THAT 1920S LOOK

In the early post-war years, the admired female image was one of modest femininity. Fashion advertisements used the descriptive terms ‘dainty’, ‘pretty’, ‘becoming’, ‘charming’ and ‘picturesque’, and traditional, wholesome names for garment models, like Gwen, Lydia and Laura. Yet a simpler, uncluttered, more contemporary look was emerging: from c.1922-23 onwards the silhouette narrowed, growing more linear and the waistline dropped, further obscuring female contours. Flatter, straighter dresses also offered scope for introducing modern, artistic art deco motifs and innovative textile designs of the era included peasant-style embroideries and exotic appliqué-work to stylised floral or geometricallypatterned cotton prints.