Roaring Twenties: 25 Follies of the 20s

“From Chaos a star is born. »

- Charlie Chaplin

On November 11, 1918, the armistice ended the First World War. In France and around the world, the next 10 years are going to be completely crazy.

Do you have vague memories of your history and geography lessons in 5th B and want to remember why the 1920s were nicknamed the Roaring Twenties?

Welcome to Louise Vintage, specialists in retro style and the 20s, it's as if I was born there!

Okay, so you want concrete examples of madness?

Read on!

Why are the 1920s called the Roaring Twenties?

The Roaring Twenties designate one of the most vibrant and effervescent periods in French history and coincides with the 1920s . It begins shortly after the French began to think about their wounds from the Great War. And ends on Thursday October 24, 1929 with the stock market crash, the economic crisis and the start of the Great Depression.

In 1918 the conflict ended and during the post-war period, a new wind of carelessness swept France and the World. There are numerous technological advances, the economy is booming, art is reinventing itself, women are liberating themselves and leading a cultural and social revolution. Paris is becoming a world capital of parties and entertainment .

The 1920s and economic reconstruction

Following the industrial revolution, and the arrival of mass production , new products and services were offered to the population: automobiles, oil, aircraft, irons and many others became popular. Economic growth is particularly sustained. Radio , which appeared, became the first mass media and would catalyze new music and dance.

1920 Culture broths

Culturally, the 1920s are extremely rich. Jazz and Louis Armstrong conquer the world. Many new dances are arriving such as Tango or Charleston . Joséphine Backer is all the rage in Parisian cabarets. Charlie Chaplin is a silent film superstar. Surrealist painters and poets are at the top of their art. Finally, Art Deco is a global architecture-decoration movement.

The flapper decade

Women are major players in the revival of the 1920s . Their forced independence during the war became desired. They work, they smoke, they go out. Actresses, revue leaders and even the muses of the great artists of the time are at the head of this change. For women, fashion is completely changing and the “boyish” look is establishing itself beyond our borders. The corset of the Belle Epoque has been put away and made way for costumes and clothes that allow you to be more comfortable and, above all, to be able to dance!

It’s the time of Joséphine Baker, Mistinguett, Coco Chanel, and even Kiki de Montparnasse. The 20s remain a glamorous era, women are no less sexy!

Up there on the hill

If “the Roaring Twenties” is a French term, many Western countries are experiencing a similar era. It is true that Paris experienced a very high concentration of international artists during the 1920s. Thus, in the cafés of Montparnasse , American writers, artists and philanthropists from the Lost Generation who left Prohibition and the rise of racism in the United States meet, such as Joséphine Baker, Hemingway, Man Ray, Peggy Gunggenheim, Francis Scott Fitzgerald... and European artists like Picasso, Modigliani or André Breton. It’s also the time for cabaret and balls.

The 1920s well deserve their name of Roaring Twenties !

25 Crazy Facts from the Roaring Twenties.

Well, I have to admit that I didn't live in the 1920s, but still, it looked pretty cool! While doing some research I came across the delicious anecdotes below. So I made you a little Top 25 of the craziest things that happened during the Roaring Twenties. Enjoy!

#1 – The accidental discovery of antibiotics.

During the summer of 1928, Alexandre Fleming was in a hurry to go on vacation. On his return to his laboratory at St Mary's Hospital in London. He notices that he had forgotten to clean some Petri dishes containing bacteria he was studying. An unwashed box has been contaminated by mold and he immediately notices that this mold has destroyed the bacteria. He named the substance Penicillin. However, 10 years later, it would take the help of other scientists to extract penicillin and be able to administer it to humans.

#2 – The first female President of the USA

You read correctly !

Edith Wilson was the first lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921. Her husband Woodrow suffered a stroke during a tour of the country in October 1919 which paralyzed him and weakened him psychologically. During the last 18 months of Wilson's term, his wife effectively assumed her husband's responsibilities. She then controls access to the President and makes decisions for him. Edith wore the pants! It was the French ambassador who realized the situation and reported to his superiors that “Mrs. President” was leading the country.

#3 – The Ku Klux Klan has 4 million supporters

This figure is hardly believable, but in 1925, 4 million Americans claimed membership in the racist clan. In fact, there were almost a million people who joined the clan which was banned in 1928.

#4 – Man Ray Responds to Ingres

In 1808, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres painted "La Grande Baigneuse", a woman from behind naked to the buttocks. When Ingres was not painting, his passion was the violin. So much so that the expression Ingres violin became popular to designate a hobby.

In 1924, Man Ray was the author of one of the most famous surrealist photographs in photography. In addition to its aesthetic, Man Ray chose the title Le Violon d'Ingres . Adding the soundholes of a violin to the photo is Man Ray's way of indicating that if Ingres' passion was the violin when he was not painting, Man Ray's passion was Kiki de Montparnasse, his muse in the photo! Isn't that beautiful?

#5 – A $260 car!

Yes 260 Dollars! This is the price in 1925 of the Ford Model T car . Sign of popularization of cars.

#6 – Tarzan Never Loses

Johnny Weissmuller has had an incredible career! He was first a swimmer and member of the American national water polo team and would play Tarzan in the 1930s. As for his sporting career, he won 5 Gold medals as a swimmer at the 1924 and 1928 Olympic Games as well. as a bronze medal in water polo in 1924. The most impressive thing on his Wikipedia page is the little line which indicates that he never lost a single race in competition until his retirement from sports!

#7 – Prohibition – Drinking was never forbidden.

The 18th Amendment to the American Constitution came into force in January 1920 and proclaimed Prohibition which would last until 1933. On the other hand, this amendment never prohibited the drinking of alcohol. It only restricted the manufacture and resale of all alcohol above 0.5 degrees. Some men's clubs had stocked up for years between the vote and the amendment taking effect.

#8 – Lost Generation… in a garage in Belley in Ain.

The Lost Generation (or Lost Generation) is a group of American writers and artists expatriated to Paris during the Roaring Twenties. The most prominent members are Hemingway, Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein. Hemingway popularized this expression in 1926 with the publication of his highly successful novel The Sun Also Rises . He attributes the name to Gertrude Stein who, when she was having her Ford repaired in a garage in Belley in Ain, heard the mechanic complain: "That's what you are... That's what you are all… You, all the young people who served in the war… You are a lost generation.”

#9 – Americans love the “Crazy Years”

The United States is also experiencing a flourishing period and its influence on this period of history is particularly strong. The major difference with France is undoubtedly that the 1920s were a period of prohibition, and immediately the party was less crazy... The 1920s in the United States are called the Roaring Twenties . A possible translation would be the roaring years, in reference to the sound of car engines flooding the streets. If Americans are super proud of the nickname given to this period, they love the “Crazy Years” or “Mad Years”, word for word translations of our crazy years!

#10 – Brands founded in the 1920s

Do you like geometric shapes? I let you appreciate the Art Deco style and certain logos and above all I let you recognize them all. (Trap warning: some were founded slightly after or before the Roaring Twenties!)

#11 – The highest paid artist in Europe

In 1927, Joséphine Baker was the highest-earning artist in Europe. Women and men combined!

#12 – The Little Black Dress

At the beginning of the 1920s, many women mourned their husbands who never returned from the war wearing black clothes. In 1926, Mademoiselle Coco Chanel was inspired to create one of the fashion icons: The Little Black Dress. This iconic model will make haute couture great for years to come. What woman hasn't had a little black dress in her wardrobe since then?

#13 – Olympic medalist at age 72

In 1920, the Summer Olympic Games were organized in Belgium in Antwerp. For the first time, the Olympic flag with the 5 rings appears. We will especially remember that during these games, a Swede named Oscar Swahn , then aged 72, won his sixth Olympic medal, this time with his son Alfred a silver medal during the team double shot running deer shooting event. .

#14 – The Lindy Hop

If many dances appeared during the 1920s, this is the case of Lindy Hop. This dance was specially invented to celebrate the performance of Charles Lindbergh who on May 21, 1927, made the first solo aerial crossing of the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Paris aboard his monoplane the Spirit of Saint Louis . Nowadays, Lindy is one of the most popular vintage retro dances and many clubs exist!

#15 – 60 albums!

This is the number of productions by Louis Armstrong , recorded between 1925 and 1928.

#16 – Americans vote

On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the American Constitution granted women the right to vote by removing the limitation linked to sex.

#17 – The electric hot and cold air shower

This is the name of the first manual hair dryer invented in 1926 by a Calor engineer!

#18 – Life is beautiful

In 1920, HA ans RI egel created a confectionery factory in Germany, near BO nn. Legend says that his capital consisted of a bag of sugar, a marble slab, a stool, an oven, a copper cauldron and a scroll. The little dancing bears were the first confectionery to achieve enormous success in 1922.

#19 – Cap or not cap?

In January 1919, the aviator Jules Védrines achieved the feat of landing his plane on the roof of the Galleries Lafayette, boulevard Haussmann in Paris! 10 years after their opening, the Galleries had imagined a commercial operation by launching this challenge to the aviators of the time by promising them a huge reward of 25,000 francs. Vedrines accomplished this feat and was fined 16 francs for flying over Paris without authorization.

#20 – Misstinguett’s Sex Toy

Mistinguett was one of the biggest Music Hall stars of the 1920s. She met Maurice Chevallier when they shared the stage at the Folies-Bergère with the number “La Valse renversante”. In 1946, she sold an unusual object to one of her admirers: her Sex Toy! It is a 33 cm long piece carved from beech wood, which bears the singer's signature as well as the date of birth of her lover at the time.

#21 – Rich Al Capone

Al Capone is one of the most famous godfathers of the American mafia. He operated during the 1920s in Chicago and New York mainly by illegally reselling alcohol during times of prohibition in the United States. In 1925, the income of the famous mafia reached 60 million dollars of the time, or approximately 700 million dollars of our time.

#22 – Speakeasies Marketing

Speakeasy is the name given to American speakeasies during prohibition in the 1920s. Legend has it that there were up to 100,000 speakeasies in New York City in the 1920s. The problem of marketing then arises since It was obviously very difficult to advertise at the risk of alerting the authorities. During this period, the owners competed in ingenuity and one solution very often adopted was to paint the doors of these establishments green. Two of Chicago's best-known Speakeasies, still open 100 years later, have retained their green doors .

#23 – The Dresses Were Not That Short

The 1920s were a turning point in the history of women's fashion. One of the clothing revolutions very often put forward is that dresses and skirts are getting shorter and this is true. On the other hand, don't think that these dresses have become mini!

#24 – The pixie cut yes but with long hair!

Short hair is another myth of the representation of women's fashion of the time. While many women cut their hair, another practice was to make it visually shorter by pinching it to create notches .

#25 – The Garçonne look is exported

In the United States, the Garçonne look is called “Flapper” in reference to women's clothing that has become baggier. Fashion from the 1920s was a hit and there were many creations of Charleston dresses. We also find the names “Modern Girl” or “New Girl” in other countries. The phenomenon is global and we find photos of flappers as far away as Japan! More than clothes, women from all over the world in the 1920s above all shared their desire for emancipation.

#BONUS – Vintage 20s Dresses are 15% off!

We are reaching the end of this little list and I hope that through this little information, I have shared with you a little of my passion for vintage style and more particularly for fashion from the 1920s. I realize in writing these lines how many completely crazy things could have been added to my article! Do not hesitate to quote them in comments if you want to share them.

One last madness that I wanted to share with you is the -15% discount offered on all vintage 1920s dresses - Charleston dresses and Gatsby dresses to all those who followed this article to the end! Hurry this reduction is only valid for the next 100 orders using the code ANNEESFOLLES in the store. You will have a great retro look!

Don’t hesitate to browse in our space dedicated to large sizes !

Louise