Of the many fashion trends that came out of the 1920s, it is the flapper dress that continues to reign supreme. The style, named after the women who wore it, is characterized by a straight and loose silhouette with a drop waist that falls right below the knee. It was popularized by designers Coco Chanel and Paul Poiret, both of whom sought to bring a masculine sensibility to womenswear. To wit: The flapper is also known as la garçonne, or “boy” in French.
For daywear, the flapper often featured sleeves and a pleated or tiered skirt made out of cotton jersey. In the evening, the dress was covered in rhinestones, layers of fringe, or rich embroideries with Art Deco patterns. Poiret’s designs are a great example of the latter, while Chanel's collections typified the former. Either way, the silhouette enabled women to move freely and shimmy on the dance floor, instantly attracting the starlets of the era.
“Joan Crawford is doubtless the best example of the flapper, the girl you see at smart night clubs, gowned to the apex of sophistication, toying iced glasses with a remote, faintly bitter expression, dancing deliciously, laughing a great deal, with wide, hurt eyes,” novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote. “Young things with a talent for living.”
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