This book is one in a series of books called Fabulous Fashions of the Decades, published by Enslow Publishers. I found it on the “new books” shelf at my library in the children’s section, and thought I’d give it a try as a part of my ongoing twentieth century history studies this year.

The book includes lots of good information and photographs, and I learned a few things. I already knew about bobbed haircuts and cloche hats and flapper beads and raccoon coats. But I never connected “bobby pins” with bobbed hair.

“The bobby pin was invented to keep bobbed hair looking neat.”

And did you know that one actress in particular was famous for her “Dutch boy” haircut?

“Actress Louise Brooks was famous for her Dutch boy haircut.”

It also never occurred to me to connect the silky, Egyptian tunic-like fashions of the twenties with the discovery of King Tut’s tomb in 1922.

“People became fascinated with all things Egyptian. There were clothes and shoes with heiroglyphics. Women wore Cleopatra earrings, snake bracelets, and scarab-shaped jewelry.”

There’s a bibliography in the back of the book for the purpose of more research, and there are addresses in the back of the book for a couple of websites where readers can see more fashions of the twenties:

Fashion-Era, Flapper Fashion 1920’s
1920-30.com, Women’s Fashions 1920s

This book, and others in the series, provide a good introduction to fashion history in the twentieth century.

This post is linked to Nonfiction Monday, hosted this week at Jean Little Library.