Cloche hats from Valeria’s Vintage represent popular women’s fashion trends of the 1920s. Credit: Susie McCorkle
Nearly a century after flappers challenged expectations through bobbed hair and bold dresses, their fashion continues to inspire the way people think about fashion and self-expression.
Valeria’s Vintage will transport attendees back to the 1920s with “Fashion as Rebellion, An Immersive Afternoon in the 1920s” from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at Enliven Health & Wellness —? located at 929 Harrison Ave., according to the event’s website. The event will showcase authentic flapper dresses and period accessories from the decade. Tickets for the event are sold out at the time of publication.
“I always had a daydream that I could go back to 1920 and go shopping,” Susie McCorkle, co-owner of Valeria’s Vintage Goods with Valerie Mervis, said. “There are a lot of people that would love to do that. So, when I was thinking about this, I thought that’s what I want people to feel like, they can go back in time.”?
Ten dresses will be displayed as attendees learn about the fabrics and techniques used to create them. McCorkle said she hopes attendees leave with a better understanding of how to recognize clothing from the 1920s.
The event will begin with a discussion about how women in the 1920s used fashion to rebel against societal expectations, McCorkle said. Afterward, attendees will be transported to Valeria’s, a high-end Columbus store set in 1926.
Another store will be set up where attendees can purchase accessories and other items inspired by those that would have been sold in 1926.
McCorkle said she hopes the clothing encourages people to think about how fashion continues to give people a way to express themselves.
“Have fun, admire these beautiful dresses and let our imaginations go wild,” McCorkle said.
Trina Gannon Blair, a professor in the Textiles and Clothing Department and adjunct lecturer, said the 1920s were a significant period for fashion because cultural changes were reflected in the clothing people wore.
Compared with more muted, prim and proper clothing worn in previous generations, flappers wore makeup, went out dancing and embraced rebellious styles, Gannon Blair said.
“Being that it was the 1920s and you had all this loud dress, if you will — loud isn’t trendy,” Gannon Blair said. “Loud, vibrant dress, a lot of makeup, jazz music, it was kind of like this opening of doors of people who were tired of being quiet.”?
Gannon Blair said the decade also saw the emergence of the teenager, as more young people in the United States and Europe attended secondary schools, giving younger generations a greater role in setting fashion trends.
For Gannon Blair, the connection between fashion and rebellion extends beyond the 1920s. She said people clothe themselves with purpose, whether they consciously consider their choices rebellious or not.?
“Fashion is a utilitarian art,” Gannon Blair said. “Every time you get out of bed you decide how the world wants to see you.”
Something as common as wearing a crop top today can act as a fashion statement, just as choosing a knee-length dress instead of an ankle-length dress could make a statement in the 1920s, Gannon Blair said.
Although clothing featured at the event comes from a century ago, Gannon Blair said she hopes attendees recognize similarities between themselves and the people who originally wore it.
“Hopefully they take away the fact that these 21-year-old flappers who wore these dresses are the same as you,” Gannon Blair said.
Historic clothing can sometimes make people feel disconnected from the people who wore it because it belongs to the past, Gannon Blair said. However, she said clothing can also remind people of the experiences they share across generations.
McCorkle said she has always had a passion for the 1920s, however, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer a year and a half ago, she needed a distraction. She said she had stored vintage clothing she had collected since the 1980s in her basement. She and Mervis used the clothing to open their eBay store.?
“I thought about selling them, and I thought, ‘I just can’t,’” McCorkle said. “I can’t sell these clothes because once you sell them, they’re gone.”?
Instead, McCorkle decided to bring the fashion to the community, so that people could see the pieces and learn about their history.
Cathy Alexander, McCorkle’s assistant, said that while McCorkle was dealing with cancer, she needed strength, and the history behind the clothing became a symbol of that strength.?
“These clothes symbolized women’s power and strength, and it really gave her more strength with what she had to deal with,” Alexander said.?
McCorkle said she recently acquired a collection of clothing from a flapper enthusiast that will be shown and admired at Sunday’s event. Because most of the clothes were worn more than 100 years ago, she said finding pieces in pristine condition can be challenging.
Movement is one of the most noticeable elements of the clothing, McCorkle said. Fringe and other details moved with women as they danced.??
“Movement is freedom,” Alexander said. “If you can’t move, you’re not free. You’re in jail.”?
Many of the clothes featured dropped waists, shorter hemlines and cloche hats, McCorkle said. The clothing also includes extensive beading, silk velvet and crepe. In contrast, she said women during the Victorian era wore corsets and layers of petticoats, with some dresses weighing 20 or 30 pounds.?
McCorkle said she wants people who attend the event to understand that rebellion through fashion is as old as time, and that fashion continues to move forward. Society is experiencing rebellious fashion right now, she said, and she wants attendees to gain courage by thinking about these women as inspiration.?
“Fashion is much deeper than clothes,” Alexander said.
