FLAPPER STYLE

A young girl

A prostitute

A young bird flapping it's wings while learning to fly.......

according to our friends at wikkipedia, these are all legitimate definitions of the word Flapper. 

For our purposes I think I'll just go with the 1920's description of a flapper as women (or girls) who were viewed as attractive, reckless and independent....or fun!

 As with any good thing, there were of course detractors.  The writer/critic Dorothy Parker penned "Flappers: A Hate Song", and a Harvard psychologist of the day wrote that "flappers have the lowest degree of intelligence".  Basically, flappers posed a significant challenge to traditional Victorian morals.

FLAPPER SLANG:  "SNUGGLE PUP" - A MAN WHO FREQUENTS  PETTING PARTIES.  (Oh God, that's hysterical)

Flappers were known for their "shocking behavior" (at least in the eyes of the previous generation), they danced provocatively, smoked cigarettes from long holders (remember, few women of the previous decade smoked at all, and those who did certainly would never have smoked in public), drove cars, dated freely and drank openly.

FLAPPER SLANG:  "BARNEY-MUGGING" - SEX 
(Tell me I'm not the only one confused by this)

 Flapper fashion was heavily influenced by French fashion, particularly by the designer Coco Chanel...If you're interested in Chanel, I highly recommend the movie Coco, Before Chanel, it's a look into her early life and inspirations before she became famous.

Hallmarks of the flapper style were;  a young and boyish figure (large breasts were thought to be a sign of unsophistication) short hair, straight waists (the Victorian tradition of using corsets to make the waist smaller was dead), bare arms, nude stockings (previous generations wore heavy black stockings), and dresses had dropped waists to the hips.
As seen in the photos, flappers loved their jewelry...they wore long beaded necklaces, earrings and rings were art deco in design, and the brooch was very popular.

FLAPPER SLANG:  "I HAVE TO SEE A MAN ABOUT A DOG" - GOING TO BUY WHISKEY

 And now, just because I found these, Kate Moss in a flapper(ish) dress, and Isabella Rossellini in full retro 20's hair and makeup.

 FLAPPER SLANG:  "HANDCUFF" OR "MANACLE" - AN ENGAGEMENT OR WEDDING RING

The first photograph in this post is of the American actress Louise Brooks.  I intentionally left her out of my "Goddesses of the Silver Screen" post, because I thought she deserved more space.  In my opinion she was the most  beautiful of all the "goddesses".  I see her as a cross between Audry Hepburn and Leslie Caron....sweet, sexy and wise.

FLAPPER SLANG:  "CATS MEOW" OR "CATS PAJAMAS" - SOMETHING WONDERFUL

 FLAPPER SLANG:  "HOOCH" - LIQUOR

This looks like it could have been taken in the 60's.

So beautiful.



 And there it is, the end of a wonderful muse week.  I've literally dreamt about the 1920's this week.  I (re)read The Great Gatsby and Braxton and I saw the movie for the first time.  This week had definitely been the cats meow.
Have a beautiful weekend everyone!  You guys really are the bees knees.
YANCEY