We only wish we could have experienced the thrash of fringe on the dance floor and the new freedom women found in flapper fashion that mainstreamed in the roaring twenties. It was the first time that fashion actually allowed for women to really move, the better to throw it down at the jazz club, knocking knees doing the Charleston or foxtrottting to glitzy Cole Porter tunes. It was also a period of extreme decadence between World Wars, one documented by Cecil Beaton, satirized by Evelyn Waugh, and portrayed by Hollywood’s gauzy celluloid film. As the third season of Downton Abbey (premiering this Sunday) leads into this era, and as we prepare for Baz Luhrmann’s treatment of The Great Gatsby later this spring, we’ve indulged our senses by collecting all that is art deco, fringed, or slinky, for you to kick off your weekend early. One thing’s for sure, there’s nothing innocent about these images.
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A woman wearing a chain necklace attached to bracelets.
Photo: Elisa Lazo de Valdez/Corbis
Portugese actress Maria de Medeiros and Uma Thurman on the set of the film Henry & June, directed by Philip Kaufman.
Photo: Etienne George/Sygma/...Portugese actress Maria de Medeiros and Uma Thurman on the set of the film Henry & June, directed by Philip Kaufman.
Photo: Etienne George/Sygma/Corbis
Couturier Jacques Fath takes the party out on his lawn, accompanied with Gene Tierney, dressed as a flapper.
Photo: Bettmann/Corbis
Bee Jackson, the World Champion of the 1920s dance craze the Charleston.
Photo: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis
Louise Brooks. Photo: Bettmann/Corbis
An artistic rendering of a flapper girl. Photo: Garreau Designs/Corbis
An old advertisement featuring a woman with soap flakes.
Photo: Blue Lantern Studio/Corbis
Dancing at a cabaret. Photo: Julio Donoso/Sygma/Corbis
Model Claudia Dell poses semi-nude in nothing but feathers and fringed silk.
Photo: Corbis
Art Deco cultured pearl and diamond platinum set clip brooch by Chaumet.
Photo: Christie’s Images/Corbis
Germaine, a twenties model, wears a turban and pearl necklace.
Photo: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis
Backstage at Christian Dior's fall 2009 runway show. Photo: Delphine Achard/Corbis
Josephine Baker once graced the Moulin Rouge stage with her famous banana dance, which is still performed by solo dancers today.
Photo: Julio Donoso/...Josephine Baker once graced the Moulin Rouge stage with her famous banana dance, which is still performed by solo dancers today.
Photo: Julio Donoso/Sygma/Corbis
A photographic montage of the Charleston.
Photo: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis
A woman wearing a fringed dress.
Photo: Elisa Lazo de Valdez/Corbis
Actress Nancy Carroll reclines fashionably in silk fringe. Photo: John Springer Collection//Corbis
