Flapper Costume

[carolinapooh]

Originally posted by stepshigh:
Not picking a fight, AT ALL, but I really hate this outfit. Do you know what a 20's Flapper was? They were women who ran around with guys and were basically what saloon girls were, just there to be bought. I don't think I would want to put my duaghter or doll in an outfit with that kind of history.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Whoa - my grandmother smoked cigarettes in holders, wore pin curls and "square-ish" dresses in the 20s style, surely had bathtub gin, and went to the old burlesque shows they used to have in Philly - all before the Crash. If you'd known my grandmother, you'd know well she was anything but easy. In fact, she worked in a supply warehouse at the docks for many years before my father was born in 1931 and had hands like a man as a result.

The "prostitute" image was the stereotype and not the norm. Remember, flappers were regarded as renegades of their time and were considered "easy" partially because they considered themselves the equals of men - concepts their mothers just couldn't comprehend at the time. They believed in women's right to vote and be paid just as men were for equal work. So of course their Victorian parents would have considered them "easy" - they had the nerve to associate with men as equals, spoke out against the ideas of men, had a drink now and then (men had been drinking for generations), smoked cigarettes, refused to wear corsets and - HORRORS - showed their knees in public! And they DANCED with men (think the Charleston as opposed to a waltz), touching them and allowing themselves to be touched in ways considered to be "inappropriate" - ideas that seem so very archaic now, but were UNHEARD OF then. The silent movies of the era of course perpetuated this thought because - just like Madonna in the 1980s - if you want to get attention, go against the grain. If you want to be cool with the young folks, annoy the parents.

They also embodied the spirit of young nation experiencing prosperity never before seen in history - they were young and free, not necessarily young and easy.

From what I've read, they sort of were the "Britney Spears" of their time - daring and risque for the age (not that I'm endorsing her, I just think she too will be viewed a bit differently in time - just as Madonna was DIFFERENT in her prime, so to speak). They were young and very outspoken in a very different world from their early Edwardian/late Victorian era parents, young women who had lived through WWI (thought to be "the war to end all wars" at the time), the unbelieveable worldwide flu pandemic of 1917 - and an unprecedented, almost second industrial revolution of sorts.

They were also the first "women's libbers" - they were actually the future mothers of WWII's "Rosie the Riveter"; they were young women who had seen their childhood friends go off to war and who began to "handle" what was considered "men's work" before the war - and began demanding, though quietly at first, to keep these small jobs and to be respected as competent and capable workers, and not just mothers and housekeepers. Also remember - bras were invented in the 20s as an alternative to the stays of their mothers, and it was in the 20s that the boyish figure became popular. Women were liberating themselves from more than the corset in the 1920s.

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ July 25, 2005 06:07 PM: Message edited by: mollymom ]</font>

[AGTeacher]

LOL@ Miss Piggy comment!!! I saw this outfit at AGPNY, I like it and do not like it. I do not know if I am going to buy this one, but I am not in a hurry.

[AGPixie]

Originally posted by americangirlsrus:
Here is Kit as a Flapper Girl. Enjoy, one problem with the little feather is this humidity is causing it to be a little droopy! [img]frown.gif[/img]

Still I think she looks cute! [img]smile.gif[/img]

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you for posting the picture...it is very cute...kind of how I imagined!! [img]smile.gif[/img] I think I'll have to add to to my shopping list for "Someday."

[lj01]

Originally posted by Miki_:
Found an interesting page about Flapper Fashion and thought I'd share it with you.

I'm sure someone posted the fashion-era homepage before in a different context - great resources.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thanks Brigitte. That was interesting. [img]smile.gif[/img]