Appearance (2024)

What made a flapper a flapper?

There were certain tell tail signs that a woman was a flapper, or striving to be one. A woman's appearance was the main clue to a stranger that she was a member of the new breed of women. Flappers wore distinct combinations of clothing, hairstyles, and makeup which eventually became part of their identity. Their short hair, heavy make-up, and reveling clothes weresynonymous with the word flapper during their reign ,and are still associated with them today.

“Bobbed hair; powder and rouge on the face; use of lip stick; “plucked” eyebrows; low-cut sleeveless bodice; absence of corest; little under-clothing, often only a “teddy-bear;” high skirts, and roll-your own” stockings."
~"Announcing Flapper Beauty Contest"Flapper Magazine, June, 1922

Appearance

~Make- up
One of the things that shocked Americans the most about flappers, was their make-up. Up until the 1920's women rarely wore makeup during the day, nor did they wear nearly as much makeup as flappers did. Flappers were known to paint their faces with bright red lipstick, dramatic blush, eyeliner, and mascara in order to look more appealing to men. They also plucked their eyebrows, which few women had done before them. This change in cosmeticswas just one of the ways thatflapperdeviatedfrom the typical image of young American women.
~"Garcon" Look
The goal of this look was to look as much like a little boy as possible, and surprisingly it was a major influence on the appearance of flappers. It was what caused women to cut their hair so short, flatten their breasts with bandages, and change what they wore. The dropped waist lines, higher hemlines, and the overall lack of material in dresses helped flappers achieve this look.

Fashion

Flappers were heavily influenced by the changes that occurred during the early 1900's in the fashion industry. Fashion designers around the globe, like Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli, began to make dramatic alterations to women's clothing. They began to decrease the amount of fabric used in clothing by raising hem lines and making women's clothing more revealing.
~Clothes
Compared to the older generations flappers and young women wore very little clothing. The clothes that they wore showed a lot of skin, due to the raising hem lines of dresses and skirts and the plunging necklines of designs coming out of Paris. Despite the fact that flappers had two different wardrobes, they could never please their elders since their clothes were always considered "too scandalous." During the day flappers would wear more modest clothing compared to their evening dress. They would wear either knee to ankle length shirts or dresses, and tops that exposed very little of their shoulders and arms. Their evening wear was a lot more risque. When they went out at night flappers would wear a wide range of glamours dresses that drove men wild, due to the lack of converge. Flappers seemed to follow the rule that "less is better", because the dresses they wore at night were low cut, sleeveless, backless, or a combination of all three. But these dresses were not tight. They were loose fitting and free flowing, that way flappers would be able to easily move and dance. Plus the looseness allowed them to achieve the "garcon" look they wanted so badly, since the dress did not highlight their feminine figures. Despite the hatred that the rest of the country held towards the "skimpy" dresses of flappers, they became one of the most notable parts of their identity.
~Shoes
During this time period thedesignof shoes changed, and flappers loved it. The new shoe consisted of a low heel with apointed toe, which was easier to dance in then their old shoes.

Hair

~The Bob
Bobbed hair was one of the most iconic symbols of a flapper. Before the 1920's short hair was rarely seen on a woman, because it was considered too masculine. The longer the hair a woman had the better. Short hair was not consider proper for a women, and even as it became more popular among all women, the bob was still not consideredappropriate.
As time passed the bob became more and more popular among women, and a staple in Americanculture. Older generationsand men were eventually forced to accept it as they realized that the bob was there to stay.Magazinesand newspaperalike started publishing articles about bobbed hair, the proper way to wear it, and the ways to style it. On our FlapperLiteraturepage, there is an article published during this era on flappers and their various hairstyles.

~The Eton Crop
As the 1920's progressed, flappers decided that the bob was too long, and they began to cut their hair even shorter. The extremely short and masculine cut they leaned towards was called the Eton Crop, but had several nicknames. One of which was the "boyish bob". The women who had this haircut, typically pulled one curl out from behind each ear and stretched it forward to their check.

~Long Hair
Flappers with long hair would do different things to their hair to make it look shorter and more like a bob, like putting it into a bun. When they put their hair up to go out, it would be wavy with loose pieces of hair sticking out. If a flapper didn't put her hair up, she would wear it down and curl it. No matter what flappers would wear flashy headbands, or some other type of hair accessorize if they had long hair.

~Hair Accessories
Glamours hairaccessorieswere a must have for flappers not matter how long their hair was, or the time of day. Flappers wereknown for wearing detailed headbands,jeweledhair combs,headdresses, and flashy hats when they went out. Oneoftheirfavoritethings to wear on their head during the day was a cloche hat, which was a tight fitting, bell shaped hat forwomen. Flappers would add these extra accents to their outfits for a little extra style and flare.