1920s MENS FASHION
I think you all people are very curious to know about what was the real fashion of 1920. What type of clothes men used to wear in 1920’s era? If you don’t know, let us tell you that in 1914 the First World War started and the recession came. But after it came to an end in 1918, society’s condition started to speed up.
The spirit of the Roaring Twenties, with its jazz, flappers, and bright economic boom, has forever transformed the world. Chief among the foundations of that lively decade was fashion, a radical departure from the more conventional styles of previous years. Men’s fashion in the 1920s embodied a new outlook on freedom and self-expression while still incorporating the particularity of the glamorous touch. This vast exploration of 1920s menswear investigates its feature elements, and application in the present, and responds to intricate questions from experts and novice fans.
Fundamentals of 1920s Mens Fashion
Silhouette of the Modern Man
In the 1920s, men created a new standard for physical beauty. The muscular and athletic figure of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was replaced by a streamlined silhouette. The suits of clothes lost their heavy structure and became more fitted: instead of a wide box-like jacket, the garment became more slender; the trousers also went higher in the waist and became narrower, allowing the observer to look at the person’s elegant legs.
Fabrics and Textures
It was the years of trying various textures and materials. Wool, tweed, and flannel fabrics were constantly worn in everyday clothing. It was warm, comfortable, and highly tenacious. For formal occasions or everyday suits when a man did not need to work with his hands, silk, satin, and later rayon, which was an artificial type of silk, were essential. Velvets for evening and smoking jackets, and cashmere for sweaters, introduced a whiff of indulgence and comfort into menswear.
Rise of Ready-to-Wear
Another noticeable phenomenon that became more widespread in the 1920s was ready-to-wear clothing. The period under consideration was marked by the growing influence of department stores that could make clothes in various sizes and even styles so men would not have to rely on a tailor. Thus, ready-to-wear fashion broadened the domestic market and allowed more people to buy clothing of better quality and with fashion in mind.
Dressing Like a Gentleman of the 1920s
Everyday Attire
Men’s everyday wear included a three-piece suit or just a jacket and trousers in various shades of neutral colors, from beige to brown. The shirts were usually white and had removable collars, and the ties became much narrower. The classic headpiece to complete the ensemble is the felt Fedora, which has evolved into something of an icon for a man about town, made famous by Hollywood legends and mobsters.
Evening and Formal Wear
The 1920s brought significant changes for the tuxedo as well. The overestimated double-breasted tux was reduced to the single-breasted equivalent with peak lapels. While the waistcoat had turned into the cummerbund, other novelties such as a black or midnight blue dinner jacket also became the occasional piece of clothing while heavy, with a white or black silk scarf.
Sporty Styles
The growth of recreational time necessitated a new type of sportswear. Golfers, tennis players, and rowers sported more practical and comfortable attire. Knickerbockers or plus-fours, teamed with knee-length socks, were de rigueur. During the winter, a sports coat, frequently in Harris Tweed, was the ideal outdoor garment.
People had enough money to spend on their entertainment, fashion, and household items after the First World War came to an end in 1918.
In 1920s, it was a totally different decade from the past ones not only in the case of society but also in terms of fashion. 1920s style is the year when infamous gangsters like Al Capone rise as well as the rise of nightclubs, and speakeasies take place.
The roaring twenties dress style helped to give shape to those fashion clothes that exist today and the roaring mens fashion of the 1920s was a legendary and endless style.
The rich family women chose cocktail dresses, flapper dresses, and shorter skirts. The flapper dresses first became popular in European fashion. And the noblemen still chose to wear tails or suits but with some several no table changes in them. For an educated young man suits jackets and matching ties were still trending.
If we talk about fabrics, so there has been a slight difference from the past decades. Still, preferences were given to natural fabrics like wool, cotton, silk, and linen but rayon fabric also made its place.
Also, at that time new textile production techniques were introduced and they focused on medium-weight clothes instead of heavy-weight clothes. With the help of new textile production techniques, a huge variety of softer textures and knits were introduced.
Great Gatsby 1920s Mens Fashion
To achieve a great Gatsby 1920s mens fashion look, then you have to consider some things. To get the best results of a great Gatsby look, the dress outfit was the quintessential outfit. A three-piece suit in lighter colors like light blue, gray, or medium brown was very famous and these suits were off four to six buttons.
Patterns like cross-hatching, checks, plaids, and window panes were popular at that time. Another great choice to get a great Gatsby look is tweeds. The pants worn in the 1920s were creased front pants. In 1920s men’s fashion, belts were not in trend, instead of belts people chose suspenders.
If we talk about shirts, the shirts were French cuff shirts that were worn with cuff links. The shirts with rounded or pointed collars were in fashion. And the white color collars were in fashion with solid color shirts.
In the 1920s, you would hardly see a man without a hat. Hats were very popular at that time. In Great Gatsby, hats like fedoras, derbys, bowlers, and newsboys hats were popular.
When it comes to ties, the bowties and neckties both were in trend. If we talk about tie patterns, popular patterns were polka dots, Paisley, diagonal stripes, and deco patterns.
1920s Fashion Men Casual
In1920’s Fashion Men casual dresses also became popular. And men chose sportswear and leisure clothes. As men’s wear became less regimented, they jumped on more comfortable clothes.
In casual dresses, you had many options at that time like wide or oxford bags pants, sweaters, caps, workwear pants, jumpers, and a number of different accessories. People used these items to express themselves and also sportswear became popular among both upper and middle class people.
If we talk about more casual men’s fashion from the 1920s outfits, these included knitted pullovers, cardigans, and ankle socks. These were very trendy at that time and men jumped to button-down dress shirts that had detachable collars also they started giving preference to bow ties and, hats like fedoras.
Roaring 20’s 1920s Mens Fashion Gatsby
The roaring 20s was a good time for both noble and working-class people as they got the chance to experience fun, prosperity, and individual freedom. People also witnessed the rise of consumerism. It was the time when men and women started highlighting the fashion style changes.
Many people consider that today’s seasonal fashion cycle was started because of the roaring 20s. In the Roaring 20s time, people had no need to wear the same clothes for many years.
Because they had a huge variety of styles, shapes, patterns, and colors than before they had. Also, because of this people were able to change their fashion according to the latest trend.
If we talk about the period 1910’s, most sturdy and durable clothes were worn by the working class people so that their clothes last for a long time. And some people choose a clean-cut look.
By the start of the period of men’s 1920s fashion, people noticed that the styles had become more relaxed than before they were. Also, more and more manufacturers chose soft fabrics and made slightly loose-fit clothes from the Boardwalk empire.
Also, at that time formal clothes were functional and they became popular as these were elegant, diverse, and glitzy.
1920s Mens Fashion Gangster
Let us tell you, the 1920s mens fashion was inspired by the rise of gangsters. The gangs like a street gang from Birmingham, England, and the notorious peaky blinders made flat caps and three-piece suits trendy and iconic fashion styles to influence others.
In the previous decades, the shoulder pads and stiffs were fit but with time these were replaced with tailored suits with cuffed pants and form-fitting suit jackets whose shoulders were made gently sloped.
A three-piece suit was not only the gangster suits-inspired look but also the accessories that they carry. If you want to get inspired, then look at the peaky blinders photos, you will get a clear idea.
Gangster-style fashion includes a Tommy gun, two-toned shoes, and fedora gangster costume hats.
FORMAL 1920s Mens Fashion
If we talk about 1920s formal fashion, formal outwear was either single or double-breasted. In the old times, the preference was given to the bulky fur linings that were used in the wool and tweed coats. But if we talk about formal luxurious garments, the preference was given to the simple silk lining.
You will see in the photos of the 1920’s, that the formal wear of men includes black tailcoats, ties, white gloves, spats, top hats, and pocket squares. Or you can say tuxedos were very popular in the 1920s as men’s formal wear.
1920’s MEN’s FASHION HATS
When we talk about 1920 men’s headwear, then it was quite interesting because at that time almost every man wore them. Since the Edwardian era, the changes in hat styles hadn’t seen much and people in 1920 still chose to wear top hats sometimes. Also, people used to wear bowlers’ hats, and of course, it was more likely to happen in England than in the US.
In the 1920s, the fedora hat gained popularity. At that time, people wore fedora caps as a casual style but today if anyone is wearing a fedora hat, people will consider him as he is formally dressed. In fedora caps, the snap brim was used because its felt was soft.
And also it was not starched and stiff. It was a very Crushable and floppier material and it had creases which you can adjust according to you.
You can still find fedoras nowadays but the fedora hats of 1920’s had higher crowns and shorter or narrower brims. If we talk about hatbands, they were usually very wide and it was worn by people of the regular working class on an everyday basis.
When you look at the photographs of fedora hats of 1920, you will see that all the fedora hats are a little bit different from each other because the individual shape was given by a man. It was not factory-made, you simply purchased it and wore it. It is made up by you according to the particular style of your own.
Other than fedora hats, the other casual famous cap was the flat cap. Peaky blinders used to wear flat caps which were made up of 8 pieces but not all the flat caps were made up of 8 pieces. The most liked and popular flat cap was the pancake-shaped one-piece flat cap and this cap was a bit wider than the other flat caps.
It was available in different materials like cotton, linen, wool, and tweed and also came up with different patterns such as Prince of Wales check, houndstooth, and Donegal tweeds, and many more.
1920’s Men’s fashion peaky blinders
Peaky Blinders television series is a very popular series and it inspired many people for 1920’s and 30’s menswear. Take a look at Peaky Blinders leader “Thomas Shelby” iconic look.
Throughout their entire history, street gangs have found ways to distinguish themselves from friends and foes without actually showing their criminal motives to the government authorities. One of the ways was their subtle variations in clothing.
The historical Peaky Blinders was a famous gangster from Birmingham, England and he was active from the late 1880s to the 1910s.
Peaky Blinders was famous for its unique style, important brass buttons on the jackets, expensive ties, bell bottoms, and the amazing peaked caps from which he had got his name Peaky Blinders.
By the middle of the mens fashion 1920s people started to wear loose suits that were tailored, made their legs look longer, and also compressed the waist. Inverted v silhouette suits became popular for most of the 20th century.
