Amy T Peterson, Valerie Hewitt, Heather Vaughan, et al

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by The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing Through American History 1900 to the Present (pdf)


  urban areas. For them, the local pub or saloon was a neighborhood meeting

  place. They would hold weddings and dances there.

  Despite the law, people continued to drink. They would go to speak-

  easies, which were unofficial drinking establishments. Some people made

  their own liquor, and others began drinking alcoholic-like substances that

  often had physical effects such as blindness and slow paralysis.

  The alcohol in drinking establishments was provided by bootleggers.

  These were criminals who supplied alcohol, and they were often involved

  in organized crime. As Prohibition wore on, organized crime grew in

  power and violence. In addition to bootlegging, they operated brothels and

  gambling rings and sold drugs. Chicago was the base of operations for Al

  Capone, one of the most notorious gangsters. Violent deaths associated

  with organized crime dramatically increased in the city during Prohibition.

  SOCIAL OCCASIONS

  The 1920s saw many changes for debutante balls, also known as coming-

  out parties. For the first time, debutantes began using the services of press

  agents to manage and encourage their increasing celebrity status. Similar

  to Hollywood celebrities, New York ‘ celebutantes’’ of the twenties were

  caricatured in the press by illustrator John Held Jr. Often considered jun-

  ior members of cafe society, debutante gossip was followed closely in the

  press (Marling 2004).

  The cost of coming-out parties continued to increase as well, although

  in the early twenties they were usually group affairs with several girls com-

  ing out at one party. Attire for the debutante ball remained formal, with a

  special dress designed specifically for the party. However, the traditional

  white had been abandoned, and bright colors were the most fashionable;

  the more extravagant the better (Marling 2004).

  Given the prosperity of the decade, it should come as no surprise that

  celebrations and parties were frequent and lively. Birthdays became a more

  celebratory event in general, and it was during this decade that cards were

  created and produced specifically for birthdays. Other forms of formal

  102

  DAILY LIFE

  The Flapper. Fashion in the twenties

  were frequently described as ‘ Held’s

  was epitomized by the iconic image of

  Hellions.’’

  the flapper. A flapper was a new,

  The term ‘‘flapper’’ has strange roots.

  modern woman whose interests included

  According to researchers, these young in-

  being independent, liberal, healthy, and

  dependent women often wore their rain

  outgoing. She was slender, with bobbed

  boots, known as galoshes, unfastened, caus-

  hair, and was the antithesis of the ideal

  ing them to flap as they walked, but there

  of womanhood from the previous gener-

  was much more to the flapper appearance

  ation. The look was often referred to as

  than this. Most strikingly, the new silhou-

  La Garconne, a term coined in 1922,

  ette of the flapper demanded flat lines and

  when Victor Margueritte wrote the

  no curves, with an almost prepubescent or

  novel La Garconne, which told the story

  childlike appearance. Described as sleek or

  of a young woman who leaves home to

  svelte, the look was both youthful and an-

  explore an independent life.

  drogynous. Women of this era cut their

  The flapper appears prominently in

  hair to emulate Colleen Moore’s Dutch

  other forms of mass media, notably mov-

  bob, dieted to keep their hips narrow, and

  ies and cartoons. The 1923 production

  flattened their chests. Pointed shoes and

  Flaming Youth starred actress Colleen

  rolled hose completed the picture.

  Moore, who offered the new flapper

  Conflicting reports describe the flap-

  image to the masses. A continual stream

  pers’ demise. The New Republic suggested

  of movies followed this example, most

  that, as early as 1925, the appeal of the

  notably It, starring Clara Bow. John Held

  flapper was already passe. By 1926, the

  Jr., a well-known cartoonist for Life and

  look had reached its international peak,

  The New Yorker in the twenties, depicted

  and The New York Times reported the

  the flapper and her love interests, who

  death of the flapper era in 1928.

  celebrations included luncheons, teas, and tea dances. Attire for these

  events was as fanciful and decadent as evening attire. Other opportunities

  to socialize and show off included horse races, dog races, and scavenger

  hunts, along with the regular cacophony of cotillions, and society parties

  provided ample opportunities to display the latest fashions (Keenan

  1978). The informal cocktail party also came into vogue, in some instan-

  ces replacing the traditional luncheon, tea dance, and formal dinner party.

  Other society parties were frequent during the early years of the

  1920s. French couturier Paul Poiret was known for his extravagant Pari-

  sian fetes, which were theme based. His most famous was ‘ The Thousand

  and Second Night,’’ a fantasy based on the tales of The Arabian Nights.

  The 1920s

  103

  HEALTH AND LEISURE

  A postwar interest developed in nutrition,

  caloric consumption, and physical exertion

  that remained present throughout the twen-

  ties. On a national scale, over one hundred

  county health departments had been added

  by 1920, and nearly 600 were serving the

  U.S. population (Center for Disease Con-

  trol). Vitamins and minerals were recognized

  as important to overall health, and several

  ‘ new’ vitamins were discovered during the

  decade. The potential of vitamin E to pre-

  vent sterility and its ability to prevent rickets

  were two of the most important. Vitamins

  A, B, C, and K were also discovered (Kyvig

  2002).

  Also during this time, servants were hired

  only by the wealthy. The middle class began to

  have a greater self-reliance and cooked for

  themselves, often using processed foods. The

  market quickly evolved to meet their needs in

  Fashionable young

  a variety of ways. Condensed soups, especially Campbell’s, flourished, and

  woman, posed next to

  sales of other canned fruits and vegetables improved. In 1925, a new quick-

  a roadster, 1926.

  freeze method of preserving food changed how both restaurants and homes

  [Library of Congress]

  served meals. Convenient and easy-to-make foods such as salad, fruit, Jello,

  and mayonnaise became popular as well (Kyvig 2002).

  Many products were marketed for their ‘ healthy’ properties, including

  cigarettes, salt, grape juice, and even chocolate. The trend was started by

  breakfast cereal companies in the previous century, and marketers in the

  1920s capitalized on the newly found importance of vitamins in their

  advertising.

 
; General Mills invented Betty Crocker as part of a marketing strategy

  for its products. This fictional housewife provided advice and recipes via

  radio, newspapers, and cookbooks, subtly encouraging the purchase of

  General Mills products.

  In part because of the increased use of photography in fashion maga-

  zines of the 1920s, dieting and exercise became especially important for

  middle-class women. Most of these low-calorie diets involved grapefruit,

  coffee, buttermilk, or melba toast and were featured in chart form in fash-

  ion magazines such as Vogue. Additionally, advertisements for everyday

  104

  DAILY LIFE

  foods such as Wonder Bread and grape juice were labeled to cater to diet-

  ers, highlighting their nonfattening and energizing properties.

  During the previous decade, large numbers of volunteers became used to

  exertion during the war effort. This led to an increased interest in nonseden-

  tary activities. Women began exercising in gymnasiums as a group, which

  was also known as calisthenics. Although not quite exercise, fads or ‘ crazes’

  became popular for youngsters and teenagers. These included run-of-the-

  mill activities such as dancing and cycling but also included more creative

  activities such as flagpole sitting, miniature golf, multi-day dance marathons,

  and even crossword puzzles, mah-jongg tournaments, and scavenger hunts.

  Athletics and sports were highly popular at this time, attributable in

  part to the 1924 Summer Olympics held in Paris. Although many people

  enjoyed sports as spectators, an ever-increasing number of the upper and

  middle class began to participate in sports as a leisure activity. Especially

  popular were tennis, swimming, cycling, golf, and even hunting for both

  men and women. Winter sports such as skiing and ice skating became

  more popular as well. Swimming was thrust into the headlines when

  Gertrude Ederle broke both male and female records by swimming the

  English Channel. Other popular spectator sports included dog and horse

  racing, American baseball, and boxing.

  Dancing was a favorite pastime. Americans adopted energetic dances

  to match their taste for ‘ wild’ ragtime and jazz music. Dances such as the

  Charleston, the Shimmy, and the Black Bottom were derived from Afri-

  can-American dances. Dance halls and commercial ballrooms proliferated

  during the 1920s to meet the popularity of the dance craze.

  In the early twenties, affluence was more prevalent, and people were

  working less and vacationing more. More people were able to enjoy an-

  nual vacations, including the wealthy, salaried employees, and occasionally

  even farmers (Kyvig 2002). The car played an important role in the

  American vacation, as production of automobiles more than doubled

  between 1920 and 1930 (Olian 2003).

  Family car trips were the most popular form of leisure travel, although

  underdeveloped routes and accommodations often necessitated that travel-

  ers pack camping supplies as a precaution. Destinations often included

  parks and other natural attractions such as Cape Cod, Niagra Falls, Yel-

  lowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon (Kyving 2002). Many travel-

  ers preferred beaches, such as those in Florida and California, as a part of

  the new sunbathing obsession of the 1920s.

  Driving became a leisure activity as well as a symbol of freedom and in-

  dependence to women, who had learned to drive out of necessity during

  the war. Men who worked in the city typically enjoyed driving as a leisure

  activity on Sunday afternoons. Car ownership allowed people to commute

  The 1930s

  105

  to work in areas that did not have public transportation. Cars also allowed

  couples to have more privacy on dates. With the rise in popularity of auto-

  mobiles, the federal government passed the Federal Highway Act in 1921,

  which gave federal funds to states to build an interstate highway system.

  Although Prohibition, enacted in the United States in January 1920,

  was intended to stop the consumption of alcohol, the law only ended up

  criminalizing the production, transportation, and sale of it. Bootleggers

  and speakeasies in larger cities, including San Francisco, New York, and

  New Orleans, helped ensure that Americans could drink throughout the

  roaring twenties. Imported liquor was generally both of higher quality

  and higher expense, and domestic alcohol was already a fairly expensive

  item during Prohibition. Drinking was popular among immigrant popula-

  tions as well as the wealthy.

  Another popular drug of choice was tobacco. Women were specifically

  targeted by cigarette advertisers in the 1920s, and it was touted as a sym-

  bol of equality. Ads also often featured ‘ doctors’’ explaining the health

  benefits of smoking, which often included a reference to weight manage-

  ment (Kyvig 2002). Consequently, cigarette consumption doubled to 43

  billion in the 1920s (Gordon and Gordon 1987; Kyvig 2002).

  T H E

  1930S

  The rampant unemployment that plagued the 1930s significantly dis-

  rupted men’s lives. When they lost work, their self-esteem suffered. They

  tried to maintain their breadwinner status, but they often found them-

  selves out of work with a lot of time on their hands.

  Americans spent significant time and focus on keeping their spending

  within their budgets and performing activities to conserve their resources.

  Women worked to stretch their food budget. Leftovers were stretched

  into even more meals. In place of the backyard, most families created gar-

  dens to supplement their menus. Some even raised chickens for the eggs.

  Women enhanced their sewing skills because, during this decade, few

  clothes were store bought. Torn clothing was mended and worn clothing

  was patched or made into a new piece of clothing. Nearly everything was

  saved and reused: rubber bands, tin foil, paper bags, jars, and shoe boxes.

  SOCIAL OCCASIONS

  Debutantes continued to use press agents to manage their public images,

  and the public continued to be interested in the gossip surrounding their

  106

  DAILY LIFE

  unending material consumption, despite the woes of the Depression. In

  fact, because of the vast discrepancies between rich and poor, debutante

  balls were covered even more in the press as a kind of escapism, similar to

  the kind achieved by Hollywood films at this time. Thus, the most attrac-

  tive of the celebrities, along with ‘ debutante slouches,’’ were of the most

  interest.

  Some of the most famous were the 1930 debut of Woolworth heiress

  Barbara Hutton and the 1936 debut of Barbara Field, daughter of Mar-

  shall Field. Field’s party cost a whopping $50,000, and still another 1936

  debut cost nearly $100,000 in Philadelphia. These debutantes became

  both hated and adored for their ostentatious displays of wealth. The deco-

  rations at these vastly expensive parties were often bizarre and, despite

  Prohibition, usually included alcoholic beverages (Marling 2004).

  Some of the most famous group debutante balls began in the 1930s and

  recurred each year. In New Yor
k, the ‘‘Debutante Cotillion and Christmas

  Ball,’’ ‘‘Gotham Ball,’’ and ‘‘Debutante Assembly and New Year’s Ball’ have

  become the most important and were all established in the thirties. They

  each debuted hundreds of girls annually and used classical cotillion figures

  and white gloves.

  Christmas really came into its own as a commercial holiday in the

  early thirties. In 1931, Coca-Cola hired artist Haddon Sundblom to draw

  a cartoon of Santa Claus to advertise its soda in magazines and newspa-

  pers across the country. Consequently, celebrations surrounding the holi-

  day became more frequent and focused on the idea of St. Nick bringing

  toys and trinkets for children.

  Celebrations by the lower and middle class were kept to a minimum

  by the economics of the Depression, although the wealthy continued to

  drink and smoke at informal cocktail parties, horse races, dog races, teas,

  and dances.

  HEALTH AND LEISURE

  In the 1930s, the depression hindered Americans’ ability to feed them-

  selves adequately. Approximately 40 percent were underfed, but, by 1935,

  meals were healthier and more nutritional. Frozen foods had been devel-

  oped in the twenties, and, by the mid-thirties, Americans gobbled up 39

  million pounds each year. When not eating frozen meals, people in the

  eastern United States had the opportunity to visit one of the many new

  chain restaurants. Howard Johnson’s, White Castle, and several others

  opened during the 1930s.

  In large part attributable to the Depression, dieting for weight loss

  was less of a concern in the early thirties than it had been in the previous

  The 1940s

  107

  decade of affluence and abundance. So too, exercise and fitness were less

  of a concern for the struggling masses. As the thirties progressed, how-

  ever, the middle class and upper class returned to diet fads from the previ-

  ous decade and relied on various sports to keep them fit.

  Both men and women participated in sports activities in the 1930s. Swim-

  ming and sunbathing remained fashionable, and other popular sports included

  running, fencing, mountain climbing, horseback riding, sailing, hunting, and

  cycling. Both water skiing and tennis were gaining in popularity.

  Winter sports, such as snow skiing and ice skating, gained in popular-

 

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