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

1926 Nice

1926: Lorenzi Poster
Art Deco promenade fashions at their best. Summer brights in blue and red, even a white fur to catch the off shore breeze. Center stage is the flower girl in a captivating striped skirt with floral shawl and black apron.

1929 Hairstyles: How to Look like a Flapper

How to look like a 1920s flapper can be a challenge when it comes to hairstyle selection.  Getting that perfect wave and spit curl can be easier if you find the right picture to copy.  Here are some great hairstyle illustrations from 1929. Hairstyles were changing in the summer of 1929. These illustrations appear in an article titled "the Twilight of the Bob: Longer hair ascends into the limelight".

On this topic, the author gives pointers for growing hair longer from the shorter length bob. Length is important, especially in the back. She suggests getting a perm, since fashion was moving in a wavey direction as these drawings show.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

This is the second post in a series on women's fashions from 1929.
Most images appear in a magazine from that year titled "Fashionable Dress"

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.