The Roaring Twenties

Howdy - and after a long absence dedicated to decorating Christmas Trees, learning lines for plays, coming up with a few designs and wrapping up presents I spent too long choosing from a wide assortment of charity shop bits-and-bobs, I'm back! ...and hopefully I shall never disappear for so long again. Yes, this may prove to be the biggest bite-my-tongue moment of the last year, but I have honestly gone past caring. So, where am I now? Planning the new year ahead with a violent mix of apprehension and ambition to make it work. Wondering how long that will last and if, now I have set a target in place, I really will be vigilant and determined enough to write one hundred blog posts in a year, specifically next year.
In the mean time, feeling the post-Christmas winter blues while finishing a glorious christmas with leftover turkey, pottering about in a new nightgown reading books by Maugham and looking forward to tonight's finale of the BBC's Great Expectations (which honestly, fits in well with my mood) with the brilliant Douglas Booth, although I was not really paying attention to his acting and maybe he is a little 'pretty'. On that note, although Estella is supposed to be cold, is she not also supposed to be a little more... beautiful? Maybe this is simply personal opinion but she left me perplexed. It would have been alright if everyone hadn't been repeatedly saying how stunning she is. On the other hand, how can one not fail to be disappointed with this modern interpretation of Estella after seeing the timeless beauty of Valerie Hobson in the 1946 version of the story? Or indeed Jean Simmons as the younger Estella.

Apologising for that minor tangent, and returning to the question at present. How have I been looking at the world of Fashion and Style for the last few days. Well, I appear to have had a personal renaissance of interest in the 1920s. The upcoming 'The Great Gatsby ' film, set for release in almost exactly a year, starring Carey Mulligan and Leonardo DiCaprio, can only whet the appetite of the fashion world. The Spring/Summer 2012 collections were littered with 20s inspired threads. I might consider this a silent curse since the twenties waistline is not always one that flatters my shape, but I am optimistically looking forward to trying the trend.

Will this style forever be popping back? Highlighting an enduring admiration of the roaring twenties with its freewheeling, popular culture and exhuberant zest for change in society, for the young and rich at the very least.

This change, concurrent with a rejection of traditional moral standards, is apparent in much more than simply clothing. Take for example, the Weimar Republic period Artists, labelled as 'degenerate' by the Nazi regime using the sudden liberation of the 1920s to create a boom in the satirical and grotesque, with expressionism becoming a feature. Groups and Movements such as Bauhaus, New Objectivity and Plakatstil gained a place in Art History which they have never relinquished.

I would continue on this route of expression and sustained education of the masses (Hmph) but can really not be asked. I can only hope this has given you something to think about. What inspired the clothes as well as how stunning they are.

Do you recall back far enough to remember Ralph Lauren's gorgeous Spring 2012 pret-a-porter collection? Some of you (certainly not me) may even recall the year the 1974 film 'The Great Gatsby' came out, with Ralph Lauren contracted to provide clothing styles for the movie. Well, with the future release of the afore-mentioned Baz Luhrmann film, 'The Great Gatsby' Ralph Lauren seems to have revisited this aspect in the clothing.

 

The collection was filled with feathers, cloche hats and scarves galore.

Many different distinctive styles were used in contrast, from the masculinity and forms of suits teamed with hats and pearls, to the floaty and floral gowns swimming behind as the models glided down the runway. The collection was all very pastel coloured and summery with bolder evening gowns reminiscent of Old Age Hollywood Glamour contrasted with the easy elegance of the daywear.

So yes, although I did first glance at this collection towards the twenty-somethingth of September, I wished to come back to it now in line with my general mood.

Thank you for reading and sorry for not posting anything sooner. Comment. Follow if you like.