“The parties were bigger, the pace was faster, the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the morals were looser, and the liquor was cheaper.”

– F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone’s been having a wonderful year so far. To be honest, I’ve been so excited for 2020, every new year brings a sense of new beginnings and hopes for the rest of the year. This year marks my 20th year in interior design and also marks the start of a new decade, the TWENTIES! I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited about this particular fact. The 1920s has definitely gone down in history as one of the most infamous decades. So, let’s go back and take a look at some of the reasons why.

The Architecture

You can definitely see a change between 1920s architecture and the architecture used in previous decades. After World War 1, the world wanted to see change. The 1920s brought new technologies, construction, and building techniques and people used this as a way to change the world around them. Tapping into their creative side, architects used a completely different style to express themselves, styles that were brought on by art deco and modernism. Being able to change the world in this way created a boom in the architectural and engineering industry. New elements and technologies were brought to the table, such as stainless steel and reinforced concrete. With this, architects and engineers were able to create magnificently tall buildings, never before seen. Skyscrapers truly showed the world the sky’s the limit.

The Fashion

The roaring 20s also brought great innovation into the world of fashion. People were enthralled by the art deco and modernist designs seen in architecture and paralleled their fashion sense with elements used in these architectural designs. You can see this significant shift, particularly in the way women dressed. As women gained more independence and freedom, they were able to be more creative and modern in the ways they dressed, no longer being confined to the wardrobe used in previous decades. Women traded in their corsets for looser articles of clothing to get that sense of freedom. Wearing shorter dresses and a mixture of different colors aligning with art deco geometry.

If you like what you read, make sure to come back next week to read my next blog post! I post every Sunday! Until then… cheers ol’ sport!