A Flapping Revolution

Morgan Marant

Documentary

Process Paper

The first section should explain how you chose your topic.

The second section should explain how you conducted your research.

The third section should explain how you selected your presentation category and created your project.

The fourth section should explain how your project relates to the NHD theme.

The topic for my paper is the revolution of women’s fashion and rights in the 1920’s. I’ve always had a love for fashion and when I went looking for a topic, I knew that I wanted fashion to be apart of my project. The NHD topic for 2012 was Revolution, Reaction and Reform and there was a definite time period in American history where fashion was revolutionized; the 1920’s. Women began to revolt against their typical roles in society and they began cutting their hair and wearing make up. I also noticed that in correlation with that time period began a period of revolt by women for women’s rights. I began to compare the two revolts and I cam up with my own theory that they were very closely related and that women’s fashions inspired the women’s rights movement.

I then began to research information on my topic. I used the NY Times Archives for primary sources and searched for old interviews from fashion designers such as Coco Chanel. I also looked for some psychological research that had been done on how art can influence human actions and emotions. Once I gathered the lot of background information on my topic I began to write. I wrote a paper about my topic and scoured the Internet for more primary sources such as pictures, documents, diaries and interviews.

I knew that because I had an art component in my topic, I needed to have a visual. I decided to create a documentary because I could display the images and analyze them with a voice over. I also wanted to display many of the old interviews I found. My idea was to construct a series of street interviews of everyday people to get their opinion on how fashion affects their everyday life and decisions. I also interviewed a former Penn State English Professor on her view of women’s fashion and her analysis of that time period. After receiving all of those components, I compiled them into iMovie and created the final format for my documentary.

My topic relates to the NHD theme of Revolution, Reaction and Reform because in the 1920’s also known as the “Golden Age” because women revolutionized fashion. The general reaction from most men was that they didn’t agree with it. They felt that women were exposing to much of their skin. Towards the end of the 1920’s because of the waning economy fashion was reformed. More fashion was organized by sizes and sold by the bulk in stores many women stopped protesting because they gained their rights and in the end the modern woman was created.

Annotated Bibliography

Primary Sources

Behind the great array of psychological and sociological arguments against giving equality in qualifications for men and women votes lies in the basic arithmetical fact there are more women than men in Britain. It is easy to draw the conclusion that if Mr.Baldwin carries out his reported intention the women will be running the country… There have been suggestions from some Conservative quarters that the age limit for men and women should be made 25 years to avoid the consequences of giving votes to twenty-one-year-old 'flappers.

"CABINET TO CONSIDER 'VOTES FOR FLAPPERS' - Baldwin Government Expected to Introduce a Measure for Equality of Franchise. - Article - NYTimes.com." Editorial. The New York Times [New York, New York] 12 Apr. 1927. Editorials, Columns, Op-Ed, Letters, Opinionator and More Opinion - The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 Apr. 1927. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D14FE3A5D17738DDDAB0994DC405B878EF1D3>.

This made fashion accessible to all, and Coco Chanel was one of the originator's of attainable women's fashion. "Fashion is always of the time in which you live. It is not something standing alone. But the grand problem, the most important problem, is to rejuvenate women. To make women look young. Then their outlook changes. They feel more joyous." (“Coco Chanel Quotes”) Coco Chanel, believed that fashion had a decent effect on how women viewed themselves.

"Coco Chanel Quotes - BrainyQuote." Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote. Web. 19 Dec. 2011. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/coco_chanel.html>.

Zelda Fitzgerald, another influential woman of the 1920's was married to F. Scott Fitzgerald. Her husband referred to her as "the first American flapper." (“Collected Writings”) "Born in 1900 in Montgomery, Alabama, she entered a world that was just starting to consider the possibility that women might have the right to be independent citizens capable of making their own decisions." (“Collected Writings”) Zelda lived to find her own identity outside the place of a housewife or mother. That search for her identity in truth became her demise.

Collected Writings, Zelda Fitzgerald, Author, Matthew Bruccoli, Editor, Little, Brown & Co., 1992

Cox, Caroline, "Vintage jewelry design: classics to collect and wear," Lark Crafts, 2010, p. 55

In August 24th of 1923, an article published in the New York Times was titled “Flappers Resent Move For Regulation Dress”, the article discussed teenage girls in Somerset, Pennsylvania who protested against the Parent Teacher Association at their school. The association wanted the school to have uniforms because they felt that the girls were dressing very inappropriately. The article showed the beginnings of the suffrage movement, these girls felt it unfair that their rights were being taken away so they protested. Many of them were dressed as most flappers in the 1920’s. The girls sat outside their school and verbalized their feelings by reciting a rhyme. “I can show my shoulders, I can show my knees; I’m a free-born American, And can show what I please”

"FLAPPERS RESENT MOVE FOR REGULATION DRESS - Storm Meeting of Somerset (Pa.) Parents and Teachers and De- Liver Ultimatum in Rhyme. - Article - NYTimes.com." Editorials, Columns, Op-Ed, Letters, Opinionator and More Opinion - The New York Times. New York Times, 25 Aug. 1923. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70F11FD3D5D15738DDDAC0A94D0405B838EF1D3>.

They stated that they were natural citizens entitled to their right to the pursuit of happiness and their style of dress is what made them happy. Flappers had become a worldwide phenomenon, in London the move to allow women to vote was highly considered because many men did not want flappers to vote.

Harrison, Marguerite E. "TURKISH FLAPPERS FIND THEIR NEW FREEDOM ENTRANCING - Having Discarded Veils, They Do Away With Ancient Restraints And Achieve Modern Customs at a Bound NEW FLAPPERS IN TURKEY - Article - NYTimes.com." Editorial. The New York Times [New York, New York]. Editorials, Columns, Op-Ed, Letters, Opinionator and More Opinion - The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Dec. 1925. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70F1FF9345C17738DDDA90A94DA415B858EF1D3>.

That search for her identity in truth became her demise. Being married to a famous author did not help her and Zelda looked for ways to stand out instead of being cast inside the shadow of her husband's success. She used the arts as a way to express herself publicly. Zelda was an icon and literally one of the first female celebrities in the U.S. at that time. (Willett 1) She set trends and was at the forefront of the flapper movement. Zelda Fitzgerald is now viewed as a prominent woman in the feminist movement

"HOLDS 'FLAPPERS' FAIL AS PARENTS - Daughter of Fitzgerald, Aged 12, Criticizes Heroines of 'This Side of Paradise.' - Article - NYTimes.com." Editorial. The New York Times [New York, New York]. Editorials, Columns, Op-Ed, Letters, Opinionator and More Opinion - The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Sept. 1933. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10E17F63E5B137A93CAA81782D85F478385F9>.

Liberal Women Embracing 20's Fashion. Digital image. Flysongbird. Blogger, 11 May 2011. Web. 16 Dec. 2011. <http://flysongbird.blogspot.com/2011/05/women-and-fashion-in-1920.html>.

"Women's Suffrage: The View of Cartoonists." UMKC School of Law. Web. 19 Dec. 2011. <http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/anthony/cartoons.html>.

"VIENNA BARS NEGRO DANCER - Council Forbids Theatre to Permit Josephine Baker's Appearance. - Article - NYTimes.com." Editorial. The New York Times.Editorials, Columns, Op-Ed, Letters, Opinionator and More Opinion - The New York Times. New York Times, 04 Feb. 1928. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50912F73B59127A93C6A91789D85F4C8285F9>.

Secondary Sources

Davis, Fred. "Do Clothes Speak? What Makes Them Fashion?" Fashion, Culture and Identity. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago, 1992. Google Books. Web. 7 Jan. 2012. <http://books.google.com/books?hl=en>.

"Fashion Forward: The History of 20th Century Women's Clothing." Random History and Word Origins for the Curious Mind. 2 May 2007. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. <http://www.randomhistory.com/1-50/003clothing.html>.

"Flapper - A Trendy Young Woman of the 1920's." The 1920's - Roaring Twenties - The Nineteen Twenties in History. Web. 8 Dec. 2011. <http://www.1920-30.com/fashion/flapper.html>

Hurlock, Elizabeth B. "What Is Fashion?" The Psychology of Dress: An Analysis of Fashion and Its Motive. Ayer, 1929. Google Books. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. <http://books.google.com/books?hl=en>.

Johnson, Russell L. "Flappers: Overview." Australian & New Zealand American Studies Association. Web. 3 Jan. 2012. <http://www.anzasa.arts.usyd.edu.au/ahas/flappers_overview.html>.

Pascoe, Christine. "Flappers and Fashion." Rambova Dot Com. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. <http://www.rambova.com/fashion/fash4.html>.

Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Flappers in the Roaring Twenties -- Page 3." 20th Century History. Web. 9 Jan. 2012. <http://history1900s.about.com/od/1920s/a/flappers_3.htm>.

Warner, Michael. "1920's Piece." The Hair Archives. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://www.hairarchives.com/private/1920s.htm>.

Weber, Caroline. "Nancy Cunard: A Troubled Heiress with an Ideological Mission - The New York Times." NY Times Advertisement. The New York Times, 30 Mar. 2007. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/29/arts/29iht-IDSIDE31.1.5071488.html?pagewanted=all>.

Willett, Erika. "The Sensible Thing: Biographies." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. PBS Online. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/kteh/amstorytellers/bios.html>.