Flapper: Difference between revisions

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 13:39, 5 May 2008

ugly women who like nuts on their chins.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+ugly women  who like nuts on their chins.
-{{Refimprove|date=May 2008}}
-{{otheruses}}
-[[Image:Louisebrooks1.jpg|thumb|225px|Actress [[Louise Brooks]],  1927]]
-The term '''flapper''' in the 1920s referred to a "new breed" of young [[women]] who wore short skirts, [[bob cut|bobbed]] their hair, listened to [[Jazz#1920s and 1930s|the new Jazz music]], and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior.  The flappers were seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, [[hard liquor|drinking]], treating [[casual sex|sex in a casual manner]], [[smoking]], driving automobiles, and otherwise flouting conventional social and sexual norms.
-==Origins and Etymology==
-[[Image:Alicejoyce1926full.jpg|thumb|left|225px|Actress [[Alice Joyce]], 1926]]
-Flappers had their origins in the period of [[liberalism]], social and political turbulence, and increased transatlantic cultural exchange that followed the end of the [[First World War]], as well as the export of [[African American]] jazz culture to [[Europe]].
-===United Kingdom===
-The term ''flapper'' first appears in an early ''Sports Illustrated'' magazine (not the same magazine in print today) in a two-page spread where the flapper spread her legs. It may be in reference to a young bird flapping its wings while learning to fly, or it may derive from an earlier use in northern England of flapper to mean "teenage girl" (whose hair is not yet put up), or "prostitute".<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/flapper ''Online Etymology Dictionary'']. Douglas Harper, Historian. 26 Apr. 2007.</ref>
-While many in the United States assumed at the time that the term ''flapper'' derived from a fashion of women wearing [[galoshes]] unbuckled so that they could show people their bodies as they walked, the term was already documented as in use in the United Kingdom as early as 1912. From the 1910s into the 1920s, flapper was a term for any impetuous teenage girl, often including women under 30. Only in the 1920s did the term take on the meaning of the flapper generation style and attitudes, while people continued to use the word to mean immature.
-== Flappers in the U.S. ==
-===United States===
-[[Image:Flappers MVNP.jpg|thumb|right|Ziegfeld Quartette at [[Mesa Verde National Park]], 1929]]
-The first appearance of the word and image in the [[United States]] came from the popular 1920 [[Frances Marion]] movie, ''[[The Flapper]]'', starring [[Olive Thomas]].<ref name="olive">[http://www.assumption.edu/ahc/1920s/Olive%20Thomas/default.html ''Memories of Olive''.] assumption.edu.</ref> Thomas had starred in a similar role in 1917 though it was not until ''The Flapper'' that the term was used. Her final movies were done in the flapper image.<ref>Long, Bruce (editor). [http://www.public.asu.edu/~ialong/Taylor33.txt ''Taylorology: A Continuing Exploration of the Life and Death of William Desmond Taylor''.] Arizona State University.</ref> Other actresses would soon build their careers on the same image making them quite popular including [[Clara Bow]], [[Louise Brooks]], and [[Joan Crawford]].<ref name="olive"/>
-In the [[United States]], popular contempt for [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] was a factor. With legal saloons and cabarets closed, back alley [[speakeasy|speakeasies]] became prolific and popular. This discrepancy between the law-abiding, religion-based [[temperance movement]] and the actual ubiquitous consumption of alcohol led to widespread disdain for authority. Flapper independence may have its origins in the [[Gibson girl]]s of the 1890s. Although that pre-war look does not resemble the flapper identity, their independence and [[feminism]] may have led to the flapper wise-cracking tenacity 30 years later.
-Writers and artists in the United States such as [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]], [[John Held Jr.]], and [[Anita Loos]] popularized the flapper look and lifestyle through their works, and flappers came to be seen as attractive, reckless and independent.  Among those who criticized the flapper craze was writer-critic [[Dorothy Parker]]. She penned "Flappers: A Hate Song" to poke fun at the [[fad]].
-A related but alternative usage in the late 1920s was a press [[catch phrase|catch word]] which referred to adult women voters and how they might vote differently than men their age. While the term flapper had multiple usages, flappers as a social group were well defined from other 1920s [[fads]].
-==Behavior==
-Flappers went to [[jazz club]]s at night where they [[dance]]d provocatively, smoked [[cigarette]]s through long holders, sniffed [[cocaine]] (which was legal at the time) and [[Dating (activity)|dated]]. They rode [[bicycles]] and drove cars. They drank alcohol openly, a defiant act in the American period of [[Prohibition]]. [[Foreplay|Petting]] became more common than in the [[Victorian era]]. ''[[Making out|Petting Parties]]'', where petting was the main attraction, became popular.
-Flappers also began taking work outside the home and challenging a 'woman's place' in society.  Voting and women's rights were also practiced.
-With time dance styles considered shocking, such as the [[Charleston (dance)|Charleston]], the [[Shimmy]], the [[Bunny Hug]] and the [[Black Bottom (dance)|Black Bottom]] were developed.
-==Slang==
-[[Image:Normatalmadge.jpg|thumb|225px|Actress [[Norma Talmadge]], a prototypical flapper]]
-Flappers had their own [[slang]], with terms like "snugglepup" (a man who frequents petting parties) and "barney-mugging" (sex). Their dialect reflected their promiscuity and drinking habits; "I have to go see a man about a dog" often meant going to buy whiskey, and a "handcuff" or "manacle" was an engagement or wedding ring. Also reflective of their preoccupations, they had many ways to say "fantastic", such as "That's so Jake" or "That's the [[wikt:bee's knees|bee's knees]]," or a more popular one, "the [[wikt:cat's pajamas|cat's pajamas]]."
-Many terms still in use in modern [[American English]] slang originated as flapper slang, such as "big cheese", meaning an important person; "to bump off", meaning to murder; and "baloney", meaning nonsense. Other terms have become definitive of the Prohibition era, such as "speakeasy", meaning an illegal place to get liquor and "hooch”, describing illegal liquor.
-==Appearance==
-In addition to their irreverent behavior flappers were known for their style, which largely emerged as a result of the musical style of jazz and the popularization of dancing that accompanied it. Called ''garçonne'' in [[French language|French]] ("boy" with a feminine suffix), flapper style made them look young and boyish.  Short hair, flattened breasts, and small waists accentuated the look.
-Despite all the [[scandal]] flappers generated, their look became fashionable in a toned-down form among even respectable older women. Most significantly, the flappers removed the corset from female fashion and popularized short hair for women.  Among the actresses most closely identified with the style were [[Olive Thomas]], [[Dorothy Mackaill]], [[Alice White]], [[Bebe Daniels]], [[Billie Dove]], [[Helen Kane]], [[Joan Crawford]], [[Leatrice Joy]], [[Norma Shearer]], [[Laura La Plante]], [[Norma Talmadge]], [[Clara Bow]], [[Louise Brooks]], and [[Colleen Moore]].
-===Cosmetics===
-{{main|Cosmetics in the 1920s}}
-The flapper look required 'heavy makeup' in comparison to what had been acceptable. Flappers tended to wear 'kiss proof' [[lipstick]].  With the invention of the metal lipstick container as well as [[mirror|compact mirror]]s bee stung lips came into vogue.  Dark eyes, especially [[Kohl (cosmetics)|Kohl]] rimmed were the style.  [[Blush]] came into vogue now that it was no longer a messy application process.
-Originally [[pale]] skin was in. However [[Sun tanning|Tanned skin]] became increasingly popular after [[Coco Chanel]] donned a tan after spending too much time in the sun on Holiday - it suggested a life of leisure, without the onerous need to work.  Woman wanted to look fit, sporty and above all, healthy.
-===Hair and accessories===
-[[Boy]]ish cuts were in vogue especially the [[Bob cut]], [[Eton crop]], and [[Shingle bob]]. [[Hat]]s were still required wear and popular styles included the [[Newsboy cap]] and [[Cloche hat]].
-Jewelry usually consisted of [[art deco]] pieces, especially many layers of beaded necklaces. Pins, rings, and [[brooch]]es came into style. [[Horn-rimmed glasses]] were also popular.
-Flappers did away with [[corset]]s and [[underwear|pantaloons]] in favor of "step-in" [[undergarment|panties]]. Without the old restrictive corsets, flappers wore simple bust bodices to make their chest hold still when dancing. They also wore new, softer and suppler corsets that reached to their hips, smoothing the whole frame giving women a straight up and down appearance, as opposed to the old corsets which slenderized the waist and accented the hips and bust. Without the added curves of a corset they promoted their boyish look, and soon early popular bras were sold to flatten and reduce the appearance of the bust.
-===Apparel===
-{{main|1920s in fashion}}
-Flapper dresses were straight and loose, leaving the arms bare and dropping the waistline to the hips. [[Silk]] or [[Rayon]] [[stockings]] were held up by [[garters]]. [[Skirt]]s rose to just below the knee by [[1927]], allowing flashes of knee to be seen when a flapper danced or walked through a breeze, although the way they danced made any long loose skirt flap up to show their knees. Flappers powdered or put rouge on their knees to show them off when dancing.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}  Popular dress styles included the [[Robe de style]].  [[High heels]] also came into vogue at the time reaching 2 inches high.
-==End of the flapper era==
-Despite its popularity, the flapper lifestyle and look could not survive the [[Wall Street Crash]] and the following [[Great Depression]]. The high-spirited attitude and hedonism simply could not find a place amid the economic hardships of the 1930s. More specifically, this decade brought out a conservative reaction and a religious revival which set out to eradicate the liberal lifestyles and fashions of the 1920s. In many ways, however, the self-reliant flapper had allowed the modern woman to make herself an integral and lasting part of the [[Western World]].
-== See also ==
-*[[New Woman]]
-*[[Cosmetics of the 1920s]]
-*[[Modern girl]]
-== References ==
-{{reflist}}
-== External links ==
-* [http://silentladies.com/zFlappers.html Flappers on SilentLadies.com]
-* [http://www.geocities.com/flapper_culture/ The Jazz Age — Flapper Culture (discusses mainly Louise Brooks)]
-* [http://local.aaca.org/bntc/slang/slang.htm Slang of the 1920s]
-* [http://www.rambova.com/fashion/fash4.html Flappers and fashion]
-* [http://history1900s.about.com/od/1920s/a/flappers.htm About.com history]
-* [http://www.rolledstockings.com/ RolledStockings.com]
-[[Category:Women]]
-[[Category:1920s fads]]
-[[Category:1920s fashion]]
-[[Category:Fashion aesthetics]]
-[[de:Flapper]]
-[[es:Flapper]]
-[[fr:Garçonne (mode)]]