Ellen welles page 1920s biography

And the Victorian attitudes toward dress and etiquette created a strict moral climate. Then the s hit and things changed rapidly. The 19th Amendment passed in giving women the right to vote. Women began attending college.

Ellen welles page 1920s biography: Her appearance itself was

World War I was over and men wanted their jobs back. Prohibition was underway with the passing of the 18th Amendment in and speakeasies were plentiful if you knew where to look. Motion pictures got sound, color and talking sequences. Every day, more women got behind the wheels of cars. And prosperity abounded. All these factors—freedoms experienced from working outside the home, a push for equal rights, greater mobility, technological innovation and disposable income—exposed people to new places, ideas and ways of living.

Particularly for women, personal fulfillment and independence became priorities—a more modern, carefree spirit where anything seemed possible. The embodiment of that s free spirit was the flapper, who was viewed disdainfully by an older generation as wild, boisterous and disgraceful. It requires an enormous amount of cleverness and energy to keep going at the proper pace.

It requires self- knowledge and self-analysis. We must know our capabilities and limitations.

Ellen welles page 1920s biography: Page argues for understanding

We must be constantly on the alert. Attainment of flapper hood is a big and serious undertaking! And do you know who is largely responsible for all this energy's being spent in the wrong directions? You parents, and grandparents, and friends, and teachers, and preachers--all of you! Yet it is you who set the example there! But this is my point: Instead of helping us work out our problems with constructive, sympathetic thinking and acting, you have muddled them for us more hopelessly with destructive public condemnation and denunciation.

Think back to the time when you were struggling through the teens. Remember how spontaneous and deep were the joys, how serious and penetrating the sorrows. Most of us, under the present system of modern education, are further advanced and more thoroughly developed mentally, physically, and vocationally than were our parents at our age.

We hold the infinite possibilities of the myriads of new inventions within our grasp. We have learned to take for granted conveniences, and many luxuries, which not so many years ago were as yet undreamed of. We are in touch with the whole universe. We have a tremendous problem on our hands. You must help us. Give us confidence--not distrust.

Give us practical aid and advice--not criticism. Praise us when praise is merited. Be patient and understanding when we make mistakes. We are the Younger Generation. The war tore away our spiritual foundations and challenged our faith. We are struggling to regain our equilibrium. The times have made us older and more experienced than you were at our age.

It must be so with each succeeding generation if it is to ellen welles page 1920s biography pace with the rapidly advancing and mighty tide of civilization. Help us to put our knowledge to the best advantage. Work with us! That is the way! I might possibly be placed somewhere in the middle of the first class". Nothing is known about the interesting young woman who penned these words over one hundred ago, however her sincere explanation as to the nature of all matters flapper has survived and is at this time one of the most often downloaded flapper essays on the internet.

Her name was Ellen Welles Page and her three column rant was intended to serve as a diplomatic treaty between her era's hypocritical Victorian parents and their seemingly libertine daughters. I want to beg all you parents, and grandparents, and friends, and teachers, and preachers—you who constitute the "older generation"—to overlook our shortcomings, at least for the present, and to appreciate our virtues.

I wonder if it ever occurred to any of you that it required brains to become and remain a successful flapper? Indeed it does! It requires an enormous amount of cleverness and energy to keep going at the proper pace. It requires self-knowledge and self-analysis. We must know our capabilities and limitations. We must be constantly on the alert.

Attainment of flapperhood is a big and serious undertaking! And do you know who is largely responsible for all this energy's being spent in the wrong directions? You parents, and grandparents, and friends, and teachers, and preachers—all of you! Yet it is you who set the example there! But this is my point: Instead of helping us work out our problems with constructive, sympathetic thinking and acting, you have muddled them for us more hopelessly with destructive public condemnation and denunciation.

Think back to the time when you were struggling through the teens. Remember how spontaneous and deep were the joys, how serious and penetrating the sorrows. Most of us, under the present system of modern education, are further advanced and more thoroughly developed mentally, physically, and vocationally than were our parents at our age.

We hold the infinite possibilities of the myriads of new inventions. The major changes that were affecting U. In earlier centuries and right up to the beginning of the s, women wore long dresses, often with long sleeves and high collars, with layers of under-garments and stiff corsets underneath. Their long hair was piled atop their heads, and makeup was considered something that only so-called "loose" women or prostitutes wore.

But with the modern age came a real shift not only in the way women looked at themselves, but in how they lived. More women than ever before were attending college and working outside the home. They were driving cars and participating in sports like golf, tennis, and swimming. The clothing of earlier decades did not fit women's new pursuits.

Although flappers showed off the most up-to-date and daring fashions of the s, many other women began to wear shorter skirts, bobbed hair, and makeup as well. Radio broadcasting, ellens welles page 1920s biography, and new magazines made communication easier, reducing geographic isolation, and allowing women to see what others were wearing.

The styles of popular movie stars and sports heroes could be studied and copied. Some of the most distinctive women's clothing styles of the s came from European fashion designers such as Coco ChanelJean Patouand Paul Poiret. They helped establish the sporty, boyish look that characterized the Roaring Twenties, and mass clothing manufacturers were quick to catch on.

Cheaper versions of the European designs were made available in shops and in catalogs such as Sears Roebuck. The most popular style was short hemlines, dropped waists, and a flattened, "tubular" shape. Women accessorized their new fashions with long strings of beads and cloche, or bell, hats that fit snugly over short hair and rested just above the eyes.

Chunky, high-heeled shoes, with pointed toes and t-straps across the top of the foot, became increasingly popular. After the spectacular find of the ancient Egyptian king Tutankhamen's tomb, Egyptian-themed scarves, earrings, necklaces, and other items were in high demand. Women used makeup to finish off their look. They plucked and redrew their eyebrows, wore heavy face powder, rouge blushdeep red lipstick, and dark kohl eyeliner, which created a smudged, smoky look.

Tanned skin and designer perfumes also became trends to follow. Men's fashions also changed. Modeled after Britain's young prince of Wales and the well-dressed students at Oxford Universitycollege men began to sport knickers, flannel trousers, sweaters, blazers, and loose-fitting pants known as Oxford bags. Illegal liquor flasks could be easily hidden inside the popular long, raccoon-skin coats, but were harder to conceal in aviator jackets with fitted waists and wrists, like that worn by famed pilot Charles C.

We have learned to take for granted conveniences, and many luxuries, which not so many years ago were as yet undreamed of. We are in touch with the whole universe. We have a tremendous problem on our hands. You must help us. Give us confidence—not distrust. Give us practical aid and advice—not criticism. Praise us when praise is merited. Be patient and understanding when we make mistakes.

We are the Younger Generation. The war tore away our spiritual foundations and challenged our faith. We are struggling to regain our equilibrium. The times have made us older and more experienced than you were at our age. It must be so with each succeeding generation if it is to keep pace with the rapidly advancing and mighty tide of civilization.

Ellen welles page 1920s biography: Ellen Welles Page, a self-described “semi-flapper,”

Help us to put our knowledge to the best advantage. Work with us! That is the way! Outlets for this surplus knowledge and energy must be opened.