Flapper Style: 1920s Fashion

The flapper is widely seen as the epitome of 1920s glamor and decadence. The term refers to the young women who came to age just as World War I ended and shocked the older generation with their short hair and short skirts not to mention their drinking and smoking and swearing. From “Downton Abbey” to “The Great Gatsby,” period movies and television have celebrated the quintessential flapper dress with glittering beads and fringe, but the decade actually saw a variety of different style influences. This talk will explore the social and technological changes that led to the radical new styles of the 1920s, while enabling a close examination of images of pieces from the collection of the Kent State University Museum.