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Elegance After Dark
Evening Wear in Louisiana, 1896-1996
The Jazz Age, 1920-1930
The style shifts that preceded World War I accelerated after 1920. The
nation's youth embraced jazz, the music of New Orleans, along with new dances
such as the Charleston. Sleeveless dresses, scooped necklines and knee-length
hems represented a departure from chaste Victorian mores. In 1923 the
"Women's Own Page" of the Shreveport Times offered suggestions for a
fashionable new gown, beginning with a "wondrous fabric of gold gauze
chiffon brocaded with scarlet velvet poppies." The cloth would suit a
"simple slip-on chemise frock...bound in scarlet taffeta, and....worn
over a slip of gold charmeuse." Even Carnival queens wore flapper style
gowns. By 1931, one New Orleanian would complain, "Bare legs have lost
their novelty."
The Changing Twenties
The twenties' silhouette was a variation of the elongated tubular form
introduced in the previous decade. The waistline was lowered to the hip.
Hemlines gradually rose and reached the knee by 1924. Within three years they
began to descend again. Some fullness was achieved with flairs, flounces and
pleats. Sleeveless dresses were deemed appropriate for evening wear only.
During the 1920s, haute couture took on the structure it has today. Paris
design houses developed two collections a year, one for the spring and one for
the autumn social seasons. Each designer presented prototypes on models in his
or her salon. Garments selected by clients would then be copied and made to
order. This entailed several fittings and work by many seamstresses and
apprentices. The simple shapes of this period were easily adapted to
standardized sizes. This, along with the introduction of electronically
powered sewing machines in factories, led to mass production and distribution
of new clothing styles. Consumerism in the United States was revolutionized
and the number of fashion magazines escalated, providing immediate information
on fashion trends.
Section
4- Hollywood Goes to War
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