The 1920s was time of change. There were social, economic, cultural and even dramatic fashion changes occurring. The fashion changes can be attributed to the World War I. During the war, while the men fought across the seas, the girls aggressively entered the workforce. After the war ended, women avoided returning to the society’s standard roles and rules.   Young women decided that they were going to enjoy life, so the term “flapper”, used to describe young women, was born. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald describes the ideal flapper as “lovely, expensive, and about nineteen.” Flappers embraced everything that was in style and modern. They wore shorter skirts, bold make-up, had short sleek hair, and smoked and drank publicly.
However, their shorter skirts came just an inch above the knee because the idea was to subtly show off skin. Clothes were trimmed down and lightened in order to make movement, like dancing easier for women. Cloche hats were worn by many young women that had short hair because it was such a close fitting hat.   A lot of inspiration for the fashion world came from CoCo Chanel. Her look, “the garconne”, also known as the little boy became quite popular with young women of that era.
A Flapper was not just an appearance but a way of living as well. A Flapper’s behavior challenged women’s traditional roles in society. In act of defiant against the Prohibition, women went to many speakeasies, where alcohol was sold illegally. Smoking publicly became the norm for many young women, and even sniffing cocaine was not an exception. Before the war, women were required to wait until asked on a date, but after the war, the concept of dating freely went into effect. Women rode bicycles and drove their own cars, and took work outside the home.   They also campaigned for women’s rights, like voting.