FLAPPERS
The flapper defined a new era for women and their freedom. Women began wearing more provocative clothing, staying out late, driving cars, smoking, drinking and having careers. Many believe the flapper was a result of WWl. Many men died at war, and woman felt the need to be flashier to get their attention. Low cut, short dresses, makeup, bobbed hair and quick, jerky dances gave them the attention they craved (Sauro). Although flappers were free and careless, they didn’t want to abandon the idea of marriage and motherhood. Flappers became mainstream in society during the decade. Advertisements for products like cars,cigars and mouthwash presented flappers to increase profit (Flynn). Celebrities also began exemplifying flapper personas (Mihailoff). The end of flappers came in 1929 when the stock market crashed. Women began returning to more conservative and traditionally feminine ways because of the great amount of poverty (Sauro). Flappers had a great impact on later generations of women and the way society viewed women. We can see their ideas and actions in our modern life; for example, nightlife, fashion and relationships.
Flappers doing the Charleston dance.
CONSUMERISM & ADVERTISING
Many people used a method of buying called Installment Buying, or Paying a small down payment and then putting in money monthly to use. This was a form of a credit card and was very useful because people were able to buy things and pay them off over time. Although this method was extremely helpful, it often got people in lots of trouble and caused people to go deep into debt which was very hard to get out of. Stocks were extremely popular at this time because the stock prices were increasing so much. Many people who invested in stocks got extremely wealthy from them and this increased the stock buying industry. In the 1920s, people started buying on margin, or buying things on credit. The buyer purchases a stock for as little as 10% of the entire stock. Then, they pay a monthly fee and as long as the stock price increased, the original buyer had no problem paying back the rest of the stock and making money that way. But this way of earning money was very tricky because if the stock price did not increase, or in some cases, even decreased, the buyer would still have to pay off the loan and they would lose a lot of money. (Lapsansky-Werner 216)