#FASHION WITH TESSA--GUEST AUTHOR ALICIA DEAN

Award-winning author Alicia Dean began wrote her first romance, featuring an Elvis Presley look-alike hero, at the age of eleven. She still has the tattered, pencil-written manuscript. Today she joins us to talk about the fashions of the 1920s. Learn more about Alicia and her books at her website. 

Fashion in the 1920’s – Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

Clothing in the 1920s, especially for women, brought about one of the most drastic fashion changes in history. With the new era of independence and freedom and change, women shucked the uncomfortable bindings of corsets and long dresses. Hemlines began to rise, and the restrictive clothing began to loosen. Dancing and going out on the town was a big part of socializing in the 1920s and to accommodate that way of life, women began to wear loose-fitting dresses with lower waist lines, which was especially comfortable for the popular dance of the time, The Charleston.

The cloche hat was quite popular.

In the Martini Club 4 series, all of our heroines, although from England, adopted the flapper wardrobe after arriving in New York City, with the exception of Meggie, from Kathy L Wheeler’s, Reckless. Meggie is a singer, who prefers the body hugging style of dress. But after all, what else should a sexy, siren songstress wear?

Men’s fashions changed quite a bit as well. Less often did you see the stuffy, buttoned-up look and drab-colored suits. Men adopted more colorful, rather unusual looks, much of it patterned after the style of popular athletes.

In Ruined, my hero, Vince, wears a newsboy cap and suspenders. I modeled him after Robert Redford and these are photos I used as inspiration:

Although I’m not much of a clotheshorse, I do love the gorgeous, fun dresses from the 1920s. (I’m satisfied to knock around in jeans. Or even sweat pants. But my very favorite go-to outfit is my comfy pajamas.) My heroine, Eliza, had an opportunity to attend elegant affairs in the story, which gave me the opportunity to dress her in all kinds of awesome outfits.

What about you? What do you think of the styles of the 1920s? Would you like it if we went back to wearing the flapper dresses, beads, and funky hats?

 

Ruined: Martini Club 4 Series—The 1920’s

She vowed she’d be no man’s doxy, but fate had other plans... 

After the Earl of Goodwin attempts to force himself on her, housemaid Eliza Gilbert flees England for New York, hoping to build a better life. But the land of opportunity proves as harsh as the London docks, and she finds herself in a situation more dreadful than the one she escaped. 

When Vince Taggart’s childhood friend disappears, he heads to New York in search of her and meets Eliza, a woman with a less than honorable reputation. Inexplicably captivated, Vince can’t force himself to stay away, especially when he learns Eliza may be the key to finding his missing friend. 

Buy Link

Ruined is one of the books in the Martini Club series, four themed novellas written by four different authors. All are currently on sale for 99 cents. Check out the other books in the series here.