1920s : Fashions of a Roaring Decade

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c. 1922, Hand-painted brown satin, with hand-painted golden heel by Stead and Simpson.

The 1920s produced the most exciting shoes of the 20th century, with a tremendous variety of cut, colour and ornamentation. During this period, fashion changed rapidly and shoemaking had to follow closely, producing a legion of styles. Most shoes were high-heeled, and some included tongues, such as this example. The prevalence of influences from East Asia in the early 1920s can be seen in the hand-painted bird, clearly inspired by Chinese motifs.

vam.ac.uk

 

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c. 1925. Hand-sewn and hand-embroidered silk and satin, by Natalia Goncharova (1881-1962).

This sleeveless, mid-calf evening coat is straight cut, with a centre front opening and no means of fastening. It has a narrow band collar. The coat is made of silver grey silk lined with blue satin. A design of random patchwork appliqué in shades of blue, silver and gold and green is stitched from shoulder to hem at the sides and along the bottom. The patchwork is overstitched. Natalia Goncharova designed it in 1925 for the Maison Myrbor (House of Myrbor) in Paris.

Natalia Goncharova (1881-1962) had a long career with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. She produced astonishing costumes that were inspired by her Russian background and her work with avant-garde artists. Like many Russian refugees in Paris, she also designed dresses. These strongly reflected her work for Diaghilev. Between 1922 and 1926 she worked for the Maison Myrbor. This exclusive shop was owned by the Italian Marie Cuttoli. It sold fashion, rugs and curtains designed by the international avant-garde.

vam.ac.uk

 

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c. 1923, Hand-sewn and hand-embroidered silk and velvet, by Natalia Goncharova.

This mid-calf evening dress is made of multi-coloured silk and velvet appliqué on red silk. Natalia Goncharova designed it for the Maison Myrbor (House of Myrbor) in Paris about 1923. The dress is sleeveless and has a square, straight shape with a wide, round neckline. The shoulders are slightly rushed and there are slits on both sides of the dress from the hip level down. The appliqués are embroidered with metallic thread. The neck and armholes are bound with lamé.

vam.ac.uk

 

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c. 1920-1922, Hand-sewn satin, by an unknown artist.

This sleeveless evening dress is made of white satin. The bodice is straight cut and fastens on the left side and back with hooks and eyes and snap fasteners. The waistline is in the natural place. The neckline is round, dipping to a 'V' at the back. The skirt is ankle length, straight at the front and wrapping round to the centre back, where it is cut into two hanging panels and draped up under a bow at the waist. The bodice is lined with matching silk.

Night life became the focus for the exuberance of the years after the First World War. It gave birth to the most glamorous evening fashions of the 20th century. Evening dresses of the early 1920s were sleeveless, long and feminine. They were gathered on the hip or the back.

vam.ac.uk

 

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c. 1922, Garbardine lined with satin, unknown artist.

This women’s ski outfit was made in Great Britain in the early 1920s. During that decade skiing became a highly fashionable society sport and its growing popularity was accompanied by new equipment and clothing.

This outfit shows how women’s ski wear had progressed. Gone are the long skirts which dragged behind in the snow. Gone too are the corsets and knitted sweaters which let in the cold. This streamlined gabardine suit with its breeches cut below the knee is a much more practical alternative.

Its design was inspired by the uniforms worn by the British Land Girls during the First World War. Known as the Women's Land Army, they were agricultural workers who substituted for the men who had enlisted. Rural labour required practical clothing so land-workers wore belted tunics with deep pockets and knee breeches. Soon ski outfits based on this design began to appear in fashionable resorts. The respectability of war work had helped break down social taboos surrounding women exposing their legs and wearing breeches.

vam.ac.uk

 

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c. 1924-1926, Hand-sewn velvet, silk chiffon and ostrich feathers, hand-embroidered with sequins and beads, by Itylus.

This low-slung black velvet coat has a deep, draped collar and long sleeves. It fastens with one self button below the left hip and is secured inside with black satin ties. The back of the coat and the elbow area of the sleeves have applied embroidered motifs inspired by Chinese designs. It is embroidered in deep pink sequins and a variety of red beads on black chiffon. The bold design consists of swirling floral forms with elongated petals. It has a collar of ostrich feathers dyed deep blue-black with a magenta cluster at the front right. The coat is lined throughout with black satin. It was made between 1924 and 1926 by the English couture house 'Itylus'.

Paul Poiret had popularised evening coats before the First World War. During the 1920s they followed the different shapes of fashion. By 1925 they had become shorter and were more practical. They nevertheless still reflected the vogue for exoticism that began in the early 1920s. This evening coat combines the shape and cut of Western fashion with intricate and luxurious pink metallic embroideries, which were loosely based on Chinese motifs. Designed to reflect light and rhythm, evening fashion of the 1920s made a tremendous use of metallic embroideries and feathers.

vam.ac.uk

 

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c. 1925, muslin hand-embroidered with beads and sequins. Hand sewn, artist unknown, France.

This short and sleeveless dancing dress is made of beaded muslin. The motifs recall ancient Roman mosaics. It was made in 1925, probably in Paris. It has a straight and square bodice, with a deep V-shape opening on the front and back. The bodice and skirt are united by a triangular motif of beading. The skirt flares at waist level. The bodice is beaded with bugle beads in tones of white, gold and blue, recreating ancient mosaic motifs. The skirt is beaded with blue bugle beads.

By 1925 evening dresses were designed to reflect the frenzy of the newly discovered charleston and jazz dancing. Short and square gowns were often embroidered with sequins, pearls or metallic threads, to achieve the maximum effect of brilliance and to accentuate the movement of the dance.

vam.ac.uk

 

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c. 1925, Machine-sewn chiffon and hand embroidery, artist unknown.

This short day dress of pink embroidered chiffon has a straight, square shape, a wide, round neckline and short sleeves. The long bodice ends at hip level and the skirt of the dress is slightly gathered at the hips. Stylised flowers are embroidered on the front of the bodice and on the skirt, in tones of green, white and light blue. There is a small white chiffon collar with white embroidery at the neckline.

Stylised Russian embroidery in Western fashion was popular during the first half of the 1920s as a post-war substitute for elegant fabrics. Many Russian refugees who had learned embroidery as children ended up working for major couture houses in Paris.

vam.ac.uk

 

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c. 1925, beaded silk, artist unknown.

This short sleeveless dancing dress made of beaded black silk has the fashionable square shape of the mid-1920s. The neckline is round at the front and has V-cut opening at the back. The dress is completely covered with vertical rows of glass beads, in shades of green, blue and white. A horizontal row of beads at the hips emphasises the low waisted style of the first half of the 1920s.

Short and square gowns were often embroidered with sequins, pearls or metallic threads to achieve the maximum effect of brilliance and to accentuate the movement of the newly developed jazz dances, such as the Charleston. This particular dancing dress displays the typical geometrical motifs of the Art Deco period.

vam.ac.uk

 

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c. 1926, Angora wool and corded silk ribbon, by Ruth for Calimala.

This daywear ensemble consists of a jacket and a short, sleeveless dress. It was designed by Ruth Lodge, for Calimala, and made up by Coralie in England, in 1926.

The jacket is cardigan-like, hip-length and is made of bright yellow angora wool. It has long sleeves which flare out from the shoulders down. The collar is tubular. The bottom of the sleeves show triangular motifs in tones of bright orange and rust. The jacket fastens down the front with bright red buttons, sewn on a ribbon of rust-coloured corded silk. The jacket has two pockets on the front, edged with the same kind of ribbon.

The dress is short, sleeveless and made of bright yellow angora wool. It has a V-cut neckline which is outlined with a rust coloured band made of corded silk. It has the smallest cap sleeves. The waist is low, at hip-level, and has loops for a belt. The skirt of the dress is slightly gathered at waist and shows triangular motifs in tones of bright orange and rust.

vam.ac.uk

 

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c. 1926, Machine-sewn white and green linen, with mother-of-pearl buckle, artist unknown.

This tennis dress is made of white linen with hem stitching and green linen appliqué. It is square in shape, below the knee in length and sleeveless, with a round neckline. At hip level it is belted with a white linen belt and a white rectangular buckle made of mother-of-pearl. It has flat folds from the hip level down. There are green linen square insets at the neckline, hip level and on the skirt.

The wearer designed the dress and wore it for tennis. The donor said that she lengthened it in the later 1920s.

vam.ac.uk

 

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c. 1926, Black silk voile, with diamanté decoration, artist unknown.

The label in this little black dress simply reads 'Lord and Taylor'. This was the name of a prestigious department store on Fifth Avenue in New York. They imported Paris original haute couture (high fashion) and excellent copies of French models. They also sold unnamed ready-to-wear American designs. An illustration in the American edition of the fashion magazine Vogue' of 15 April 1926 identifies this dress. It was called 'Minuit Sonne' and designed by Drecoll. The dress is made of fine black silk voile and decorated with strass (a brilliant paste used for imitation stones). The diamanté butterfly bursting over the hips is a perfect example of the Art Deco style. The sleeveless design and low, scooped neck would have allowed the wearer to remain cool during even the most energetic dances of the 1920s. And as she danced, the drifting tunic top and the central drapery of the skirt would have flowed with her.

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c. 1929, Silk georgette, printed with a floral motif, hand and machine sewn, for the retailer, La Samaritaine.
This below-the-knee day dress made of printed silk chiffon is slightly gathered at a normal waistline on an elastic band. The skirt has a minutely pleated yoke that runs across the hips. There are two sets of fine pleats on the front of the skirt, which flares out slightly towards the knees. The printed pattern of waved bands of massed flower-heads is carefully disposed in all pieces of the dress. On the bodice, sleeves and skirt yoke the bands run diagonally, while on the skirt's bias-cut gores they run horizontally. The minute pin-tucks on the bodice, sleeves and skirt are hand sewn. This design is typical of the years following 1929, when flowing summer dresses in gossamer fabrics with floral prints were popular. Such delicate silks are extremely difficult to handle and sew, demanding a great deal of skill and patience.

vam.ac.uk

 

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c. 1922, Silk crepe with rose print; panels of black crepe de Chine; black rayon fringe at hem, by Zimmerman (Paris.)

kci.or.jp

 

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c. Spring/Summer 1923. Black silk muslin; red, green and blue bead and gold thread embroidery of Egyptian motif. By Jenny (Paris)

kci.or.jp

 

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c. 1925. Brown wool embroidered with yarn and silk thread all over; wave pattern in gradations of brown. By Sonia Delaunay.

kci.or.jp

 

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1920s. Black satin jacquard with gold and silver floral pattern; black velvet around collar and sleeves; wrapped buttons at cuffs. Unknown artist.

kci.or.jp

 

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c. 1926. Dress made of cream cotton using both openwork and machine. Machine part made using the Carrickmacross technique. High square neck and armholes bound in cream cotton. Open down front and fastened with five covered buttons and loops. Skirt gathered on 3.5 inch pleated frill of cream cotton.

manchestergalleries.org

 

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c. 1922. White silk crepe, printed in large prays of fruit and leaves in green, blue and orange. Hat: raffia.

Shallow neck. short sleeves. Lining of white silk. Open and fastening with press fastners at left waist. Skirt sewn to lining. Overskirt of two aprons, back and front, with pointed ends falling just below skirt. Broad band of short vertical tucks at each side hip, back and front. Belt of coloured raffia in leaf and fruit design.
Worn as a wedding guest in 1922.

manchestergalleries.org

 

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c. 1927. Silk, mother of pearl. Jumper : Black and white silk printed with mixed design of white rings on black ground and black circles on white ground. White silk collar. V-shaped neck. Two black bands down CF from shoulders turning along bottom to form double, loose belt at back with two mother-of-pearl buckles. Long sleeves with white silk cuff. black band down arm. Skirt : Black silk. Waist lengthened with added piece at top with elastic inserted.

manchestergalleries.org