1920s Fashion

Treating 'the 1920s' as one period misses the fact that the decade has two distinct phases. Early 1920s pieces (1920–1923) still carry significant Edwardian inheritance — slightly longer hemlines, some waist definition, lingering bias-cut shoulder shapes. The cultural memory of the decade — the dropped waist, the knee-length hem, the deliberately androgynous flat chest — is really 1924–1929. The shift happens fast. A 1922 evening gown looks much more like a 1915 piece than like a 1925 piece.

1920s beaded gowns are mostly French and Belgian. The technique: a fine silk crepe or chiffon ground is stretched on a hand-frame; a worker (almost always a woman, typically working at home on a per-piece rate) hand-applies beads through the ground following a pattern. A fully beaded evening gown of about 1925 might carry 25,000–80,000 beads. The threading is single — there is no backup if a thread breaks. Once one breaks, the beads along that section unzip. The beads themselves vary in collectibility. The most prestigious are seed beads from Murano, near Venice, in graduated metallic finishes; Czech beads were also widely used and are slightly larger and less consistent. Plastic beads existed from about 1907 but were uncommon in serious 1920s couture before about 1928. A 1920s 'flapper dress' offered with plastic beads should be inspected carefully; either it is a less expensive piece, a later 1928–29 example, or a later reproduction. Fringe pieces — gowns with long beaded fringe at the hem — were a signature 1920s technique and are now particularly fragile. The fringe weight, combined with century-old thread, means that any movement of an original fringe piece is a small risk. Display only; never wear surviving fringe pieces.

Chanel had opened at 31 rue Cambon in 1918 and by 1925 was dominant in Paris with jersey day-dresses and the little black dress (introduced 1926). Vionnet had reopened in 1918 after the war and was perfecting bias-cut construction at 50 avenue Montaigne. Lanvin (founded 1909) was producing distinctive embroidered 'robe-de-style' dresses with full skirts. Patou was emerging as a sportswear specialist. Schiaparelli arrived in Paris in 1922 and opened her own label in 1927 with the famous trompe-l'oeil bow sweater. Madame Grès (then known as Alix Barton) was beginning her career as a sculptor turned couturière.