Fashion Nerds
The timeline
Full path
  1. The timeline
  2. 1920s

The 1920s

Flapper, sportswear, robe de style

Evening dress, Edward Molyneux, 1926–27
Edward Molyneux · 1926–27

Movement reshaped dress, from the loosened evening silhouette to practical knitted separates. Wide-skirted alternatives show how much variety existed beside the familiar flapper image.

Key styles

Evening dress, Edward Molyneux, 1926–27

Flapper

Dropped waist · Straight silhouette · Shorter skirts

Day ensemble, Chanel, c. 1928

Sportswear

Easy movement · Knitted fabrics · Coordinated separates

Defining work of the 1920s

Selected examples dated to this decade.

Designers active in the 1920s

Evening dress, House of Chanel, 1925

Coco Chanel

1925

Made simple silhouettes, jersey and coordinated sportswear central to a modern luxury wardrobe.

Evening dress, House of Patou, 1928–30

Jean Patou

1928–30

Helped establish sporty elegance through jersey separates, tennis clothes and shorter daytime and evening skirts.

Roseraie, House of Lanvin, spring/summer 1923

Jeanne Lanvin

spring/summer 1923

Established the robe de style as a full-skirted alternative to the straight flapper dress.

Evening dress, Paul Poiret, ca. 1925

Paul Poiret

ca. 1925

Combined theatrical sleeves, rich color and specialist ornament within the decade’s increasingly columnar evening silhouette.

Evening dress, Edward Molyneux, 1926–27

Edward Molyneux

1926–27

Brought couture refinement to flapper dresses through vertical sequins and moving layers of georgette.

Embroidered coat, Sonia Delaunay, 1924

Sonia Delaunay

1924

Translated abstract color relationships and geometric pattern into embroidered coats and printed textiles.

"Delphos", Fortuny, ca. 1920

Mariano Fortuny

ca. 1920

Offered finely pleated Delphos gowns, developed with Henriette Nigrin Fortuny, alongside the decade’s changing silhouettes.

Evening dress, Callot Soeurs, 1925–26

Callot Soeurs

1925–26

Paired straight 1920s silhouettes with richly worked surfaces and luxurious silk.

The world behind
the wardrobe.

Fashion in the 1920s favored greater freedom of movement, with straight dresses, lower waistlines and shorter skirts becoming familiar features of women’s wardrobes. The flapper became its most recognizable figure, although hemlines and proportions changed throughout the decade. Sport also reshaped daily dress: jersey sweaters, cardigan ensembles and tennis clothes helped make informal clothing fashionable. Jeanne Lanvin’s robe de style offered a well-established alternative for evening, using a wide skirt beneath a low waist.

1920s

Sport and leisure

Tennis and other outdoor activities helped make practical clothes and knitted separates fashionable away from the playing field.

1923

The Charleston

The dance’s Broadway success helped associate mobile, low-waisted dresses with modern nightlife.

1925

Art Deco

The Paris decorative arts exposition provides context for geometric decoration across clothing, jewellery and interiors.

Browse all 27 designers

Designers active in this decade. Available garment examples may come from another period; their dates are labeled.

27 of 27 shown

READ FURTHER

FIT Fashion History Timeline: 1920–1929V&A: A history of sweatersV&A: Art Deco fashionThe Metropolitan Museum of Art: collection record
Back to The timeline