Back in the 1900′s, the women were very painfully traditional and they knew it. They had their corsets that sometimes made them dizzy. They were uncomfortable because of steel bones that made sure their tummies looked flat and their waists abnormally narrow. By this time, you would have imagined women to be bursting with a clamor to be freed not just from their corsets and steel-supported abdomens but from the double standard that worked against them. However, it all started in 1918 when hemlines started rising above the ankle until about 1926 when they were right above the knee. That was the time flapper dresses were born.
During this era, women took it upon themselves to campaign for their liberation through fashion that defied everything that told them to be what society said they should be – at least, until they wore the flappers. By this time, the female spirit danced to the jazz grooves and took pride in the bouncing strings of beads and sparkling sequins that adorned their exuberant dresses. This was a time when women were not only free in terms of fashion but also socially and politically. After the war, which was about the time the flappers were in full swing, women had been allowed to vote.
Today, fashion design icons are welcoming this comeback with a call to women to have enough of complicated wardrobes and go right back to the basics were simplicity is the sexiest. In 2007, the flapper’s slow yet sustained comeback was highlighted by about 60,000 sparkling Swarovski crystal beads worn by Kate Moss at a fashion event for Britain’s Prince’s Trust. This grey and antique green number was a hand-embroidered masterpiece that consumed about nine days of painstaking handwork and sold for $ 40,000 on eBay.
Today, flapper dresses are the same straight and loose cuts they were in the 1920′s. They are still characteristically knee-length and sleeveless, although the drop waist factor is slowly disappearing. The more delicate cuts are adorned by fluid lines of beading and fringing along with basic prints and pleats. Those who aren’t very comfortable showing their arms can easily wear a bolero or capelet which even adds more fashion spice to the getup. The dresses go great with ballet flats or pumps and short bobs in a turban or flapper headband.
