Editing Flapper (section)

== Appearance ==
[[File:Where there's smoke there's fire by Russell Patterson crop.jpg|thumb|285px|left|"Where there's smoke there's fire" by [[Russell Patterson]], showing a fashionably dressed flapper in the 1920s.]]

In addition to their irreverent behavior, flappers were known for their style, which largely emerged as a result of French fashions,<ref name="Rae" /> especially those pioneered by [[Coco Chanel]], the effect on dress of the rapid spread of American jazz, and the popularization of dancing that accompanied it.<ref name="fashion-era">{{Cite web | last = Thomas | first = Pauline Weston | url = https://fashion-era.com/1920s/flapper-fashion/ | title = Flapper Fashion 1920s Fashion History |website = Fashion-Era | date = May 21, 2021 |access-date = September 7, 2021}}</ref> Called ''garçonne'' in [[French language|French]] ("boy" with a feminine suffix), flapper style made girls look young and boyish: short hair, flattened breasts, and straight waists accentuated it. By at least 1913, the association between slim adolescence and a certain characteristic look became fixed in the public's mind. [[Lillian Nordica]], commenting on New York fashions that year, referred to

{{Blockquote | a thin little flapper of a girl donning a skirt in which she can hardly take a step, extinguishing all but her little white teeth with a dumpy bucket of a hat, and tripping down Fifth Avenue.<ref>{{Cite news | newspaper = The New York Times | date = January 1, 1913 | title = Mme Nordica Buys No Paris Gowns}}.</ref>}}
[[File:Norma Shearer in short dress.jpg|thumb|right|[[Norma Shearer]] in 1927]]

At this early date, it seems that the style associated with a flapper already included the boyish physique<ref>{{Cite news | newspaper = The New York Times | date = January 1, 1913 | title = Mme Nordica Buys No Paris Gowns | quote = ...when a lady of uncertain age and very certain development attempts the same little costume because it looks well on the thin little girl, well – " And Mme. Nordica left the result to the interviewer's imagination.}}</ref> and close-fitting hat, but a [[hobble skirt]] rather than one with a high hemline.<ref name="Rae">{{cite book|last= Kemper|first= Rachel|title= History of Costume|publisher= WW Norton & Co|isbn= 978-0-88225-137-0|location= New York|date= December 1977|url-access= registration|url= https://archive.org/details/costume00kemp}}</ref>

Although the appearance typically associated now with flappers (straight waists, short hair and a hemline above or around the knee) did not fully emerge until 1925,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yztuN1PVWcQC|last1=McEvoy|first1=Anna|title=The 1920s And 1930s|isbn=978-1-60413-383-7|year=2009|page=7|publisher=[[Infobase|Facts On File]]}}</ref> there was an early association in the public mind between unconventional appearance, outrageous behavior, and the word "flapper". A report in ''The Times'' of a 1915 Christmas entertainment for troops stationed in France described a soldier in drag burlesquing feminine flirtatiousness while wearing "short skirts, a hat of Parisian type<ref>{{Cite news | quote = ...the jaunty little toque | newspaper = The Times | date = December 23, 1915 | page = 11}}{{full|date=April 2024}}</ref> and flapper-like hair".<ref>{{Cite news | newspaper = The Times | date = December 30, 1915 | issue = 41050 | at = p 7, col E | title = Pantomime At The Front, Soldier "Heroines" | quote = There was, for instance, a Maid Marian in the cast, who was described as a "dainty dam'sell" because she was a sergeant. There was something ridiculously fascinating about that sergeant, for he was in blue short skirts, a hat of Parisian type and flapper-like hair; and when she was instructing Ferdinand, a Bad Lad... in the use of the "glad eye", the great audience shouted with laughter.}}</ref>

Despite the scandal flappers generated, their look became fashionable in a toned-down form among respectable older women.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Merril D.|title=Cultural Encyclopedia of the Breast|date=2014|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7591-2332-8|page=114|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qrCCBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA114|language=en}}</ref> Significantly, the flappers removed the [[corset]] from female fashion, raised skirt and gown hemlines, and popularized [[bob cut|short hair]] for women. Among actresses closely identified with the style were <!--alphabetical order, please-->[[Tallulah Bankhead]],<ref>Hughes, Kathryn. [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/01/flappers-judith-mackrell-review "Flappers: Six Women of a Dangerous Generation by Judith Mackrell – review"] ''[[The Guardian]]'' (June 1, 2013)</ref> [[Olive Borden]], [[Clara Bow]], [[Louise Brooks]], [[Joan Crawford]], [[Bebe Daniels]], [[Billie Dove]], [[Leatrice Joy]], [[Helen Kane]], [[Laura La Plante]], [[Dorothy Mackaill]], [[Colleen Moore]], [[Norma Shearer]], [[Norma Talmadge]], [[Olive Thomas]], and [[Alice White]].<!--alphabetical order, please-->

Beginning in the early 1920s, flappers began appearing in newspaper comic strips; [[Blondie (comic strip)|Blondie Boopadoop]] and [[Nancy (comic strip)|Fritzi Ritz]] – later depicted more domestically, as the wife of Dagwood Bumstead and aunt of Nancy, respectively – were introduced as flappers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cartoonician.com/fritzi-ritz-before-bushmiller-shes-come-a-long-way-baby/|title=Fritzi Ritz Before Bushmiller: She's Come a Long Way, Baby!|work=Hogan's Alley|date=September 22, 2017|access-date=June 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523214534/http://cartoonician.com/fritzi-ritz-before-bushmiller-shes-come-a-long-way-baby/|archive-date=May 23, 2013}}</ref>

=== Apparel ===
[[File:Normatalmadge crop.jpg|thumb|200px|Actress [[Norma Talmadge]]]]{{Main|1920s in fashion}}

Flapper dresses were straight and loose, leaving the arms bare (sometimes no straps at all) and dropping the waistline to the hips. Silk or rayon stockings were held up by garters. Skirts rose to just below the knee by 1927, allowing flashes of leg to be seen when a girl danced or walked through a breeze, although the way they danced made any long loose skirt flap up to show their legs. To enhance the view, some flappers applied [[Rouge (cosmetics)|rouge]] to their knees.<ref>Lowry, Helen Bullitt. [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/02/12/98781527.pdf "On the Knees of Our College Girls"] ''The New York Times'' (February 2, 1922)</ref><ref>Bergstein, Rachelle. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ev9FSyj7DgQC&dq=flapper+rouge+knees+-baton+-maison&pg=PT13 ''Women From the Ankle Down: The Story of Shoes and How They Define Us''] New York: HarperCollins, 2012. {{ISBN|0-06-209707-5}}.</ref> Popular dress styles included the [[robe de style]]. [[High-heeled footwear|High heels]] also came into vogue at the time, reaching 2–3 inches (5–8&nbsp;cm) high.<ref name="Rae" /> Favored shoe styles were [[Mary Jane (shoe)|Mary Janes]] and T-straps in classic black, gold, silver, or nude shades.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Gatsby Party - Your Definitive Fashion Guide|url = http://picvpic.com/fashion101/2015/gatsby-party-fashion/|website = picVpic-Fashion101|access-date = January 13, 2016|language = en-US|date = August 6, 2015}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==== Lingerie ====
Flappers started wearing "step-in" panties and simple bust bodices to restrain their chest when dancing. They also chose 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 that slenderized the waist and accented the hips and bust.<ref name="Rae" />

This lack of curves promoted a boyish look. Additionally, flat chests were fashionable and some women wore a type of bra made to pull in the back to flatten the chest, like the Symington Side Lacer.<ref name="Rae" />

=== Hair and accessories ===
[[File:MademoisellePolaireStebbing cropped.jpg|thumb|right|French actress [[Polaire]] in 1899]]

Boyish cuts were in vogue and released the weight of the tradition of women being required to grow their hair long, through popular cuts such as the [[bob cut]], [[Eton crop]], and [[shingle bob]]. [[Finger wave|Finger waving]] was used as a means of styling. Hats 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 brooches came into style. [[Horn-rimmed glasses]] were also popular.

=== Cosmetics ===
{{Main|Cosmetics in the 1920s}}
As far back as the 1890s, French actress [[Polaire]] pioneered a look which included short, disheveled hair, emphatic mouth and huge eyes heavily outlined in [[kohl (cosmetics)|kohl]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Jean Lorrain|title=La Ville Empoisonnée|year=1936|place=Paris|publisher=Jean Cres|page=279|quote= ...the great voracious mouth, the immense black eyes, ringed, bruised, discolored, the incandescence of her pupils, the bewildered nocturnal hair...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | type = category | title = Commons | work = Polaire | publisher = Wikimedia | url = http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Polaire}}.</ref> The evolving flapper look required "heavy makeup" in comparison to what had previously been acceptable outside of professional usage in the theater. With the invention of the metal lipstick container as well as compact mirrors, bee-stung lips came into vogue. Dark eyes, especially kohl-rimmed, were the style. [[Rouge (cosmetics)|Blush]] came into vogue now that it was no longer a messy application process. Women shaped their eyebrows needle-thin and penciled them in dark, emulating such actresses as [[Clara Bow]].<ref>[http://glamourdaze.com/history-of-makeup/1920s "A Brief History of 1920s Makeuop"] ''Glamour Daze''</ref><ref>Valenti, Lauren (April 10, 2014) [http://www.marieclaire.com/beauty/makeup/a9381/eyebrows-through-the-years/ "The History of Women and Their Eyebrows"] ''[[Marie Claire]]''</ref>

Originally, [[pallor|pale]] skin was considered most attractive. However, tanned skin became increasingly popular after [[Coco Chanel]] showed off a tan after a holiday – it suggested a life of leisure, without the onerous need to work. Women wanted to look fit, sporty, and, above all, healthy.

=== American banks and "flapper" employees ===
According to a report in 1922, some banks across the United States started to regulate the dress and deportment of young female employees who were considered to be "flappers". It began with a complaint of a mother in New Jersey who felt dissatisfied because her son did business only with a young female employee, whom she considered illegally attractive. The incident was duly reported to the officials of the bank, and rules adopted regarding requirements in dress for female employees. Those rules included that the dress should not have a pattern, it should be bought from a specific store, it must be worn in either black, blue or brown, its sleeves must not be shortened above the elbow, and its hem must not be worn higher than 12 inches from the ground. After that, the anti-flapper code soon spread to the Federal Reserve, where female employees were firmly told that there was no time for them to beautify themselves during office hours.<ref>{{cite book | last=Ford | first=R.T. | title=Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History | publisher=Simon & Schuster | year=2022 | isbn=978-1-5011-8008-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dNpVEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA150 | access-date=December 20, 2024 | pages=149–150}}</ref>