Fashion News
Depression Chic - Jewelry for Your Inner Flapper
March 24, 2009
The lingering recession is influencing more than just our bank balances and retirement plans - it's making an intriguing mark on today's fashion trends. Designers like Alberta Ferretti and Marc Jacobs are taking inspiration from both sides of another famous economic crisis - The Great Crash of 1929 - turning out both flapper frocks and Dust Bowl dresses in equal measure.
But what are the jewelry trends from that bygone era that recessionistas today can bring to their own wardrobes?
Flapper fashion in the late 1920s was characterized by fringe, freedom and fun as women celebrated their new-found autonomy with jazz, cocktails and The Charleston. Icons like Louise Brooks and Coco Chanel were major fashion influences, and their signature pearls remain as important to the era as the bejeweled headpiece and bobbed haircut.
But pearls aren't the only flapper jewelry must have. Cocktail rings, layered bangles and art deco pieces are three other hot roaring twenties jewelry trends that can easily be brought forward for the women of 2009. And remember - one signature piece is an important way to accessorize in these trying times. Wearing a colorful cocktail ring or an arm-full of clinking bangles with your little black dress is the perfect way to show the world you may have lost a chunk out of your 401k, but you haven't lost your sense of style (and fun).
While the 1930s brought the Great Depression, jewelry fashion took an escapist route. Romantic pieces like the jeweled brooch or flower-shaped styles became the fashion for those who could afford to accessorize. Today, our Frugalista-in-Chief, First Lady Michelle Obama, is bringing the brooch back in a major way, and flower-shaped jewels can be found in a dizzying array of colors and price points - right here on Jewelry.com.
So whether you're a fun-loving flapper or a sensible suffragist, taking a fashion cue from history will surely help you weather today's economic storm - in style!