The roaring 20’s. A time of great change, parties, and flappers. That’s what I think about when I think of the 1920’s. This time period was a renaissance of some sorts after WW1, and it was a time of great social, political, and financial change. It was a time of industrialization with so many products starting to be released in bulk, and this age was starting to get more technological with the automobiles. Jazz being way more popularized with the era, and that’s the music you’d hear at any club or cabaret. The first wave of feminism was introduced during the Roaring 20s, where women dressed and acted however they wanted to. Their shirts got shorter, dropped the sleeves, started smoking, and adopted a new hairstyle for their figure. Racism was still big, and it was so big that Harlem, a neighborhood in New York, was one of the biggest areas for African Americans to be themselves and produce art how they wanted to. Harlem is still a very big part of African American culture, but all of this came to an end with the stock market crash of 1929.
When looking at pictures of the 1920s, I see people in these flashy outfits partying. That’s about it. I see men in suits and ties, however they wear a polo over their button ups and ties for a different style. Not too different from typical menswear from prior years, but the womenswear is what really changed. When they’re not wearing a hat, women have their hair shown short and somewhat curly, and the dresses they wear expose their backs a little bit, showing just how much more confident they are in their appearances. Hell, they appear really happy in these pictures too, so they really took the look and owned it. They wore shorter heels with their legs showing as well. Typically, it was a little under knee high, but in some dresses you’d be able to see their thighs a little if their skirt was shorter.
The way they dressed wasn’t the only thing that showed up in these pictures. The 1920s made sure to capture just how important the automobile was when it was being manufactured. Because of industrialization, cars were being created way more often and were being made to be affordable so more people could get them and would get them. Because of this, the streets in the pictures seem to be flooded with cars, and I even saw a picture of a little strip with a family saying “everyone owns a car but us”, trying to add fuel to the fire with how important the automobile was for this era.
I saw pictures of jazz bands especially. Many men and women danced around the band members playing on their brass instruments, and I especially saw a picture of Louis Armstrong, who was a very important figure in jazz. Very talented trumpet player and vocalist, and he left a very important mark for African American musicians during this era and after. Seeing all of these pictures, I’m not very surprised by what I saw. The 1920s were mostly known for its industrialization, “jazz, cabarets, liquor”, and mighty stock crash. It was a very fun time period, but sadly all great things gotta come to an end for the next big thing.
