1920s VINTAGE DRESSESThe three outfits at the top left are modern-day “flapper” costumes, which is how we now tend to think of women dressing in the1920s. The overall fringe style is derived from French beaded and silk fringe dresses, as with those seen on the upper right.These French dresses were quite expensive and also not the most popular evening dress that most women wore at the time. Themore popular type of beaded dress were those with beaded patterns sewn right onto the dress, which was typically tubular inshape and with more coverage on the shoulders than the spagetti strap dresses above. There are some examples on the followingpages. And even more common than that were dresses made from taffeta, satin, chiffon, brocade, velvet, etc., many with fabricflower corsages, sashes around the waist, lightly beaded patterns, a touch of fringe or maribou, etc.

If you would like to buy or wear a fringed costume dress (which are obviously fun to dance in), here are some tips: the kneelength versions are more like the original; the mini-skirt versions are more like Twenties Revival dresses from the 1960s. Also,the long-length pearls tended to be worn in the earlier 1920s with long hemlines that ended at mid calf to the ankle. Shorternecklaces were more often worn with the knee-length dresses of 1925 onward (as in the photo above of actress Thelma Todd).Likewise, feathered headbands, though still occasionally worn in the latter 1920s, were really an older style from the 1910s thatwomen continued to wear in the early 1920s with the longer dresses. If you want to wear an evening headband, it was morecommon in the ‘20s to wear them back farther on the head (like a Grecian headband) rather than hippy style. See the section onheadwear for photos. Gloves were worn to really formal affairs (the opera, presentations at royal courts), but not by flappers andother women to go to dances and speakeasies.

Examples of vintage day dresses (for regular wear, garden parties, etc) dating from the early 1920s through the latter 1920s:

Formal and partydresses from theearly to mid 1920s.The three dresses onthe top right arerobes des style. Thedress of white voilewas likely awedding dress andwould have beenworn with a slipunderneath. Thedress at lower lefthas a lace overlayand could have beenworn for a daytimeparty.

These evening dresses date fromthe early to mid 1920s. They arepull-over style, and hang straight tothe hips. Some on the top rowfrom c. 1922-24 have straightpanels going down the front andback over an under layer. Thethree dresses at lower left areconstructed from two flat pieces offabric (sewn up the sides like a T-shirt), so that the top of the fabricmakes cap sleeves. The black oneis heavily beaded and is a verycommon mid 1920s style. Thepastel one has a lace overlay. Thedress at the lower right is beadedall over with red silk fringe at thebottom of the pattern.

Here are examples ofmid to late 1920sevening dresses. Somehang straight andothers have fittedbodices. Top row arebeaded, The blue oneis French has beads ofdifferent shades ofblue applied directly tothe chiffon fabric (notbeaded fringe).Bottom row has twoembroidered dressesand two withmetallic gold andsilver lace.

Party & evening dressesdating from the mid to late1920s. Top row dresses arechiffon. The peach andyellow ones in the middlehave delicate beading.Chiffon dresses were alwaysworn with a slip underdress.The dress at bottom left isbeaded in rows, three are silksatin, and one is floral velvet.FINAL NOTE: Waistlines ofstraight-cut dresses c. 1922-1926 were very low – almostat the derriere. 1927-29 thewaistlines of straight bodiceswere a bit higher, at mid toupper hip, as in the beadeddress on the bottom left.