Flappers In The 1930's

Words: 805
Pages: 4

The first influence of the Flapper Era on the modern women was the new freedoms that women enjoyed. One of the most obvious freedoms was women’s new right to vote. This came because of the 19th Amendment of 1920, that gave women the vote. Another freedom many enjoyed were automobiles. Automobiles became very popular in the 19th century, and were especially a favorite past time among the flappers. Cars fit their fast and risky lifestyle, and gave them new freedom, mobility, and privacy that they previously had not had. In addition to these things, women were starting to have jobs that they couldn’t have had before World War I. Previously, the only jobs women were expected to have were servants, seamstresses, secretaries, and nursing. But when …show more content…
One style flappers had that shocked the older generation was their short hair. Before the 1920’s, long hair had been a sign of a respectable woman. Flappers didn’t care about how respectable they were, though, so they cut their hair to their ears, curled it with little spit curls, and set it with bobby pins. By the 1930’s, almost every women was cutting their hair short. In addition to short hair, flappers also wore a lot of makeup. This was quite a shock to many as in earlier years makeup had been associated with prostitutes and actresses. It was extremely looked down upon to wear makeup. But flappers didn’t care about what older generation thought and decided to wear makeup to enhance their features. They put on dark red lipstick, rouge, and thick black eyeliner. Additionally, as more women began to follow the flapper trend of wearing more makeup, makeup began to be applied publicly with a compact instead of in the powder room. The final style flapper changed was in what they wore. Before World War I, girls were expected to dress modestly. They wore dresses to the floor, tight corsets, and many layers. Flappers’ dresses were pretty much the opposite of that. They dropped layers of clothing to increase movement. Corsets went out of fashion. Hemlines rose from 6 inches above the ankle in 1919 to knee level in 1927. The dress also became much more