1920s – THE ROARING TWENTIES

Important world events during the 1920s

YEAR EVENT PERSON PLACE

1920 prohibition Al Capone/Elliot Ness the USA
1922 fascist dictatorship Benito Mussolini Italy
the UK established George V the UK
1924 surrealist movement Andre Breton France
artificial silk named rayon the USA
1925 zipper on clothes B. F. Goodrich the USA
The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald the USA
L’Exposition Internationale des France
Arts Décoratifs et Industriels
Moderns
1927 1st transatlantic flight Charles Lindbergh New York-Paris
film with sound the USA
1929 communist dictatorship Joseph Stalin Soviet Union
stock market crash the USA

EUROPE
• European monarchies collapse (f.e. the Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire)
• Lenin dies in 1924 and communist dictator Stalin takes over (forced industrialisation, labour camps in
Siberia)
• the fascist dictator Mussolini comes to power in Italy in 1922 – fascism begins
• 1921 – Anglo-Irish Treaty led to the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland
• most of the western countries allow women to vote (Germany and Poland from 1918, Sweden from
1919, the UK from 1928)
• royalty, ex-royalty, cafe society and leisure – sportswear becomes an integral part of people's life and
is worn not only for sports
“Café Society” trailer: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102460/videoplayer/vi966197529?ref_=tt_ov_vi

Compare the overall atmosphere in this trailer to that in the “Mobsters” and “Boardwalk Empire” trailers
(on the next page).
Compare the people and the outfits in all three trailers.

• French couture is still the arbiter of style and French couturiers are the most famous ones
 • 1925 – the great exhibition of decorative arts in Paris shows everything that Art Deco has to offer -
sleek and antitraditional elegance symbolizing wealth and sophistication (examples of furniture,
architecture, textile patterns, posters, and art – below)

“ Self-portrait (Tamara in the Green Bugatti)” by Tamara de Lempicka, 1929

USA
• the USA is prospering (except farmers who are producing cotton because rayon becomes widely used
in the garment industry)
• prohibition is introduced in 1920 by the 18th amendment to the Constitution which led to bootlegging
(the illegal manufacturing or sale of goods, especially alcohol) and organized crime
“Mobsters trailer”: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102460/videoplayer/vi966197529?ref_=tt_ov_vi
„Boardwalk Empire“ trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6z71l6HQwQ
• women are given the right to vote in 1920
• revolution in the social role of women happens as a result of voting rights, women having more money
from working outside the house, and the general atmosphere of decadence
• the „flapper” – a woman who smoked, drank, kissed publicly, danced the Charleston all night, and
looked totally different than women looked even 5 years ago: skirts that revealed the legs, very short
hair, TROUSERS FOR GIRLS, lipstick
 1920s dances featuring the Charleston, the Pebody, Turkey Trot, and more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psch9N4PmO4
• 1925 – the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – portrait of the Roaring Twenties and the
limits of the American Dream
The Great Gatsby trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rARN6agiW7o

Watch the trailer and be able to discuss the changes you notice in men’s clothing as compared to the
period before WWI.

• Hollywood becomes the centre of the film industry which shows glamour, hedonism and urban tastes
and its actors and actresses as fashion setters (Rudolph Valentino, Joan Crawford)

DESIGNERS
1. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel
• known for simple and classic designs, comfortable, practical clothes
• opened a small shop in the seaside resort of Dauville where she sold casual knit jackets and pullover
sweaters with pleated skirts, inspired by the leisure and sports of the resort, which were suitable to be
worn on such occasions

• seaside also inspired her to introduce suntanned look as fashionable

• she created the iconic No. 5 perfume in 1921 and the first powders and lipsticks in 1924
• her most important contributions to fashion are: wool jersey cardigan suits (picture 1 below), and
tweed suits (picture 2 below) which she introduced in 1923 and the little black dress (picture 3 below)
introduced in 1926 which helped women achieve “the little boy look”

"I imposed black; it's still going strong today, for black wipes out everything else around.", Coco Chanel
What are your thoughts on this quote?
 • in 1929 she went to Hollywood to create costumes for film and she insisted on authenticity - costumes
should reflect the content of the film
2. Madeleine Vionnet (mad’len ‘vjone)
• she was called the architect among the dressmakers
- she was known for a lengthy preparation process, including cutting, draping, and
pinning fabric designs on miniature dolls before recreating them on live models

• she was also called the Queen of the bias cut

• her designs were inspired by tunics from Ancient Greece that accentuate the
natural female form and created a sleek, sensual, body-skimming look
"…the impression was similar to the wonder one feels at the sight of a woman emerging from bathing, draped
only in a single piece of beautiful cloth.” Issey Miyake on seeing Vionnet’s dress for the first time
• she introduced several novelties into fashion: the halter top neckline (picture 2 below), the
handkerchief dress (picture 3 below), the cowl neckline (pictures 2, 3 and 4 below)
 3. Jeanne Lanvin (žan lan’van)
• she is best known for her robe de style (rob du stil), also called the anti-
flapper dress as it was very different (bodice could be fitted or straight-cut
in which case it had a dropped waist, but in both cases the skirt was wide
and full, sometimes supported by hoops), and was inspired by 18th century
court dresses and had ornate designs

WOMEN’S FASHION
- silhouette – the little boy look (straight, regular shoulders, no waistline/waistline dropped to hips, narrow
hips and flat bosom
• underwear:
- the brassiere (picture 1 below), drawers are now called panties (picture 1 below), chemise is now called the
slip (picture 3 below), corset (pictures 4 and 5 below) now has a different function
What is the function of the corset in the 1920s?
- new garments: step-in (a one-piece woman’s undergarment combining panties and a bra-picture 2 below),
garters/garter belts (pictures 4-6 below, for the definition - look at the dictionary entry for both)
 • dresses:
- daytime – one-piece, plain bodice cut straight to the hips, neckline ended at the throat (round or v-shaped)
or lower (cowl neck, bateau – ba’tou), skirts were straight, had scalloped hem (picture 3 below) or godet
insets (picture 4 above) or were pleated; at the beginning of the decade dresses were calf length, at the end
knee length; short or long sleeves

- evening – one-piece, cut the same way as day dresses but sleeveless and with more complex skirts, deep u-
or v-shaped necklines (cowl neck, halter top), often beaded and decorated with Art Deco designs
 blouses and sweaters – long, straight, low-hipped, worn over a skirt (picture 1 and 2 below)
 skirts – from ankle length at the beginning of the century to knee length towards the end, pleated, bias
cut, with scalloped hem or godet insets

 tailored suits – consist of matching jacket and skirt with jacket ending at the hip or below; when
belted, the belt went at the hips

 ensamble – matching dress and coat

 outerwear – typical coat closes over the left hip often with one large decorative button (picture 1
below), clutch coat (picture 2 below), fur-trimmed capes (picture 3 below)
MEN’S FASHION
- no dramatic changes happened in men’s clothing
- the English tailor is to men’s clothes what the French couturier is to women’s
- lounge coats are still the basis for suits, rich men wear white suits in the summer (Gatsby wore it in the novel
so it became associated with the upper-class lifestyle)

 underwear – union suits (short and long-pictures 1 and 2 below) especially in Britain, separate
underpants and undervests in the USA (picture 3 below), boxer shorts (pictures 3 and 4 below)

 suits – pinstripes and plaid patterns on suits were popular for daytime, light colours for the rich
(picture 4 below)
- coats - natural shoulder lines, single or double breasted, slim, fitted style earlier in the decade (picture 1
below), boxy style most commonly seen in gangster films later in the decade (picture 2 below)
- trousers – the leg widened (“Oxford bag”-picture 5 below)
 eveningwear – tailcoats for the very formal events, dinner jackets/tuxedos in general (picture 3 above)
 outerwear – raccoon coat (picture 1 below), polo coat (picture 2 below)

DICTIONARY
Anglo-Irish Treaty (Anglo-irski sporazum) – an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of
Independence. It provided for the establishment of the Irish Free State as a self-governing dominion within the
"community of nations known as the British Empire", a status "the same as that of the Dominion of Canada". It
also provided Northern Ireland, which had been created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, an option to
opt out of the Irish Free State, which the Parliament of Northern Ireland did.
Art Deco (Art Deco) - a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before
World War I. It combined modern styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. During its peak in the
1920s and 1930s, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, and faith in social and technological progress. It was
influenced by the geometrical shapes of cubism, bright colours of fauvism, Egyptian and Mayan motifs and
used expensive materials. In the 1930s it started using modern materials such as plastic and stainless steel.
bateau (lađa izrez) – also known as boat neck, a wide neckline that runs horizontally, front and back, almost to
the shoulder points, across the collarbone. It is traditionally used in nautically inspired sweaters and knitwear,
but is also featured in more elegant cocktail dresses and eveningwear. The style derives from sailors' blouses
or sweaters.

beaded (ukrašeno perlicama) – decorated with beads (picture 4 above)

beads (perlice) - a small, coloured, often round piece of plastic, wood, glass, with a hole through it
bias cut (kosi rez) - a technique for cutting cloth diagonal to the grain of the fabric, enabling it to cling to the
body while stretching and moving with the wearer (picture 5 above)
body-skimming (koje lagano dodiruje tijelo) – that which is very close to the body barely touching it (picture 5
above)
Bolshevism (boljševizam) - political theory and practice of the Bolshevik Party which, under Lenin, came to
power during the Russian Revolution of October 19 and wanted to violently overthrow capitalism.
boxer shorts (bokserice) - men's loose underpants similar in shape to the shorts worn by boxers
café society (-) - the "Beautiful People" and "Bright Young Things" who gathered in fashionable cafés and
restaurants in New York, Paris, and London beginning in the late 19th century. Members attended each
other's private dinners and balls, and took holidays in exotic locations or at elegant resorts. The phrase “café
society” was coined in 1915 and became especially used in the 1920s and the 1930s.
cardigan (cardigan, pletena vesta) – a type of knitted garment that has an open front, originally with buttons,
but also without. It was made popular by Coco Chanel in the 1920s.
clutch coat (-) – a type of woman’s coat that has to be held shut as it doesn’t have buttons

communism (komunizam) - the belief in a society without different social classes in which the methods of
production are owned and controlled by all its members and everyone works as much as they can and receives
what they need
cowl neck (naborani okovratnik) – a wide, low, loosely draped collar, as on a sweater or blouse

decadence (dekadencija) – a state of low standards in society

dictatorship (diktatura) – the state of being ruled by a dictator
ensamble (-) – a matching dress and coat popular in the 1920s
fascism (fašizam) – is a form of radical, right-wing, ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible
suppression of opposition, and extreme organization and control of people and of the economy, which came
to prominence in early 20th-century Europe.
flapper (-) - in the 1920s, a fashionable young woman, especially one showing independent behaviour
forced industrialization (prisilna industrijalizacija) - one of the fundamental contradictions of Bolshevism was
the fact that the party that called itself "workers" and its rule the "dictatorship of the proletariat" came to
power in an agrarian country where factory workers constituted only a few percent of the population, and
most of them were recent immigrants from the village who have not yet completely broken ties with it. Forced
industrialisation was designed to eliminate this contradiction. Industrialisation could not happen only on
enthusiasm and demanded a series of compulsory measures. Since October 1930, the free movement of
labour was prohibited and criminal penalties were imposed for violations of labour discipline and negligence.
Since 1931, workers had become responsible for damage to equipment. In 1932 the forced transfer of labour
between companies became possible and the death penalty was introduced for the theft of state property.
garter (podvezica) - a piece of elastic used, especially in the past, for holding up a stocking or sock (picture 1
below); nowadays a decorative accessory (picture 2 below)

garter belt (halter) - a piece of women's underwear worn round the waist, with suspenders attached to it for
holding up stockings (picture 3 above)
godet (ušitak s okruglim rubom, godet) - an extra piece of fabric in the shape of a circular sector which is set
into a garment, usually a dress or skirt. The addition of a godet causes the clothing in question to flare, thus
adding width and volume (picture 4 above)
grain (smjer osnove) - the natural pattern of lines in the surface of cloth
halter top/neck (ular-okovratnik) - a piece of women's clothing that is held in position by a strap that goes
behind the neck so that the upper back and shoulders are not covered
hankerchief (rupčić) - a square piece of cloth or used for cleaning the nose or drying the eyes when they are
wet with tears
handkerchief dress (-) – a dress which has a skirt created from fabric panels of different lengths sewn
together, to create a hem with several corners that hang down as points. The hem resembles a handkerchief
that is held by the centre so that its corners hang down as points.

inset (ušitak, umetak) – a smaller piece of fabrics inserted into a larger piece.
Joan Crawford - an American actress who started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies
before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in
1925. Initially frustrated by the size and quality of her parts, Crawford launched a publicity campaign and built
an image as a nationally known flapper by the end of the 1920s. By the 1930s, Crawford's fame rivalled MGM
colleagues Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo. Crawford often played hardworking young women who find
romance and financial success. These "rags-to-riches" stories were well received by Depression-era audiences
and were popular with women. Crawford became one of Hollywood's most prominent movie stars and one of
the highest paid women in the United States, but her films began losing money. By the end of the 1930s, she
was labelled "box office poison".

labour camp (radni logor) – a detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in labour as a form of
punishment
negligence (nemar, nehaj) – failure to take proper care of someone or something
Oxford bag (-) – very wide trousers that were worn in the 1920s, first by male students at Oxford university.
They were wide because they wanted to wear knickerbockers underneath them which they needed to play
sports.
panties (gaćice) – women’s underpants
pinstriped (s tankim prugicama) – having thin, light stripes on dark cloth

pinstripes (-) – suits made of pinstriped cloth

plain weave (platneni vez) - s the most basic of three fundamental types of textile weaves. The warp and weft
threads cross at right angles, aligned so they form a simple criss-cross pattern. Each weft thread crosses the
warp threads by going over one, then under the next, and so on.
polo coat (kaput od devine dlake) - also known as a camel coat, is a men's overcoat associated with polo
players in England. Camelhair was the fabric at first, but later camelhair and wool blends became standard due
to its higher durability. It was originally a wrap coat with a belt, but eventually became double-breasted.

prohibition (Prohibicija) - is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term
refers to the banning of the making, keeping, transporting, selling, and using of alcoholic beverages. The word
is also used to refer to a period of time during which such bans are enforced.
proletariat (proletarijat) - the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession
of significant value is their capacity to work. A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philosophy
considers the proletariat to be exploited under capitalism, forced to accept low wages in return for operating
the means of production, which belong to the class of business owners, the bourgeoisie.
raccoon coat (-) - full-length fur coats made of raccoon hide. They were a fad in the United States during the
1920s. Such coats were particularly popular with male college students in the middle and later years of the
decade.

rayon (rejon-celulozno vlakno) - a manufactured fiber made from regenerated cellulose fiber. The many types
of rayon can imitate the feel and texture of natural fibers such as silk, wool, cotton, and linen. The types that
resemble silk are often called artificial silk.
right-wing politics (politička desnica, desničari) - hold that certain social orders and hierarchies are natural,
normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, or tradition. The
term extreme right-wing has also been applied to movements including fascism, Nazism, and racial
supremacy.
robe de style (-) - also called the anti-flapper dress as it was very different (bodice could be fitted or straight-
cut in which case it had a dropped waist, but in both cases the skirt was wide and full sometimes supported by
hoops) from the most popular silhouette of the 1920s. It was made popular by designer Jeanne Lanvin.
Rudolph Valentino – an Italian actor based in the USA who was a sex symbol of the 1920s, known in
Hollywood as the "Latin Lover" (a title invented for him by Hollywood moguls), the "Great Lover", or simply
Valentino. His masculinity had been questioned in print and Valentino was very sensitive about his public
perception. Women loved him and thought him the epitome of romance. However, American men were less
impressed, walking out of his movies in disgust as Valentino was seen as a threat to the "All American" man.
His early death at the age of 31 caused mass hysteria among his fans, further cementing his place in early
cinematic history as a cultural film icon. An estimated 100,000 people lined the streets of Manhattan to pay
their respects at his funeral.

scalloped hem (valoviti obrub) – a hem which is made of series of small curves
share (dionica) - one of the equal parts that the ownership of a company is divided into, and that can be
bought by members of the public
sleek (gladak, uglađen, mekan) - smooth, shiny, and lying close to the body, and therefore looking well cared
for; not untidy and with no parts sticking out
slip (kombine) - a piece of underwear for a woman or girl that is like a dress or skirt (picture 2 above)
stock market (burza) - a place where shares in companies are bought and sold, or the organization of people
whose job is to do this buying or selling
suppression (suzbijanje, sprečavanje) - the act of ending something by force
supremacy (nadmoć, premoć) – the leading or controlling position
surrealism (Nadrealizam) - a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for its visual
artworks and writings. Artists painted unnerving, illogical scenes with photographic precision, created strange
creatures from everyday objects, and developed painting techniques that allowed the unconscious to express
itself.

tweed (tvid, gruba vunena tkanina) - a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture. It is usually
woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure
twill (keperni vez tkanja) - a type of textile weave with a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs (in contrast with plain
weave for example). This is done by passing the weft thread over one or more warp threads then under two or
more warp threads and so on, with a "step," or offset, between rows to create the characteristic diagonal
pattern (picture 4 above)
unnerving (koji, a, o unosi nemir i plaši) - making someone feel less confident and slightly frightened
ultranationalism (ultranacionalizam) - an extreme nationalism that promotes the interest of one state or
people above all others.
weave (vez tkanja) - the way in which cloth has been woven
zipper (patentni zatvarač) - a device consisting of two rows of metal or plastic teeth-like parts that are brought
together by pulling a small sliding piece over them, used for closing openings in clothing