black & white & chic all over: Dior

Everyone knows about the (then) infamous Flapper Girls. Preceeded by the reserved Gibson girls, Flappers were viewed as wild, boisterous, rebellious, and scandalous (to the older generation). Spurred by their freedoms during World War I, women began to change their place in society. Flappers took it to the extreme, changing their fashions, hair, makeup, speech, and whole lifestyle. They swore, they drank, they smoked, and they had casual sex rather than waiting around for a suitable suitor to show up at her doorstep and propose. While this type of thing might seem normal to us, back in the 20s it was revolutionary. (For a quick read, check out this).

Hemlines rose - calves and (gasp!) knees were visible; much more skin was shown. With all the men who died in the war, there was a shortage of them. This compelled women to “advertise”, in a way: they wore rouge, lipstick, and eyeliner (which, up to this point, had been saved for the loose women.)

So all I can say is… thank you for paving the way for us crazy chicas

Flapper Girl

A Flapper removes a bottle of liquor from her boot… !

Notice the makeup and short (bobbed) hair, with a curl on either side, just sticking out from her hat… and the mischevious grin!

A few recent Flapper-esque runway looks:

Alberta Ferretti Spring 2009 Ready-to-Wear

Alberta Ferretti // Spring 2009 [Chanel Iman]

Erin Fetherston Fall 2008 Ready-to-Wear

Erin Fetherson // Fall 2008. A key element in the 20s dresses was the dropped waist; during the war, it had a more empire waist.

Diane von Furstenberg Fall 2008 Ready-to-Wear

DvF // Fall 2008. Love the gloves with this one…

So there you have it. Flappers, we thank you!

Look du jour:

Christian Dior Spring 2009 Couture

Dior // Spring 2009 Couture (more on this later - I LOVE it to pieces!)

~ r

Mod - style from London in the 50’s and 60’s, US 60’s - was great while it lasted. Then we moved on, never looking back.

Or not.

In the late 70’s there was a “mod revival” : you saw people once again whizzing around on Vespas, their short hair not really blowing in the wind (though their fake eyelashes might be), their bright colours stopping traffic.

Let’s take a look at THEN, LATER THEN, and NOW, shall we?

THEN: 1950’s & 1960’s

Love this minidress - next time I’m thrifting, that’s one of my goals.

Streets like this in the 60’s - particularly the iconic Carnaby Street - were where the mod revolution truly began. Little boutiques with new designers popped up left and right, with nightclubs like The Scene, The Flamingo, and the Marquee squished between them. Amp was The Drug; however, it wasn’t made illegal in the UK until 1964. It was viewed as a positive stimulant rather than a dibilating drug like pot or heroin; young mods used it was a way to go clubbing all hours of the night. One newspaper reported “mobs of mods emerging from the club at 5 a.m. with dilated pupils.” Just to give you an idea of the lifestyle.

Celebrities and icons of the time, easy: Warhol, Edie Sedgwick, and (drumroll please!) Twiggy.

Edie, Warhol’s muse, became famous for her style as well as being incorporated into W’s work.

Love the leotard + pearl necklaces, add that to my “Looks to Try” list…

Twiggy: everybody’s favourite supermodel in the 60s. Make that the only supermodel in the 60s. But that doesn’t make her any less amazing. She is the one who singlehandedly brought about a new kind of model: lean, long, and lithe. And sticklike. And, of course, breathtakingly gorgeous.

Twiggy

Then, in 1979, it was back in full swing (ha ha… Swingin’ 60’s? Eh? Eh? *sigh*. Anyway…)

60’s od & punk rock bands were The Big Thing. There were tons of random little UK or UK-esque bands that would pop up, have their 15 minutes of fame, then sink back down into oblivion. Or, in the case of The Jam or Purple Heats (the code for amp, back in the day), they’d stick around for a while yet.

The Who’s Quadrophenia album-turned-film was very popular.