The beauty standards of the 20s are back for a long time today. Gorgeous makeup with two accents – on the eyes and lips, short haircuts with straight hair or curls laid to one side – all this can be seen not only in photographs of silent film actresses of that time, but also in modern film adaptations, as well as on carpets and social events. It’s easy to repeat these images in whole or borrow the most successful details – Woman’s Day will tell you how.
Elizabeth McGovern in Once Upon a Time in America, 1983
The 20s were called the “Golden Twenties”, “Roaring Twenties”, “The Age of Jazz” … This is a period of development in the economy and fashion for luxury. It is not surprising that the 20s are especially loved by stylists and makeup artists: the images of that time are used in filming for fashion magazines, celebrities are repeated on carpets and, of course, are especially often reproduced in films. For example, one of the most popular films embodying the spirit of the 20s is Once Upon a Time in America (1983). Thanks to the beauty of Elizabeth McGovern’s main character, Deborah Gelly, the bohemian chic of the 20s returned to fashion immediately after the film was released. It is noteworthy that McGovern has previously provoked interest in makeup and hairstyles in the spirit of the early XNUMXth century – immediately after the release of the film “Ragtime”, for which the actress was nominated for an Oscar. However, this Elizabeth McGovern is able to return the faded chic to almost any retro: thanks in large part to her charm, the costume series “Downton Abbey” seems so alive.
In 2013, the style of the 20s returned to the pages of gloss again thanks to the movie “The Great Gatsby”. True, the reason for this was not the bright image created by the actress (it is difficult to compare the charming Carey Mulligan with the languid Elizabeth McGovern), but a successful advertising campaign in which fashion designers and jewelers were involved. This, however, does not detract from the merits of the film.
In the 20s, girls first began to wear short hair just above the shoulders, usually styled in a side parting in waves. Owners of long hair who do not want to part with them should pay close attention to accessories. In the 20s, all kinds of headbands, ribbons, hairpins were used to decorate the hairstyle, giving the image a femininity. The makeup also matched the hairstyle: it was bright and memorable. Two accents at the same time – on the eyes and lips – were used in both evening and daytime looks. Gray or beige shadows were applied to the girl’s eyelids, and pink or red lipstick was applied to her lips. And the most important thing is the eyebrows. They were thin and had an oblong shape (by the way, in modern cinema, makeup artists overlook only this detail on purpose: nowadays, the trend is wide eyebrows).
The main style icon of the time was the silent film actress Gloria Swanson. In addition to her main profession, the girl was actively involved in the development of the fashion and beauty industry: in the 1960s she opened her own fashion house, and in 1968 she came to the USSR to promote vegetarianism.
You can get inspired by the spirit of the 20s by looking at photographs of actresses of that time: Paula Negri, Louise Brooks, Clara Bow, Marjorie Brooks.
Nowadays, celebrities successfully repeat the images of the 20s for the carpet. Especially often the makeup and hairstyles of that time were copied by Milla Jovovich. However, this is not surprising: the type of the actress is perfect for this. Actress and designer Sienna Miller keeps up with Jovovich: she comes out with all kinds of headbands and ribbons, reminiscent of those worn by girls at the beginning of the century.