20's Accessories
When folks sidled up to the green door of the speakeasy, password in hand, they didn't know what they would find below. Sure, they were at the place that sold the giggle water but who would be waiting in the smokey bar below? Could that be jazz legend, Duke Ellington, nodding along to the music in the corner? Or maybe they'd run into a famous gangster boss. Al Capone could have been found in Speakeasies all over the country from New York City to Galena, Illinois. You never knew what was going to happen in the roaring twenties! Maybe that's what makes this era so much fun to revisit. That, and the glamour, of course!
Do you have your twenties costume picked out? Are you dressing up as a flapper? How much fun is that! If you're wearing the sparkles and fringe of a flapper, accessories are the perfect way to flush out your character.
Bring your simple black dress to the next level with a feather boa, black silky gloves, thigh-high tights with garters, and a long beaded necklace and you'll have the look of a sophisticated silver screen star! Or maybe you want the look of a country girl, that's in the big city for the first time. You know the type. She's never heard jazz music and a friend convinces her to cut her long hair into a bob before she visits a speakeasy for the first time. That kind of flapper will need a wavy bobbed wig, fake eyelashes (for a doe-eyed look), a cloche hat, and a pair of flapper shoes. She'll get her pearls after she makes a killing at her first job!
Of course, there's more to the 20s costume than the elegant flapper costume. Let's spend a little time accessorizing the typical 20's gangster costume. Tough and dapper at the same time, this will always be a favorite for men and women alike. A gangster costume can be completed with an oversized fake cigar, spats for your shoes, and a little pencil mustache to boot. Of course, if you go around carrying a violin case, you'll really achieve that classic bank robber vibe.
Costume options from the 1920s are endless. There are real characters like Bonnie and Clyde and fictional characters, like the murderesses from the hit musical Chicago and the one and only Great Gatsby. If you know who you want to be, flushing out your character is all in the details. Consider gloves, for an instant. Partying flappers might wear long, silky gloves for a night out but if you're headed to afternoon tea, then short white gloves would be the thing. And while a gangster would wear a fedora, a pencil chewing journalist would probably wear a newsboy cap.
If you're heading to a Halloween party or 20s themed event and you're not sure you really know who you want to be, flush out your character by choosing your accessories before you choose your costume. Try it, it's almost as fun as having dessert before dinner. Just choose wisely because as you know, the dazzle's in the details!
