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The origins of the term “flapper” are a bit uncertain; it may have come from a term for a teenage girl or it may have arisen from “flap,” a term for prostitutes which was used as early as 1631. It was used as slang for a young prostitute as well as for a lively teenage girl by the 1890s. In 1903 in England, the non-slang usage appeared in print in England. It had other meanings, including a young acrobatic female performer, a dancer who flapped her arms while doing the Charleston, and a young woman who was not yet wearing long dresses with her hair up.

Source: (HistoryCollection.com/colorized).

The popularity of the term continued to spread, and in November 1910, A.E. James started a series of stories called “Her Majesty the Flapper” for the London Magazine. The stories were about a pretty fifteen-year-old. A few years later, it came to refer to any immature, impulsive woman. Interestingly, in the early 1920s, teenage girls wore unbuckled galoshes to show they defied convention, which led to a false etymology arising from the idea that their shoes flapped when they walked; others claimed it arose from the way that young women left their overcoat unbuttoned.

World War I And The Spanish Flu Helped To Give Rise To The Flappers

Source: (fashiongonerogue.com/colorized).

After World War One, the term changed once again, when, according to an article in the Times, it applied to “independent, pleasure-seeking, khaki-crazy young women.” There are a number of reasons for the rise in what came to be called flapper culture. World War I ended in 1918, leaving many young men dead, and concurrently, the Spanish flu pandemic struck, in 1918, killing 20-40 million people. As a result, many young people recognized that life is fleeting and wanted to enjoy their life and freedom. Political changes during this time also influenced the rise of flapper culture. Women won the right to vote in 1920, and they were trying to reach the goals of feminism, including individuality, full political participation, and economic independence. Consumerism was on the rise, and it promoted the ideals of “fulfillment and freedom,” and the rise of the automobile meant that women could travel as they pleased, including to speakeasies. They had more work opportunities and were able to take more traditionally male jobs. With the economic boom, people had more time for leisure activities which required clothing suited for activities like golf and tennis; the flapper’s clothing allowed for the movement required of these activities. The rise of the flapper was also in reaction to other forces. There was a reaction against the temperance movement and contempt for Prohibition as well as a disdain for authority.

The Gibson Girl Was A Precursor To The Flapper

Olive Thomas in the film, The Flapper. Source: (IMDb).

The flapper also had roots in the Gibson girl, which was created by Charles Dana Gibson in the 1890s. The Gibson girl was what was called at the time, the “new woman.” She was, for the first time, able to focus on fulfilling her own dreams, and she exemplified intelligence. In terms of fashion, the Gibson girl wore long, flared skirts and dresses with high necks and close-fitting sleeves. They still wore corsets, but this was gradually changing. Her hair was long, often swept up in a mass of curls. The image was of someone capable and independent while maintaining her elegance and beauty.

The Flapper Style

Louise Brooks, one of the flapper icons. Source: (MDb/colorized).

The flappers were easily identified by their style, which arose from French fashions, in particular those of Coco Chanel. In French, the style was called garçonne in French, a term that means “boy” but with a feminine suffix. The dresses created a boyish silhouette in the early days, as the appearance most closely associated with the flappers really emerged in 1926. Their dresses were straight and loose, with bare arms. The hemlines rose to right below the knee, and they wore garters to hold up silk stockings. They also started wearing high heels during this time. They cut their hair short, and wore hats, with the newsboy cap and cloche being two of the most popular.

Part Of The Look Came From France In The 1890s

Alice Joyce in 1926). Source: (Wikipedia/colorized).

Another part of the look was pioneered by a French actress, Polaire, in the 1890s. Her hair was short and disheveled, and she had an emphatic mouth, lies that were heavily lined with kohl, and heavy makeup. Having a tan also became fashionable as it was connected to a life of leisure. Eventually, older women toned down the look, but adopted elements: they stopped wearing corsets, started wearing shorter hemlines, and embraced shorter hairstyles.

Flapper Behavior

Source: (Tumblr/colorized).

The flappers were typically daughters of the middle class, but they flouted the values of that class and came to represent a new moral order. They ignored their chaperones, danced suggestively, and flirted. They asked boys out and showed up at their homes. Their rejection of traditional standards even evolved into dances like the Charleston which were shocking at the time.

They also participated in “petting parties,” and they started to break from the traditional notions of courtship leading to eventual marriage as they spent more time unsupervised.

They used specific slang as well. For example, “I have to see a man about a dog” meant the speaker was going to buy whiskey, while a “manacle” was an engagement ring. They also invented terms like “hush money.” There were even glossaries published to help people understand their slang.

Not Everyone Appreciated The Flappers

Violet Romer, c. 1915. Source: (Wikipedia/colorized).

Of course, there was pushback against flappers. Flappers posed a challenge to traditional Victorian gender roles as well as to the older values of plain living, hard work, and religion. They were deemed too boyish to be marriageable, and their short dresses and short hair took attention away from feminine curves and blurred gender roles. Dorothy Parker made fun of the fad, and according to a Harvard psychologist, flappers had “the lowest degree of intelligence.” Some banks started to regulate female employees’ dress. In one bank the code, which was quite stringent arose when a mother in New Jersey was upset that her son would only do business with a particular young female employee. The use of a strict dress code soon spread to the Federal Reserve.