1920s’ Living

• 65% of American families earned a “family income” of less than $2000/year.

• Average “family income” was $725/year.• Family expenses (4 people):

– $290/year for food– $190/year for housing– $110/year for clothing– $135 leftover: health care, entertainment,

education, other household expenses.

Necessity vs. Luxury

• The “installment plan” enabled families who wanted the new necessities of the 1920s – namely, automobiles and appliances – to buy items that they could not pay for with cash.

• By 1927

– More than 2/3 of cars in the US were being purchased on installment plans, which contributed to the growth of the “lending” industry.

– Americans were spending $667 million/year on electric appliances.

• Women’s chores became easier with electric irons, refrigerators, and washing machines. BUT, as a result, expectations of cleanliness rose considerably.

• Advertising grew to be a $2 billion/year industry, producing slogans like: “ashtray breath,” “sneaker smell,” and “BO” to encourage Americans to pay attention to their personal appearance and hygiene. Among the middle and upper classes who owned washing machines, the expectation was that a husband could and would come to work in a clean shirt everyday.

1920s Home Appliances

Refrigerators

Ford Assembly Line

Clara Bow

• By 1910, Los Angeles had become the center of US film industry; LA’s warm weather and anti-union atmosphere had encouraged film companies to leave the East Coast.

• Women like Clara Bow (→) welcomed the opportunity to become wealthy through silent film roles; epitomizing the 1920s’ “New Woman.”

• Bow was born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1905. After leaving public school in the 8th grade, Bow won a beauty contest in California at age 16.

• 1927’s silent film, “It,” propelled her to super-stardom as a flapper in love with a wealthy department store owner.

• The film grossed more than $1 million and helped to coin the phrase “it girl” still used in popular culture today.

Common dress of a “flapper”