When the first flappers were in fashion, they weren’t all that flamboyant, with skirts that barely reached their ankles; they were modestly dressed with simple, sensible blouses and dresses that did not oversize their shoulders or their curves.
And here comes a flapper in one of her earliest days – it’s just a little bit of her, I might add (sorry about the lack of cleavage – it just makes the picture a little better!);
They are very common in Victorian London.
As is the famous ‘Cameo’ picture (which features a flapper dress)
A lady walking down the street
And a young, fashionable boy
A ‘cameo’, as they were called
And yes, that was in 1890!
But the fact these are a bit of a rarity doesn’t mean they didn’t become fashionable and glamorous in later years – not that they were ever ‘out and about’ or anything.
A ‘Flapper Dress’ at the beginning of the 19th century
One of my favourite examples from that time was from 1856 (which features three women of all ages in a simple, yet elegant and fashionable gown; some of the dresses are so simple you might forget they are in fact dresses!)
But you can see the flapper dress in action…
They weren’t just dresses; they were dresses worn by flappers too!
One lady walking down the street wearing one of these simple dresses of her own
(Note the pleated skirt and long, long (literally) neckline; the bodice (which has also been worn by the ‘little women’ of many a Victorian Victorian day; there was often a ‘corset’ at hand) is quite high and gives us, for lack of a better expression, a hint of a ‘curvy’ shape!)
They often had very short sleeves – the way the collar tends to curl below the hand – and could get quite large…
It is the same in a ‘corset’, if that kind of thing makes you feel a bit claustrophobic…
There are many other examples, all of them from Victorian times, and all from the same era.
The women in the pictures above are walking down the street with simple dresses, just like our friend, the one above!
I guess my final image will be my favourite portrait of a flapper, from