Dance:
The dance that epitomizes the 1920's is the Charleston. The Charleston was introduced to the public in the Ziegfield Follies. The overwhelming popularity of the Charleston inspired choreographers and dance teachers to fabricate and promote several new fad dances to a public hungry for novelty. A new style of Blues Dancing also developed to fit the disreputable atmosphere of the speakeasy.
Fashion:
Unlike the victorian age, the 20's brought in different morals, such as shorter dresses and more make up. Women even won the right to vote, changing their roles in society. Immortalized in movies and magazine covers, young women’s fashion of the 1920s was both a trend and a social statement, a breaking-off from the rigid Victorian way of life. These young, rebellious, middle-class women, labeled ‘flappers’ by older generations, did away with the corset and donned slinky knee-length dresses, which exposed their legs and arms. Skirts are as short as ever; waist-lines at top of hips; sleeves long, except in tennis frocks; necks V, square or bateau.
The hairstyle of the decade was a chin-length bob, of which there were several popular variations.
Prohibition:
In 1920, the manufacture , sale, import and export of alcohol was prohibited by the 18th amendment in an attempt to alleviate various social problems. It was enacted through the Volstead Act, supported greatly by churches and leagues. America's continued desire for alcohol under prohibition led to the rise of organized crime as typified by Chicago's Al Capone, smuggling and gangster associations all over the U.S. This brought the rise of the SPEAKEASY. They commonly operated with connections to organized crime and liquor smuggling. While police and agents raided such establishments and arrested many of the small figures and smugglers, they rarely managed to get the big bosses; the business of running speakeasies was so lucrative that such establishments continued to flourish throughout the nation. In major cities, speakeasies could often be elaborate, offering food, live bands, and floor shows. They were hidden from the public and often required passwords in order to enter. Police were notoriously bribed by speakeasy operators to either leave them alone or at least give them advance notice of any planned raid. It is during this era that bathtub gin was invented and becamea predominant drink. Many variations were created by miing cheap grain alchol with water and flavorings and other agents, such as juniper berry juice and glycerin. Contrary to popular belief, the spirit was not made in a bathtub. Rather, because the preferred sort of bottle was too tall to be topped off with water from a sink, they were filled from a bathtub tap. Many other cocktails owe their life to bathtub gin, as they were also created in order to mask the awful taste.
