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

PARIS IN THE 1920'S AND THE AMERICANS WHO FLOCKED THERE

 Ernest Hemingway, Man Ray, Picasso, F. Scott Fitzgerald, T. S. Elliot, Dali, Cole Porter, Gertrude Stein.  Why did so many of Americas best and brightest spend the better part of the 20's (and in some cases the better part of their lives) in Paris?  For some, the answer is simply because they could, but for others......  let's explore further...

After the war, many previously healthy and hopeful young men, returned home emotionally or physically changed, with little faith in their Government or hope for the future.
In America the KKK was at the height of it's power, violence was rampant due in part to organized crime thanks to prohibition, and we had a new found hunger for materialism, all of which added to the cynicism of the youth.
In Paris, rents were low, drinking was allowed, women were considered (somewhat) equal, and the art scene was welcoming.  Once a few restless artists and writers made a home there (and in many cases wrote about it) it seemed everyone who could, found their way to the art collector and writer Gertrude Stein's house in Paris.

Ernest and Hadley Hemingway in Paris

" All of you young people who served in the war...you are all a lost generation."  Gertrude Stein 

M/M F. Scott Fitzgerald

 The lost generation referred to young people who came back from WWI cynical about the future.  Many were American artists who moved to Paris and wrote about their disdain for American materialism.

Gertrude Stein (left) and her life partner Alice

 "America is my country, Paris is my home town"  Gertrude Stein

 Flappers epitomized the "lost generation".  Paris, as always, was the center of the fashion world.  The flapper style reflected women's changing role in society, which was becoming more active, involved, and equal.
"Flappers loved to flirt, bob their hair, put on their choicest pair of earrings, and a great deal of audacity and rouge, and go into battle."  Zelda Fitzgerald

Picasso's art studio in Paris

 1924 was "the summer of a thousand parties."  F. S. Fitzgerald

Gertrude Stein's house in Paris

 "Paris was always worth it"  Hemingway

 One cannot discuss Paris during the 1920's without including the singer and erotic dancer Josephine Baker.  "La Baker" was an African American, probably of mixed race, who left America for Paris after encountering racism and censorship.  By comparison, the jazz age in Paris was exotic, sensual and inviting for African American entertainers.
Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and Picasso were all fans of Josephine Baker.

Due to the rampant racism and the powerful presence of the KKK, Josephine Baker renounced her American citizenship and eventually married a Frenchman and became a french citizen.

 "Surely the day will come when color means nothing more than the skin tone, when religion is seen uniquely as a way to speak one's soul; when birth places have the weight of a throw of the dice and all men are born free, when understanding breeds love and brotherhood."  Josephine Baker
Amen sister.

Have a beautiful day.
YANCEY

GODDESSES OF THE SILVER SCREEN

Imaigine it's a random rainy afternoon in America in 1920-something.  There is no television, no computer, no video games, oh and prohibition is in full force.  Damn. 

It's no wonder Americas obsession with Hollywood and her goddesses truly began in the 20's.  Let's meet some of the most influential (from a fashion perspective) and beautiful actresses of the day.....

Beginning with perhaps the most famous of the bunch....May west.  Ms. West's movie career didn't actually begin until the 30's, but in the 20's she appeared on stage many times.  She wrote, produced and directed her first play, SEX, which opened and closed on Broadway in a matter of days due to her 10 day incarceration stemming from morals charges. 

She was also an early defender of gay rights and quite the wit.  I'll be peppering this post with some of her most charming, and risque quotes. 

Interestingly, May West's figure was not at all fashionable for the times.  She stood a mere 5 ft. and was obviously quite curvy.  I guess even in the 20's a woman needed some meat on her bones in order to be considered a sex symbol. 

 "Personally, I like two types of men - domestic and foreign".  May West

 Clara Bow

Imagine how scandalous this must have been!

 Clara Bow, "the IT girl", was the inspiration for Max Fleischer's Betty Boop.

"A hard man is good to find".  May West

 Marion Davies

The arched eyebrows and well defined mouth were typical for the 20's.

 "Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly". May West

Marion Davies, quite scandalously, lived with publisher/tycoon William Raldolf Hearst for decades without ever marrying him.  She was also rumoured to have had an affair with Charlie Chaplin.

 "He who hesitates is a damn fool".  May West

"I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it".  May West

 Carole Lombard

She got her start in movies in the 20's, although she was most famous for starring in "screw ball comedies" of the 30's.

 "I used to be snow white but I drifted".  May West

Doesn't she remind you of Grace Kelly?

 Norma Shearer

 "I've been in more laps than a napkin". May West

Shearer made a total of thirteen silent films in the early 20's and was considered the "queen of MGM".

NS in a fashionable cloche hat.

Come back tomorrow when we'll discuss American expatriates living in Paris during the 20's.  Can't wait!
Have a beautiful day.
YANCEY