Peggy Hamilton: 1920's Hollywood Socialite and Los Angeles Fashion Icon

The 1920's in Hollywood and Los Angeles was a boom town era, complete with dramatic socialites and actresses wearing the latest fashions to wild parties in massive mansions and ballrooms. Peggy Hamilton (Mae Bedloe Armstrong: 1892 – 1984)) first made her mark in Hollywood as a costume designer for well-known company, Triangle films. Her name as an actress was mentioned as early as 1916. Peggy began her fashion career in New York, but she followed the move to new Hollywood with Triangle Studios soon after that.

Flapper Dresses from 1929

Vintage dresses from the late 1920's show details that have been well developed during the decade. At this time the low waistline has sophisticated draping, and the long torso is embellished with trims to create unique and dramatic designs. These illustrations are from a pattern magazine called "Fashionable Dress" from August 1929. The dresses here are mid-summer styles, using cottons, chiffons and other light textiles. The prints tend to be small, with many "Art Deco" designs.

Both by Maggy Rouff
Left- Yellow bodice with brown lace skirt. Brown velvet jacket with ruffled edges
Right-Printed chiffon with fine tucking at hip

Right- Moyneux, pleated tiers on the skirt, with pleated cap sleeves
Other designs by LeComte
Left, white crepe dress with red velvet coat
Second- red and white checked crepe, with bias trims
Third- white crepe with lavender checks and black banding

This last set was illustrated to show current trends in textile prints, and is shown on mature women to give examples of styles suitable for an older figure.

Throwback Thursday: this post in an update originally posted, March 1, 2012

1920s Flapper Dresses: 18 Flapper styles to help you Dress Like a Flapper

Here are 18 fabulous 1920's flapper styles to help you dress like a flapper.  These 1920 vintage dresses show details that have been well developed during the decade. At this time the low waistline has sophisticated draping, and the long torso is embellished with trims to create unique and dramatic designs.

These illustrations are from a vintage pattern magazine called "Fashionable Dress" from August 1929. The dresses here are mid-summer styles with flippy hemlines, neckline details and low hip sashes.

To make your own, try using cottons, chiffons and other light textiles. The prints tend to be small, with many "Art Deco" designs.

This illustrations also help to show hairstyles, hats, jewelry and accessories that were popular at that time.

Both by Maggy Rouff of Paris
Left- Yellow bodice with brown lace skirt. Brown velvet jacket with ruffled edges
Right-Printed chiffon with fine tucking at hip

Right- Moyneux of Paris, pleated tiers on the skirt, with pleated cap sleeves
Other designs by LeComte of Paris
Left, white crepe dress with red velvet coat
Second- red and white checked crepe, with bias trims
Third- white crepe with lavender checks and black banding

This last set was illustrated to show current trends in textile prints, and is shown on mature women to give examples of styles suitable for an older figure.

1920's Flapper Styles: How to Dress like a Flapper

You might think that current fashion bloggers invented 'street fashion' photos, but that's not so. These photos were taken on the streets of New York to show current fashion trends in 1929.  If you want to dress like a flapper, then here are some great styles to try.

Top-Jacket suits of light weight wool worn with fur stole and cloche hats worn low.  The suits have pleated skirts, note:. Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney is on the right.

Second- Flappers wear silk printed dresses with felt hat and fox stole around the shoulder.  Their low cloche hats each have a pin brooch accent on one side.

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This is part of a series of blog posts on women's fashions from 1929.
Most illustrations come from the magazine "Fashionable Dress", August 1929.

Actresses in Flapper Fashions from 1929: How to Dress Like a Flapper

If you want to look like a flapper from the 1920s, then seeing real women wearing the styles in 1929 should be a great help. These pictures come from the wonderful fashion magazine, "Fashionable Dress" which showcases mid-summer fashions for August.

To get the best idea of how to dress like a 1920s flapper, it also seems appropriate to take a look at real actresses from that year. What did they really look like? How did they wear the current trends?

This is Helen Mencken, and she wears a two piece frock edged in scallops. Her cloche hat is pulled down to her eyebrows, which is what we should expect. Both a stage and film actress, she had married Humphrey Bogart in 1926, but divorced him a year later.

Next is Peggy Bancroft, from "Whoopee". She is wearing a youthful afternoon frock with lace and georgette. Notice how the hem line is uneven, not unlike our current hem line trends. If you look closely at her, you'll notice she has a spit curl in the center of her forehead.

Leneta Lane is our third actress from "Congratulations". Her ensemble was designed by "Joseph". It is an aquamarine crepe coat with wide collar.