Flappers Of The 1920′S Essay, Research Paper

Flappers of the 1920 s

When one pictures a young lady of the 1920 s, what does one see? Most often a neatly dressed elegant woman comes to mind. Many teenage girls are always told to act like young women, and are given speeches of how in the old days; everyone was on their best behavior. Actually, this generation s youth is being misled to how the past really was. In the-mid 1920’s the so-called ladies weren’t all they seem to be. Even though it may be hard to believe the obedience and politeness wasn’t too common. Their behavior and actions definitely do not portray the typical image of a young lady.

The flapper s homes tended to the extravagant, exotic, and romantic. What appears old-fashioned today was cutting edge in the twenties. Electricity and indoor plumbing had been common for years, but became more useful in the twenties as these became both acceptable and affordable for the common person. Electric refrigerators replaced iceboxes, gas ranges replaced woodburning stoves, and electric toasters became popular.

All things were becoming modern; technology was gaining in popularity. So we find a riot of styles in furniture: cottage, federal, empire, Elizabethan, Gothic; furniture influenced by Duncan Phyfe, Chippendale, Hepplewhite and the Old Masters. Those who could afford it bought valuable pieces.

Flapper s designs in their homes, were flamboyant, generally did not use rich colors of the previous Victorian age. Wood was very popular in furniture as well as in floors, doors and window frames. Oriental-style rugs were common for the living room and dining room. But the colors were dull blues, greens, and taupe and the walls were usually painted.

Music was an important part of the flapper era. The piano gained popularity as a make-your-own-music device. But the new and unique piece of furniture in the home of the twenties was the talking machine. Although the many versions of the phonograph had been around for two decades, the Music was an important part of the flapper era. The cabinetry that appeared in the late teens and early twenties raised this contraption above the level of novelty. It became an integral component of the flapper lifestyle. Whether playing highbrow opera and classical recordings or the latest dance tune, the phonograph brought music into the living room without instruments and the ability to play them.

In the early 1920’s, the women, dressing respectively did not show skin. The most common clothes were once stated as being, “High necked jumpers of all tints and textures.” This peaceful figure didn’t exist for too long though. Eventually, teenagers got bored and wanted to have fun. “It is the effect of the war,” was a frequently used excuse. Since the war distracted many parents from caring for their maturing teens, more and more girls turned to flapperhood. Lack of attention caused the youth to be eccentric. Any young woman with and innovative dressing style and pompous attitude officially earned the name of being a flapper.

Parents wanted to know why these girls were using the brains they had, for something better and worthy or their time. All the girls that had turned to flapperhood, were only looking for one thing. The girls wanted help working out their problems with constructive, sympathetic thinking and acting, but all the parents gave the girls in return were destructive public condemnation and denunciation. They asked their parents to look back to when they were kids and try to find a little encouragement and help.

A flapper would display her body with the clothes she would wear. Seeing her skirt hanging high above the knee was not a rare thing. “Women still want to be loved, but they wanted it on a so-so basis which includes being admired for the qualities they really posses.” They basically concentrated on beauty by caring for their looks. Make-up was applied, and short bobbed cuts were the style to have. Some people even wanted to make a law on how short a skirt could actually be because of the fact that flappers wore them so short. Attention, notoriety, and prominence, flappers loved it all.

The clothes among flappers varied greatly, although whatever they wore was always short. In the past the girls wore long skirts, but it wasn t too long before they were gone and done away with. It was also the Wheeling times. Girls needed to be able to move, dance, swing, and sway. Legs were exposed more than ever before. They had dresses to leotards, pretty much any type of clothing you could name, they would were. They had matching hats and headpieces along with sparkling, shiny jewelry, and high heels. What topped off their style was their attitude. Without the right attitude and age you couldn t be considered a flapper. People would take one look at the girls and could guess whether they were flappers or not, although they were wrong once and a while.

The girls of the 1920 s invented the concept of dating. For them it was a more flexible way of meeting and seeing others, without supervision. In the past, boys had to be committed and the girls had to be engaged in order to see them. Dating permitted people to see each other, without the intent to marry them. Petting was a popular pastime for youth. Petting meant kissing or fondling and while parents did not approve of this, their children and peer groups did.

Among most other things, a flapper partying was a normal and somewhat necessary part of their lives. Their daring attitudes gave them a reputation of being devils. ” They think a bachelor girl can and should do everything a bachelor man does.” Most flappers smoked cigarettes, which were placed in elegant holders. These audacious ladies and their boyfriends, also called Sheikhs, enjoyed speeding around in automobiles, as well as visiting secret speakeasies where they drank liquor, danced, and listened to jazz. They walked down the street, their smooth silky sheer legs, shuffling about the glistening sidewalk on a summer day, while men’s mouths dropped open with content because of the incredible glamour existing among them. Simply, “Her golden rule is plain enough, just get them young and treat them rough.”

During the flapper time period also known as The Flapper Intoxicated there was a great amount of slang used. To the flapper, alcohol was giggle water or hooch, derived from the name of an Alaskan Indian tribe, the Hoochinoo. To lap was to drink, most often at a gin mill or speakeasy. Half-cut or soaked with a bar rag was to be pleasantly tipsy. When someone was intoxicated, flappers used terms such as barreled, bolognied, canned, crocked, fried, jammed, jiggered, juiced, oiled, ossified, out like a light, pie-eyed, piffled, plastered, polluted, potted, shellacked, shot, splifficated, stewed to the hat, and tanked. A flapper who could hold her liquor was known as a non-skid; a hip hound was a serious drinker. A drunken goof was a flask, and an apple alley was a drunken sailor.

As you can see, flappers held popularity with their arrogant selves. “They are the style, summer of the 1925 Eastern Seaboard.” These women were as well known as some local companies. It gave them a satisfactory feeling since they were able to control and dazzle men’s minds, and still earn their respect. Even though, “Attainment of flapperhood is a big and serious undertaking,” a somewhat large number of ladies made this a part of their lifestyle.

To this day, certain women are still remembered as being flappers in their time. Clara Bow and Scott Fitzgerald’s wife Zelda Sayre, and Flapper Jane are among them. A famous cartoon character joining them is Betty Boop. Clara Bow became known as the ” It Girl,” because of her flapper like ways. A freethinking woman like Zelda Sayre was also an impact on her husband’s life. “She was a huge influence on his writing, providing much of the material for his novels and short stories throughout their engagement and marriage.”

Flapper Jane was 19 and denies that she is a member of the younger generation, she says that the younger generation is ages 15-17. Although she says she isn t a member Flapper Jane is, she dresses and acts like all the other girls. For her regards Jane is a perfect example of wild youth-paint, cigarettes, cocktails, and petting parties. Jane wore the newest bob haircuts and makeup. In the summer Jane lost her stockings along with the other flappers. The clothing the flappers wore were also worn by ordinary women three times as old as Jane, and who looked a hundred years older.

Betty Boop started out in the early 1930 s as a dog and the love interest of a dog named Bimbo. It didn t take long for Betty to pass Bimbo in popularity however and become the main character in cartoons. As Betty s popularity grew she went through many transformations, losing her dog characteristics. Soon after she became the cute and sexy character that all Betty Boop fans now know and have grown to love. Her body was modeled after Mae West and Mae Questal did her voice. Betty Boop is now the star of a cartoon about a flapper. There was more then one hundred Betty Boop cartoons produced and some even received an Oscar nomination. Her popularity began to go downhill for decades but then, in the 1980 s she became popular again. Betty’s popularity in this decade is just as strong as it was 65 years ago. “Men want to be with her and women want to be like her.”

These four flappers were just the beginning of proving that women can have just as much enjoyment, if not more, then men.

As can be seen, these stylish women were a major part of the fashion industry in the mid-1920’s. Flappers mainly portray the typical teenage girl who loved to party and have fun. The term flapper puts a new meaning into the alleged young lady. They no longer are expected to be as perfect as they are made to be. Flapperhood was an amazing thing, but although it seemed that this would’ve been a ceaseless trend, it somehow ended, or at least decreased. How exactly did this happen? That is one question left to be answered.