Ceres Magazine Issue 1 - Oct/Nov 2015 | Page 19

Flappers loved to pile on row after row of pearls, the longer, the better. Scarves during the day and long, feathery boas for the evening

completed an ensemble. Brooches and bracelets added to the look. They also wore long satin or velvet well-fitting gloves, and often were seen cooling themselves with fans either made of light wood, fabric, lace or feathers. Shoes

needed to be comfortable to dance in. They usually had T-bar straps, Cuban heels and rounded toes to make the feet look smaller.

Cosmetics came out of the whorehouse and into respectable homes, as Flappers started wearing makeup—something that had been

mainly worn by prostitutes. Rouge, powder, eye-liner and lipstick became extremely popular, and the look was heavy, pushed to the extreme with artificial pallor mortis skin, scarlet cupid's bow pout, as seen in silent films, and raccoon dark ringed eyes. With such ample demand, the cosmetics industry flourished. Not surprisingly, by 1929, women were using, on average, a pound of powder a year.

Glamour was now a fashion trend influenced by the motion picture industry, and its newly created, larger-than-life movie stars. Actresses such as Clara Bow, Louise Brooks, Colleen Moore, Greta Garbo, Bebe Daniels, Billie Dove, Norma Talmadge and Joan Crawford, among others, built their career on this glamorous Flapper image. In turn, they played a part in women’s fashion and social life, as young girls and women aspired to look like them.

Another provocative way the flapper resorted to reduce gender gap, women cut their hair. Though it was a big fashion statement, it also brought some apprehension to women at first as it was very drastic. Hairstyles such as the bob cut made fashionable by silent film actress Louise Brooks, or even the slicked-back Eton crop (with or without curls) sported by Josephine Baker, were the rage along with the wavy Marcel wave. Sparkling headbands with feathers or other adornments were preferred for evenings and parties when visiting the local jazz club or speakeasy over the daytime bell-shaped cloche hat.

1930's actress Kay Francis wearing a bandeau, bracelet,

and necklaces of pearls in imitation of the flappers. Photo of Francis & information about Mikimoto from Vintage Jewelry Design: Classics to Collect & Wear by Caroline Cox.

Accessories & Shoes

BOB CUT - Louise Brooks

ETON CROP - Josephine Baker

MARCEL WAVE - Edna Fearon (Liverpool, UK) circa 1930

Makeup

A flapper onboard ship, wearing knife-pleated skirt (1929)

Did you know?

Large breasts were commonly regarded as a trait of unsophistication. Hence, flat chests became appealing, and Flappers wore special bras that pulled in the back to flatten the chest.

Movie Stars

19 | Ceres Magazine | Oct/Nov 2015