By 1924, hemlines had risen to the knee, waistlines dropped below the hips and the arms and back were exposed to attract the attention of male admirers on the dance floor.

No longer trapped by oxygen-sucking corsets, the ’20s female could adorn herself in metallic thread, sequined beading and shimmery lame when she hit the town all wild ‘n fancy free. Oh, to return to this decade and learn the Charleston in the dark shadows of a speakeasy!


’20s Clothing Trend #1: Egyptian Style

King Tut’s tomb was discovered in November 1922, spinning the world into a fashion frenzy of “Tutmania.”

Textile companies sent representatives to the excavation sites in Egypt for firsthand inspiration and the result was a little bit of Egypt a la hieroglyphics, lotus flowers, the scarab beetle, mummies and sphinxes on everything from jewelryaccessories to makeup compacts, cigarette holders and even Egyptian Lotus branded footwear!


’20s Clothing Trend #2: Oriental Style

In the early 1920s, France staged expositions of art and products of their colonies (like Morocco), and it was these exhibitions which introduced Parisian fashion designers to the intriguing exoticism of the Orient, which would later be romanticized in film and the flapper era of the ’20s.

Beyond the paper parasols we so often associate with the era, Asian motif designs to the more quintessential Asian inspired lounging dresses (below left) and Kimono style jackets were worn by women in the 1920s.


’20s Clothing Trend #3: Flapper Dresses

Flapper style dresses were cut short and straight to de-emphasize a woman’s curves. Uneven split hems and handkerchief hems along with Egyptian and Art Deco inspired prints, pleated skirt panels and knife pleats, low-cut necks and backs and pockets, buttons and belts are just a few examples of what characterizes a true “flapper style” dress of the era.

The flapper look was called “La Garconne,” translated in French to “boyish, cross-gendered look.” Woman would actually tape their breasts so to appear chestless like a boy!

Despite the ’20s flapper looking like the opposite sex, the words’ origins can be traced to 17th century definition as a slang word for prostitute!


’20s Clothing Trend #4: Handkerchief Hems

Handkerchief hems were a flirty design element to the rising hemline of the ’20s dress, when a dress’ skirt falls at different points along the hemline creating an assymetrical (i.e. not straight) scarf effect.

I think that the hem design was popular because it gracefully showed more skin while also covering some of it within the same hem. Perhaps it was a safe middle ground for the ’20s girl who wanted to be a tease without causing too much trouble!


’20s Clothing Trend #5: Dropwaists

Next to the “flapper” dress, the dropwaist dress is perhaps the most definitive “new” look of this fashion-forward era.

A dropwaist is quite literal in its name: The waistline is dropped to at or slightly below the hips and because of this design creates a straight, waistless silhouette.

’20s dresses often emphasized the dropwaist with a bit of decorative adornment where it lay or the placement of buttons, belts or pockets.