1920s - fashion with fun, whimsy and chic

[Lillemor]

On the point of binding; exactly! I also don't want to be permanently flattened because I also wear styles inspired by decades where more obvious "curves" in that area was preferred.

 

[Mojito]

From antiquedress.com - a gorgeous Patou dress:

c. 1925 JEAN PATOU Paris, Cannes, Monte Carlo Couture Numbered Ecru and Black Silk Velvet Flapper Party Dress Trimmed in Rhinestones and Faux Pearls

This one is from the Met's collection -

Evening dress, late 1920s
Jessie Franklin Turner
Silk
Gift of Aline Bernstein, 1948 (C.I.48.3.3)

The nonchalant "hang" of this design is derived from the pretailored forms of regional dress as much as the planar silhouettes endorsed in the 1920s. Jessie Franklin Turner, a custom dressmaker especially famed for her sinuously draped tea gowns, created evening dresses with exotic allusions, often in fabrics of her own design. Although the simple chemise shaping of the gown suggests an earlier date, the designer has introduced a velvet border that extends into a train to reflect the vogue for increasingly long hemlines at the end of the 1920s.

And a stunner from the National Museum of American History:

First Lady Grace Coolidge's evening dress
One of the White House's most stylish and popular hostesses, first lady Grace Coolidge wore this chiffon velvet evening dress during her husband's administration. The dress, typical of the 1920s' "flapper" fashion, has a detachable train (not shown) and matching velvet shoes with rhinestone trim. (National Museum of American History)

 

[Tomasso]

Excellent thread, Ladies....Great pix.....Sorry for snooping....

 

[Mojito]

My friend's dress in this photo is just utterly amazing when seen in closeup - the complex leaf pattern continues on the base underneath the "burnout", and the Autumnal theme is gorgeous - beads to simulate berries at the hips, and repeated on the velvet appliques applied to the chiffon panels.

Wish I had a better version of this dress - it's a favourite. It feels lovely and slinky on, and the prong set rhinestones at the hem, belt and side gathering glitter against the black. The bandeau is the one on the rigid base. The purse is a Mandalian, and the necklace is Victorian rock crystal.

This is me doing a bit of "flappering it up" - adding a repro glass beaded cap and the cliched cigarette holder and long pearl necklace (it was the office Christmas Party with a 20s Shanghai theme). It's a velvet with ermine trim, c.1926:

And to give you an idea of how it was originally worn...here's the same dress with its original owner! She worked for the woman on the right, part of a wealthy NY - Long Island family:

 

[Lauren]

I just love this thread! Yay! Mojito, your dresses and accessories are so stunning!
Do you think my boa is teens or 20s? I wasn't sure- but I was leaning late teens or early 20s?

 

[Vintage Betty]

Mojito - those are gorgeous examples; did you purchase the dresses from Doyles?

Can we get a close up of the belt embellishment of the black dress? That dress seems like a stunner!

 

[Vintage Betty]

1920's Umbrellas - Teaser Shot

Here's a teaser shot of some 1920's & 1930's umbrellas for my forthcoming umbrella tutorial. Not all of these are period correct, just some of them.

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

So many gorgeous 20s things! Mojito, I love the silver-and-green burnout dress.

VintageBetty, those are some lovely umbrellas. I'm eagerly awaiting the tutorial.

 

[fuzzylizzie]

I love this thread and I'm in awe of all the truly wonderful 20s item!. The 20s has always been one of my favorite fashion eras.

I don't have many of my 20s things photographed, but here are a few:

Shisha work coat, made in India, but actually bought at the Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor, Egypt.

A great clutch bag with Chinese dragon motif

Bad photo of a great early 20s set. This is velvet with metallic embroidery; made in Paris at Babani

One of my all-time great ebay finds, this pretty linen embroidered dress was labeled 1960s by the seller and had a BIN of $10!

 

[Miss 1929]

Thanks for the feedback! I went ahead and deleted the non-1920's items; it didn't feel correct to leave them in this thread.

Miss 1929, when do we get to see all your goodies? And could you explain this phrase? "couching it down to the lining everywhere possible".

Thank you-

Vintage Betty

I knew you would see it my way!

"Couching" is generally used to describe making stitches to hold one thing down to a background thing...let's pretend you have that white dress - make a lining for it in the same size and shape. Then sew the top layer to the back layer, on the seams, edges and in amongst the beading - this should give it a bit of support. Generally the sad thing about beaded dresses is that the weight of the beads pulls the fabric to bits, especially as almost all these dresses are silk.
Since that particular dress has a big old stain, you could also try soaking it in a jar over night with water and Ivory Snow - that usually takes stains out of silk like magic (having it in a big jar prevents it from getting pulled out of shape). And you can soak it again in milk, the milk proteins bond to the silk and help revive it. Rinse thoroughly so it won't get cheesy on you...I wouldn't ever recommend this on a patterned or colored silk, but hey, it's white! It ought to be OK! I have done this with a white on white embroidered Spanish shawl and it saved its life.

I really must get my friend Alice to post in here, she has awesome 20s stuff. Off to raid my pictures to see if there is any evidence of me in any 20s...

 

[Miss 1929]

OK, here's a few from years gone by....

With my darling Senor 1929 - peach chiffon with crystal beads and rhinestone studs:

Admiring someone's dog and car at Gatsby - floral chiffon, summer ermine coat:

This is one hell of a dress I modeled for a fashion show at Macy's (it is vintage, we were modeling reproduction 20s jewelry):

The impetus of it all - my first vintage fashion show, in 1985 - I was hooked! First outfit, channeling Aimee Semple McPherson:

Second outfit, a swell blue and black beaded number:

And the grand finale featured a wedding:

And here's a lovely negligee from another fashion show, two years later:

And my evil twin Lisa (really no relation, but we look so alike) at Gatsby:

More if I find more later...

 

[Mojito]

Wow - so many great images! This is just utterly delicious!

Lauren, I'm not sure about specifically nailing a boa like that to the late teens or early 20s - all the examples I've seen "in the flesh" (or feather) have been dated loosely within that time frame without being specific, and the catalogue images I've seen are broadly applicable to the early 20s in terms of the length and the tassels...perhaps someone might have tips on what to specifically look for? I'd be very interested in them!

Vintage Betty, I can't wait for your tutorial...I have a collection of more recent Asian silk and paper parasols I use (most dating to 20 years ago), and would like to know more about what to look like for specific dating.

FuzzieLizzie, those pieces are stunning! The Shisha coat particularly illustrates the wonderfully diverse influences in textile art in the era - the search for the exotic ranging from the far flung places to far flung times. And I've never thought of looking for 20s pieces in the 60s on eBay - I've often seen 60s pieces in the 20s (particularly in the hats section), so I suppose it makes a sort of inverse sense. I do check the Edwardian and pre-20s sections as there are some gowns and hats misgategorised to an earlier period. The dress would be a brilliant find even if it had cost many times what you paid for it.

Miss 1929 - both you and the dresses are jaw dropping! Every time I see a photo, either from the earlier 20s period or the gowns you wear now, you are so consummately elegant. The clothes never look like a costume - you wear them with just the perfect air, born to glamour. That first Macy's dress looks like one of the most lovely examples of embroidery I've ever seen - it is beadwork, isn't it? They're all absolute classics of their types...and it's great to finally see some boudoir wear in here!

 

[Mojito]

Moving on into headwear, here are some spectacular evening cloches and headdresses from Antiquedress.com:

Evening cloche by Beddell's of Paris & NY

Gold bullion cloche, possibly owned by Theda Bara

 

[Mojito]

I took a batch of my cloches to our Vintage Clothing club for the 20s themed day - here we are trying a couple on (and, again, flappering it up!):

The creased crown on the left and a horsehair capeline with velvet flower trim on the right. I'll take another photo to show the crease.

Friend wearing an evening cap/cloche - unfortunately it didn't photograph as well as it looks in person...the sequins aren't as darkened as they appear here, and instead have only a light patina to their silvery sparkle.

 

[Miss 1940's]

[



This is one hell of a dress I modeled for a fashion show at Macy's (it is vintage, we were modeling reproduction 20s jewelry):

My D.M.D is so Beautiful!

 

[Miss 1929]

My D.M.D is so Beautiful!

Thank you, DDD!
And for some reason, I have a distinct memory of feeling really fat that day (smacks forehead in self-disgust). Of course at that time I worked in a vintage store, and was surrounded by mirrors and tiny vintage clothes all day, that will skew one's perspective.
It is indeed beaded, that dress weighted about 15 pounds. Hard to see it but the item on the side of my head was a brooch that had birds in the same colors.

 

[Lillemor]

I really enjoy reading about members "in vintage" experiences and this is quickly becoming an addictive thread. I check it for new images regularly because I've never seen so many authentic 1920s dresses close up where I can take my time to study them.

 

[Miss 1940's]

you looked thinner then I am, tiny little Bird Bones!

Thank you, DDD!
And for some reason, I have a distinct memory of feeling really fat that day (smacks forehead in self-disgust). Of course at that time I worked in a vintage store, and was surrounded by mirrors and tiny vintage clothes all day, that will skew one's perspective.
It is indeed beaded, that dress weighted about 15 pounds. Hard to see it but the item on the side of my head was a brooch that had birds in the same colors.

 

[Mojito]

You look like a posterchild for the ideal 1920s figure (and features) in that photo, Miss 1929! Looking forward to seeing more of your fantastic outfits. The heaviness of some of the gowns is something that seems to astonish people the first time they pick them up - people have asked me if I ever find it physically tiring to wear them! I actually like the feel of the substance (unless the base is at all fragile, and then it's nerve wracking). Even a dress that is covered with comparatively light sequins rather than beads feels like it weighs a few lbs.

Glad you're enjoying it, Lillemor...I'm hoping to put some fringed dresses up soon. Unfortunately I don't have a photo yet of my favourite beaded fringed dress with cut outs on the bodice...it needs to seen on a human form, as it just doesn't do it justice flat on a hanger. Same with a couple of other beaded/sequinned numbers. And we could do with some outerwear as well!

 

[LaMedicine]

Fantastic pics, everyone!! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

I'm pretty sure the one on the right and the second and third ones from the left are Japanese oil paper and bamboo umbrellas.
If the tip on the the right one is cloth, then it's likely that that part is not original, as the top covering should also be thick oil paper, but whoever fixed it did so because the paper fell apart, and had to replace it with cloth because you probably won't be able to get the same type of paper outside Japan. Heck, it's difficult now to get it in Japan either, unless you know where to go.
The tips of the two on the right are changed, too, they also originally would have had a square piece of oil paper tied in the same style as on the left one. Whoever was the original owner must have crafted herself or had it crafted to its present style.

Mojito, the lady with you in the red dress. The print panel looks like it's originally kimono fabric. If so, it's likely that it's hand dyed Yuzen, though I'd have to see some specifics to be sure.