How to Dress Like a Flapper Without All the Fringe - Halloween Edition

Every year I have had the pleasure of having scads of clients on the hunt for the one and only iconic “Flapper Dress”. However, I have discovered that the original and authentic dresses that are still intact are rare and often only found locally in museums while the secondhand market with authentic ones can be priced up to a couple hundred if not a couple thousand dollars.

Here are two examples of authentic 1920's dress for your viewing pleasure:

Some of the most desirable flapper dresses would feature a silk or satin sheath dress cut right below the knee with fully tiered fringes made entirely of fabric or beads. A most notable example of a flapper dress is shown here worn by actress Joan Crawford during the early 1930’s. 

These are the types of dresses that every girl wants when recreating a flapper look - especially at Halloween. But, to truly be a flapper - you don’t have to wear all the fringe! 

Following are three vintage expert tips to help you locate proper hemlines and accessories that would be appropriate for recreating a flapper look. 

1. Hemlines should hit below the knee. They should never be cut up to barely covering your thighs. Shorter hemlines from the notorious flapper girls were a direct result of those “naughty girls” wearing cutting edge styles from what their mothers and grandmothers still wore. Their relatives were likely still wearing full and poofy Victorian dresses that went to the floor and surely never revealed even their ankles, let alone their calves. Look for hemlines with decorative accents as well, such as scallops and fan pleats, sequins or feather plumes and tiered (stacked) styles. Notice the bottoms of these dresses below for perfect examples. The bottom one is from designer Coco Chanel and features twisted ostrich plumes for the skirt and was made during the 1930's.

2. The Roaring 20’s and early 30’s offered luxury in textiles. Regardless of the Great Depression, textiles were lavish and extremely good quality. They often included lace, sequins, silks and satins and fur was all around. You can look for these types of fabrics when on the hunt for the right dress or jacket to pull together your look. Also, strappy shoes were a must. Any type of strappy pump will work well including slingbacks, t-straps, or single ankle straps. Here's a perfect example from the 1930's:

3. Wear a cloche (pronounced “klawsh”) hat or feather and rhinestone headband paired with very short bobbed or fingerwave hair style. Also, make sure to locate some long strands of pearls or several strands in varying lengths. Accessories played an important part in a flapper’s wardrobe from her head to hem. Since smoking cigarettes was very trendy at that time – especially to those rebels – you could check costume shops for a cigarette stick to carry along with a cigarette candy stick as well. By adding these small touches to your look you will flapper it up indefinitely. 

Make good use of these expert tips when looking to dress like a flapper for this Halloween. You can always draw a lot of inspiration from Pinterest and Google by searching terms such as “1920s Flappers” or “Art Deco Fashion”. I hope these tips help you in your search for all things flapper. Happy Halloween!