fashion entered the modern era. It was the decade in which women first liberated themselves from constricting fashions and began to wear more comfortable clothes (such as short skirts or pants).

Social customs and morals were relaxed in the optimism brought on by the end of the war and the booming of the stock market. New music and new dances came on the scene. American women won the right to vote in 1920 and were entering the workforce in record numbers.The women's rights movement had a strong effect on women's fashions.

Most importantly, the confining corset was discarded, as undergarments changed to suit the new fashions in this decade. Instead of drawers and knickers women were now able to wear panties which were more comfortable. The chemise or camisole was employed in place of the corset. During the early part of the decade, chemises paired with bloomers kept a woman covered beneath her outer garments.

For the first time in centuries, women's legs were seen with hemlines rising to the knee and dresses becoming more fitted. A more masculine look became popular, including flattened breasts and hips, short hairstyles known as the bob cut.

Pictures via Style/Vogue.com