1920s-40s

In the 20s we reached the stage of freedom for teens and even adults. Women were now able to get out of the modern lifestyle. They were labeled as “Flappers.” Flappers showed a sense of rebellion and definitely shocked a lot of the older minorities, those who were use to being covered up in the early lifestyle. Flappers were a so-called new style of Western woman, and the term “flapper” was invented to describe this so-called new breed.Flappers were women who were characterized by their choice of bobbed hair, short skirts, and their enjoyment of jazz music. They enjoyed casual sex, drinking, immoderate makeup, driving cars and smoking. Colleen Moore states “They were smart and sophisticated, with an air of independence about them, and so casual about their looks and clothes and manners as to be almost slapdash. I don't know if I realized as soon as I began seeing them that they represented the wave of the future, but I do know I was drawn to them. I shared their restlessness, understood their determination to free themselves of the Victorian shackles of the pre-World War I era and find out for themselves what life was all about.”  

With the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 the world was at war and high fashion was put off. Men went off to war and women started working in factories using wool and other fabrics to create uniforms for men. Japanese Silk was banned in the U.S. after Pearl Harbor and many women’s clothes were made out of nylon, including stockings. Shorts were introduced and women also began to wear jumpsuits. Fabric restriction played a huge part. women began exposing their midriffs and wear one piece bathing suites.