Easy Dressing

Celebrating the Roaring Twenties in a Special Series

One of the most distinctive features of flapper dressing is simplicity. Fashion, as all forms of art and design, confirmed to the aesthetics of Art Deco: geometry, elongated lines, elegance. To suit the new, less formal lifestyle that was adopted after WWI, clothing became streamlined, and was characterised by functionality. Women worked, played sports, travelled, and enjoyed dancing.

Susan Lenglen in a sleeveless white silk frock by Patou, 1927. Image from The Twenties in Vogue, by Carolyn Hall (Octopus Books, 1983).Coco Chanel is often cited as the main proponent of the boyish style, but she is only one – albeit possibly the most prominent one – of many female designers who rose to stardom in the 1920s and changed the way women dressed. There was Mme Gerber, Mme Paquin, Jeanne Lanvin, Madeleine Vionnet as well as Coco Chanel; they were followed shortly by Mme Grès, Elsa Schiaparelli, Mlle Carven, and a dozen others. It is a period known for the large number of women designers. They pushed out the old houses of Poiret, Doucet, Drecoll and Doeuillet along with all their Belle Époque extravagances.

(Top left) tourists in Morocco dressed by Jean Patou; (top right) jersey bathing suits and silk bathing sandals; (bottom left) Madam Agnès, the Parisian milliner in Futurist dress and earrings, 1925; (bottom right) Lee Miller in Chanel jersey, hat by Reboux. Images from In Vogue, by Georgina Howell (Condé Nast Books, 1991).Jersey bathing suits. Image from In Vogue, by Georgina Howell (Condé Nast Books, 1991).Golfing attire, early 1920s. Images from The Twenties in Vogue, by Carolyn Hall (Octopus Books, 1983).Sailing attire in Vogue magazine. Image from The Twenties in Vogue, by Carolyn Hall (Octopus Books, 1983).Helen Wills, tennis champion with the eyeshade she always wore, in 1928. Image from The Twenties in Vogue, by Carolyn Hall (Octopus Books, 1983).Clothing was specifically created for sporting activities, which included tennis and golf; there were garments appropriate for motoring or the beach, and for winter sports. The design of these was dictated by the need for freedom of movement, lightness and comfort. At first these were largely utilitarian, but then fashion – and the imagination of the designer – prevailed upon ready-made knitwear, bathing costumes and travel clothes.

The tunic became the most characteristic shape, open at the neck and arms, with the hem above the knees. Bobbed hair was worn straight under the distinctive cloches of the era that were pulled low on the forehead, shadowing the eyes. Shoes were very low-cut, and low-heeled, rarely higher than two inches. Chanel, followed by Jean Patou and Lucien Lelong created the most typical models of this ‘garçonne’ line.

It would take decades and another war before women accepted the restrictions of corsetry again.

Fashion Notes

The striped wool knit by Sonia Rykiel as quickly become a favourite of mine – I love the stripes in their varying widths and the attached tie-scarf. The wool and velvet cloche by Milano is not original to the 1920s, but a 1990s version inspired by the era. The white A-line skirt is by Witchery and the shoes by Wittner. The first time I wore this outfit I was not intentionally trying to evoke the era, but it ultimately inspired this story on relaxed dressing.