Emulating an Era: The 1920s

Ah!  The Era of the Flapper!  The decade that grew out of the Edwardian era and the time of the quintessential Gibson Girl!  Most people associate the fringed dresses, the Charleston dance and finger waves with that particular time period.  It was an age of excess and freedom.  The time image of debauchery and youth!  America was flush with newly returned veterans from World War I, teenagers as well as young ladies in their 20s were feeling a wave of rebellion and Prohibition was in full effect. 

Many people want to emulate that particular "Flapper" style and realize that it is an incredibly difficult style to imitate.  Pencil thin high brows, flawless complexion, smokey eyes (move over Kim Kardashian!), dark or rosy exaggerated Cupid's Bow lips and a high flush characterized this look.  Hair lengths varied from mid-back to high up over the ear bob cuts.  Hair styles featured water waves, finger waves, ringlets or stick straight textures. 
A few examples of fashion from the 1920s:

Examples of 1920s makeup and hair:

Fashion tended towards dresses with drop waists and skirts that rose above the knee in materials that "floated" like chiffon or silk.  Many times the dresses were heavily beaded or feathered and had lower backs or bodices for evening wear.  Day dresses were simpler in muslin or cotton with the same drop waist look and were longer with higher necks.  Shoes were daintier, sporting ankle straps or t-straps and exposing more of the foot and ankle.  Turbans and cloche hats were popular for covering the hair out in the elements. Women would sometimes bind their breasts to achieve the youthful teenage look of a flatter chest and stockings were rolled to the knee or were not worn at all, to the dismay of an older generation.  Youthful embodiment and rebellion was the aim of the 1920s and as hemlines rose so did the stock market...until Black Tuesday in 1929.