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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Channeling the 1920's

Reader (and awesome friend) Emily requested a post with 1920's-inspired outfit for Gatsby Day at her school's spirit week, so here we go! (First reader request! *psyched*).

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Most people have a pretty clear picture of 20's fashion. I mean, flappers are pretty hard to forget. That being said, I think it's one of the hardest eras to emulate while using modern pieces. Here are some tips for creating a look evocative of the times! :)

Go Full Glamour
{via}
Remember, the 1920's was a decade of social change and modernizing. It's often associated with a rebellious nature, which included the drastic shortening of hems and makeup becoming a daily routine. In short, emulating the 20's is all about making a statement. 

To make your vintage statement, go a little heavy on the makeup. Red lipstick is obvious, but try your hand at a bit of a cupid's bow instead of your usual lip shape. Big doe eyes were very desirable, so coat on some extra mascara (or falsies!) and don't be afraid to sport some dark eye shadow and eye liner. American Duchess has a great tutorial on getting the Doll-eye look here.

Realize that there's more than just flapper
While fringe dresses and long beads are certainly among my favorites, the 20's look includes so much more! Get the Working Girl look with a slim skirt, button down, tie, and straw cloche hat. Go for a beachy-casual look with a tanktop, close-to-the-head-hair, flowy pants and wedges. 

A great and feasible way to do the 20's is to go for an evening or afternoon look. These dresses were in the classic drop-waist shape, and usually in pastels. They offered sheer and lacy fabrics with wide sashes.

My personal favorite is to go all art-deco. Go for bold geometric prints, funky jewelry, and color combos like black/gold, black/silver, red/blue, and white/black. Flowing, slim dresses with close fitting cloche hats or turbans, topped off with a structured clutch, is a great bet.

Top It Off

For a perfect 20's look, don't forget a head piece! The 20's featured lots of close-fitting hats and hair styles, so think small bucket, cloche, and turban hats. If you'd rather be hat less, however, pull out a metal head band; the more ornate, the better! {For those of you going hat-less, here's a great tutorial on Pinterest for 20's look hair!}

Pulling It Together
{on Polyvore] {on Pinterest}
Here's one option for putting together a 20's style outfit using pieces in your closet. Since most of us don't have fabulous flapper dresses in the backs of our closets, I stuck with fair modern/classic pieces. So, this look may fail a bit on historical accuracy, but I think that it achieves the general look. Both the skirt and the top echo the lacy, delicate fabric theme. The skirt is a great vintage length, with lots of flowiness while still falling relatively straight. Simple, black vintage heels are a classic edition, plus a wool cloche hat to really anchor the art deco look. Wear with lots of mascara and red lipstick to up the vintage factor.

So there you have it: an easy look to channel the 20's. Hope this helps, Em! :)

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Also, don't forget about the Best of the Blogs Pinterest link-up hosted here on September 28! Hope to see you then!


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