2. The second decade of the twentieth
century saw the birth and success of a
new kind of woman more free and
independent, devoted to her work and
interested in the care of her own image.
During the First World War they had to
replace the man in work activities.
3. The most- obvious
transformation within
the women of the 1920’s
consisted of their lack of
dependence on a man.
They worked for
absolute financial
independence, giving
them the ability to
stand equal.
4. This new figure takes hold and modifies all the aspects of
female life, totally changing the behavior and habits of
Italian women.
Women's magazines reported these costume
changes expanding the space dedicated
to the new Italian woman who acquired
the right to leave the house, had already
“the habit of going alone in the street,
the need to hurry to go to work, to take quickly a tram, in
a hurry to get on a bicycle, to slip fast into the elevator, to
toddle in the halls of work between machines” and then
“to simplify all the bulky elements of clothing, reducing it
to the essential”.
5. In the mid-twenties the woman
moves to the conquest of a
new self-image and a
greater freedom of
movement. The clothing is
marked to give an
impression of dynamism.
After 1925, the skirts are
getting shorter the knee:
worn with confidence, they
become the symbol of the
aspiration to independence.
1927
6. In Paris, Gabrielle Chanel,
known as Coco, which for
years has proposed the use of
men's sweaters for women,
launches a stir with the
garçonne’s fashion: loose and
linear clothes, short skirts
starting at the hips, swaying
mid-calf, little pronounced
waist, suitable for thin and
young women.
Coco Chanel
7. The great practicality of this type of clothing
leads to the worldwide spread of this
model, which suggests the idea of a lively
and carefree adolescence.
8. Unfortunately in Italy fascism
forbade to take example from
fashion out of the country.
In 1931 the Fascist government
issued a series of guidelines for
periodical publications. The
women's magazines are
recommended to present a
healthy image of women in the
drawings and photographs they
published and delete images of
figures too lean and masculine.
The prohibitions
9. In 1932 was formed the
autonomous body for the
permanent exhibition of
Fashion in Turin. The
Authority had the task of
organizing the clothing
sector and ensure that
the production takes
place entirely in Italy.
10. The clutch, strictly small, must be worn over
the shoulder with a thin chain, or by hand as
if it were a little jewel.
The bicolour shoe, like Coco Chanel decided
since the 20's, with the ankle strap, which is
typical of those years.
The jewels: in the '20s we dare with the fake,
the deliberately fake. Pearls, stones or semi-
precious stones with perfectly geometric shapes
to adorn the neck and arms, a multi-strand
necklace for example.
The hat is of course a fine and small cloche,
that frames the face, in perfect style of the era.
11. The make-up of the '20s is
extremely simple, the only
peculiarity is that it requires a
perfectly smooth skin like a
porcelain. The women of that
period did not get tanned like
we currently do, and they had a
clear and delicate skin.
The perfume? Strictly Chanel no.
5, born precisely in the '20s.
12. The eyes require a make-
up rather dark in shades
from gray to dark black,
accented with a touch of
pencil; the lips have a
fiery red color, a touch of
blush on the cheeks.
Hairstyle: garçonne's jet
black and perfectly
smooth bob, flat waves
stopped laterally with
hairpins.
