Fashion In The Great Gatsby

A sudden roar of laughter, followed by the clink of spilling champagne glasses while jazz softly sways through the air, humid with the spirit of the summer of 1922--the roaring twenties are not known for silence. Parties described in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby easily represent this load and rapidly moving time. A mysterious man known as Gatsby welcomes hundreds of strangers, from both West Egg and East Egg, into his home to drink and dance until the next morning. Compared to the quiet and tense gathering in Daisy Buchanan, it is clear that there are differences between the rambunctious West Egg and the old money in East Egg. Not only were the behaviors of the groups different, but their clothes also differed, showing more specific …show more content…
Women’s sphere was also beginning to change. Previously, women were kept from working, but at this time, need for workers forced them to hire women as factory workers, store clerks, and occasionally in professional careers. With this growth of movement within the communities, women also began to need less restrictive clothing. Therefore, 1920s fashion reflected society 's rapid movement. Generally, fabrics were very thin and airy for women. From corsets to hoop skirts, even bloomers were not popularized until the 1800s. By the 1920s however, women sported short haircuts, short skirts, and loosely fitted dresses, all of which were considered to be connected to libertine behavior. Multiple state legislatures even attempted to pass laws fixing skirt lengths from 6 to 12 inches from the ground at most (source 6). Elders believed that the new popular women’s clothing signified despicable behavior such as dancing, smoking, and drinking bootleg whisky resulting from prohibition. However, though their fashions suggested such immoral behavior, between this time birth rate fell and divorces increased. Moralists feared that the American family was in crisis, and many feared that the new social order would disrupt the common family situation (source …show more content…
Though both classes are made up of the wealthy, there is a clear distinction between them. New money in the novel is typically considered a tear down below old money. Members of this class live in East Egg and include Gatsby and Gatsby’s guests. Gatsby, or James Gatz, begins as a lower class farmer in Minnesota. Through his upbringing he learns the promises of the American dream, a vision of rising social class through hard work. Gatz works hard to attain this goal. He even comes across luck that would seemingly allow him to rise in status by meeting Dan Cody and having the physical appearance of an upper class citizen. Through these things, and the illegal selling of alcohol, he is able to attain money. However, his money works only as a facade of the wealthy—he never truly climbs in social class, showing some corruption of the well-known American dream. Gatsby and the rest of East Egg remains both socially and physically separated from the old money in West Egg. This is obvious in Gatsby’s parties, where he tries to lure Daisy to joining him. However, the people of West Egg almost never attend these parties, despite Jordan Baker. Gatsby also is unable to grow in class because he is never good enough to attain Daisy. Daisy would originally not marry Gatsby due to his lesser social status and lack of wealth, but even after he becomes wealthy, she will not be with him. She rather stays with abusive mean