The Roaring Twenties, Round Two

It seems we must brace ourselves for an age of flapper dresses and mobster suits because we’re back to everyone’s favorite decade: The Roaring Twenties.

Moving forward with each year comes with looking back. As we re-enter the ‘20s, it is crucial to remember the century of Fitzgerald, Chanel, women’s suffrage, Babe Ruth, Henry Ford, and how a little party never killed nobody. 

August 18th, 1920 ended almost a century of protests by granting women the right to vote. Women in the twenties finally had a voice and they were the foundation of today’s female empowerment. Going into the 2020 elections, it’s important that their hard work is upheld in the ballots. If your right to vote isn’t enough of a reason to party, how about the fact that you’re reading this article in pants? Sounds bizarre and off-topic, but ladies, your ability to read this in your sweatpants right now all started with the 1920s designs of Coco Chanel. Coco Chanel made boyish style for women popular, fashionable, and acceptable. She loved strutting around in her boyfriend’s suits so much that she figured all women should do the same; she created ever-so-sexy trousers and overalls for women. These trousers went from being an item for sports and activities to simply the fashionable choice for women, which are still loved and adored today.

In addition to allowing women to flaunt their stuff in “menswear”, Coco Chanel also made showing off some skin more appropriate and even desired. Instead of the upper class being associated with pale skin, the summer bronze we all currently crave was also brought to life by Queen Chanel as she showed that a tan went hand in hand with sunny pursuits such as cruises and sandy vacations. Saving the best for last, the LBD (little black dress) every woman craves to own wouldn’t be known without the woman we are now so grateful for: Ms. Chanel. The beloved LBD was born in a 1926 illustration designed by Coco Chanel in American Vogue, originally called the “Ford” dress as it went hand in hand with Ford’s new black car. Before Coco, black was associated with mourning, but it’s now a color of simple elegance that can be worn on the daily. 

It’s not just the ladies in the house whose lives were changed because of the ‘20s. Major League Baseball, science, business, music, and mass media were all transformed by the uproar of this jazzy decade.

The world was alive in the 1920s just like it is now. We look back at the 1920s and think of Babe Ruth’s unbeatable hitting power, but there’s little doubt in my mind that basketball isn’t being similarly transformed in the 2020s with the performance of Lebron James. The 1920s are remembered by its consumer culture and desired must-haves, but how about us with our never-ending ability to Amazon everything in two days? Perhaps 1920s mass production king Henry Ford has reincarnated as our Jeff Bezos. Need I mention the parallels between mass media in the 1920s and its current domination of our 20s today? In 1920, breaking news found a new medium when the first commercially licensed radio showcased live results of the presidential election. Everyone HAD to have a radio to be in touch with the world.  Now? Everyone feels that they HAVE to have that brand new iPhone, along with every social media app to be in touch with our world. The medium in which media is being streamed may have changed within the century considering we now wake up to the President’s tweets; however, mass media’s birth in the 1920s continues to dominate in present day.

The 1920s shaped America and continues to do so a century later, so as we re-enter the time of jazz and dance, let’s also remember the following:

“A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous” –Coco Chanel.

 “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is a process, and working together is a success” –Henry Ford. 

“You just can’t beat the person who never gives up” –Babe Ruth. 

“If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience” –Woodrow Wilson.

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not people or things” –Albert Einstein.

“You are the finest, loveliest, tenderest, and most beautiful person I have ever known- and even that is an understatement” –F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Be Happy,

Johnnie (:

By Johnnie Mitchell

Arizona Wildcat, daily runner, and dreamer of being taller than five feet.