Fashion of the Roaring Twenties- smileinc1120, ilikebutterflies, cheer2191x

Fashion and Lifestyles of the Roaring Twenties

Several fashion statements that emerged from the flapper fashion of the roaring twenties still exist or have reemerged in society today. From flapper’s high heels to bobbed haircut, reminiscence of the twenties are present in current lifestyles.

There are several periodic examples in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Nick says: “I have been drunk just twice in my life…” (Fitzgerald 29). This is a result of the prohibition movement.

“In the main hall a bar with a real brass rail was set up, and stocked with gins and liquors and with cordials so long forgotten that most of his female guests were too young to know one from another” (Fitzgerald 40). Another result of prohibition.

“The last swimmers have come in from the beach now and are dressing up-stairs; the cars from New York are parked five deep in the drive, and already the halls and salons and verandas are gaudy with primary colors, and hair shorn in strange new ways, and shawls beyond the dreams of Castile” (Fitzgerald 40). This shows the automobile craze, the fashion statements of the bobbed haircuts and feather boas.

“…and a great number of single girls dancing individualistically…” (Fitzgerald 46). Women were now more independent and did not need a man to dance with.

In the 1920’s, Flappers were changing the ways of the Gibson Girl. Dress lines were dramatically shortened, hair was chopped off, and some dared to paint their faces in makeup. The doll’s outfits we created include Flapper inspirations, along with a modern twist. Feathers and fur were big with the flappers. Extravagant, sparkling outfits were common pieces for a Flapper to wear while going dancing. Head scarves covering short cropped hair were also trendy, as well as long beaded necklaces. Drawing inspiration from some of these Flapper fashions, we created a few outfits for our little Flapper Girl, ranging from dancing outfits to a casual outfit, and even fancy evening wear. The bold colors such as hot pink and purple added a modern look. Along with the eye popping colors, the bags our doll is sporting really modernize the look. The zebra print bag, with a strap decked out in polka dots encompasses some of today’s fashion, along with the large fur bag with a sparkling strap. Bold colors and outrageous prints are big among the fashionable in today’s society. The polka dot pattern that appears in some of the outfits, whether it is part of a dress or headband, are quite popular among the young and fashionable of today’s stylish individuals.

THEN & NOW…

Long Necklaces continue to be a fashion from the 1920s to present

Bobbed Haircuts can also be seen on the social scene in the 1920s and present

Feather Boas were characteristic of flapper girls in the 1920s and are still worn today

Flowing Flapper Dresses are the most commonly associated with the Roaring Twenties and are still around

Weather in The Great Gatsby (Assigned)

Passages Chosen:

“The day agreed upon was pouring rain. At eleven o’clock a man in a raincoat dragging a lawn-mower tapped at my front door and said that Mr. Gatsby had sent him over to cut my grass.” (Fitzgerald 88)

“ ‘Come here quick!’  cried Daisy at the window. The rain was still falling, but the darkness had parted in the west, and there was a pink and golden billow of foamy clouds above the sea.

“ ‘Look at that,’ she whispered, and then after a moment: ‘I’d like to just get one of those pink clouds and put you in it and push you around.’ ” (Fitzgerald 99)

“The next day was broiling, almost the last, certainly the warmest, of the summer. As my train emerged from the tunnel into the sunlight, only the hot whistles of the National Biscuit Company broke the simmering hush at noon. The straw seats of the car hovered on the edge of combustion; the woman next to me perspired delicately for a while into her white shirtwaist and then, as her newspaper dampened under her fingers, lapsed despairingly into the deep heat with a desolate cry.” (Fitzgerald 121-122)

 

Analysis:

These multiple passages show how the weather surrounding the events in a story can help the reader to determine the mood of the story at that moment. For example, on the day that Gatsby is planned to meet with Daisy, it is raining prior to the meeting. In this situation, the rain represents both a melancholy mood and an anxious mood. Gatsby in beginning to doubt himself in asking Nick to do this favor for him and the rain reflects the fact that he is unsure of himself. However, when Gatsby and Daisy rekindle their friendship and love, the weather clears up and becomes sunny and beautiful out. The sudden change in weather shows the change in the character’s feelings. Now, both Gatsby and Daisy are comfortable with each other and are enjoying both their memories together and the fact that they are back together.

Also, towards the conclusion of the novel, as tension begins to rise, the weather becomes very hot. Usually with hot weather, tempers begin to rise and people become more short-fused. Fitzgerald shows this by describing how the surrounding characters are acting. For example, the woman at the train station and the people around her assume that Nick is a thief when he attempts to pick up her dropped pocketbook.

This use of the weather to portray the mood of the story was used magnificently by William Shakespeare. The two examples that come to mind are from Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, as Macbeth prepares to kill Duncan, he is surrounded by terrible rainstorms. Unlike in The Great Gatsby however, these storms reflect the corruption of the order instead of just anxiety. In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio and Tybalt’s battle is accompanied by extremely hot weather, like the conclusion of The Great Gatsby. As in The Great Gatsby, the boiling weather creates tension and flaring tempers, and in this case, leads to a fight and a death.

 

*Picture Coming As Soon As I Can Find The Cord To My Camera. =) *

 

The Grass Isin’t Always Greener on the Other Side

The “Great” Gatsby

 

 

Excerpt:

“Who is he?” I demanded. “Do you know?”

“He’s just a man named Gatsby.”

“Where is he from, I mean? And what does he do?”

“Now you’re started on the subject,” she answered with a

wan smile. “Well, he told me once he was an Oxford man.”

A dim background started to take shape behind him,

but at her next remark it faded away.

“However, I don’t believe it.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know,” she insisted, “I just don’t think he went

there.”

Something in her tone reminded me of the other girl’s “I

think he killed a man,” and he had the effect of stimulating my

curiosity. I would have accepted without question the infor-

mation that Gatsby sprang from the swamps of Louisiana or

from the lower East Side of New York. That was compre-

hensible. But young men didn’t-at least in my provincial

inexperience I believed they didn’t-drift coolly out of

nowhere and buy a palace on Long Island Sound.

“Anyhow, he gives large parties,” said Jordan, changing the

subject with an urban distaste for the concrete. “And I like

large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t

any privacy.

Analysis:

In this scene, Nick has just finished talking to Gatsby and meeting him for the first time at his party. Their conversation was cut short when Gatsby had to take a phone call from Chicago. This excerpt comes in when Gatsby leaves. Nick is asking Daisy about Gatsby and who he is. I picked this excerpt because I thought that this scene is an important scene in the story. The scene is an important scene in the story because it shows the characterization of Gatsby in many ways.

            One way this scene shows the characterization of Gatsby is that this scene takes place at one of Gatsby’s many extravagant parties. At these parties, anyone is invited. Anyone can just walk in. In fact, Klipspringer attended one of Gatsby’s parties and never left and that is why he is known as “The Boarder”. This represents that Gatsby is generous because he let Klipspringer stay at his house, and it also illustrates that Gatsby will giving anything to anyone.

            Gatsby is very smart. He went to Oxford. However, in this scene, Daisy mentions that she doesn’t believe Gatsby went to Oxford. This scene starts to demonstrate Gatsby’s “secret past”. There are also many rumors going around about Gatsby, for example, that he killed a man, which is also mentioned in this excerpt. Although these rumors and opinions of Gatsby may not be true, it still displays that Gatsby does have a secret past. And in this secret past is Daisy. Gatsby is still in love with Daisy. That is the reason for these extravagant parties. Gatsby hopes that Daisy will just walk in one day. This is also the reason that Nick lives right next door to Gatsby and got invited to Gatsby’s party. Gatsby knew that Nick knew Daisy, so he made sure Nick lived right next door to him and he hoped that Nick would walk into his party so he could talk to him. But, when Nick never showed up, he sent him an invitation. The fact that Gatsby went through all of this just to meet with Nick demonstrates that Gatsby is very smart and it illustrates again that he will do anything for someone. Gatsby is also very smart because he bought a house across the lake so he can see Daisy’s green light from his house.  

            Another rumor that is going around is that Gatsby is a bootlegger. This is true. Gatsby is friends with Meyer Wolfsheim, who is a criminal. Gatsby got into the criminal business because he needed to make money. Daisy is from a world of money and he believed the only way he could get her love is to become wealthy like Daisy.