When it comes to attending a prom, party, wedding or any other event, a Great Gatsby themed outfit is the best to go for. For a memorable party, all you need is elegant and shimmering wear and wild crazy party arrangements. If you are thinking about what to wear to a Great Gatsby themed party, pick a vintage-inspired Gatsby prom outfit and pair it up with accessories like headband, pearls, and shoes to add glamour to your outlook and sparkle all through.
1920s party outfits are ideal to be worn for any roaring twenties, art deco or Gatsby themed party. The outfits are classic long and short styles having beadworks and sequins throughout the bodice. They were of varying lengths. Some were drop waist, some sleeveless, some knee-length while others were of ankle length. As the fashion trends progressed, prom gowns came into existence covering women from head to toe.
We have handpicked the famous dresses, shoes, accessories, and headpieces popular during the 1920s, giving you a complete look of a woman belonging to the great Gatsby period.
Great Gatsby attires
The roaring 20s brought an end to the old fashion and style prevalent for years. Women took inspiration from the other women around the world and learned to challenge the existing fashion norms. No longer did they continue to wear full-length dresses. Skirts can into the existence of varying lengths. The best part of the decade was that women even grew up to be rebellious enough to cut their hair short! We have provided below a few great Gatsby outfits that were extremely popular:
- Sequin Magic
Women wore sequinned frocks especially for fancy parties and romantic events. Some of these frocks were knee-length, some ankle length. Mostly, the sequinned frocks had a loose-fitting. They look gorgeous and magnificent. No matter the type of sequin frock women wore, they always paired it up with a sequinned or beaded fashionable headband to complete and enhance their outlook. If you too are planning to wear a sequin frock to a Great Gatsby themed party, think no further than wearing a knee-length frock and pairing it up with long earrings and a stylish headpiece and cigarette holder. You would look as sparkling as ever.
- Charleston dresses
Charleston dress is a dance costume, highly porous during the roaring 20s. The dress characterizes a loose bodice as the dancer has to fling her arms into the air and make sudden body movements. A tightly fitted bodice won’t allow that. If you are thinking of wearing a Charleston dress to a roaring 20s themed party, make sure you buy a costume having a handkerchief hem. This would make your hemline appear longer thus giving a better impression. Also, make sure the handkerchief hem is covered and decorated with tassels. It would render a shimmery look which is most quintessential of a 1920s flapper girl.
- Fringed Flapper Girl
Flapper girls were the ones that rebelled against the existing norms of society. They started wearing fashionable, stylish modern dresses they felt comfortable wearing. They had their hair cut short, listened to jazz, and wore gloves and knee-length dresses. The mist iconic flapper dress of the 1920s was a knee-length dress paired with heels and a beaded headpiece. If you are looking for a flapper girl dress, go for a sleeveless dress with a scooped neckline that has sequins or beadworks on its bodice.
- Prom outfits
In the 1920s, women mostly picked up the theme of the Great Gatsby. The great Gatsby prom dresses were elegant, expensive, and luxurious. The beauty and charm of these outfits hit different at a party. Women going for such a theme party preferred a tight-fitting dress rather than a long skirt. Also, if they wore skirt it used to be of shorter length like midi up to the knee length or a thigh-length skirt. So, if you are looking for a scandalous look a thigh-length skirt would be a perfect choice. It will give more exposure to our legs as well as a chiselled figure. In those days women preferred wearing a sleeveless dress but a cap sleeve or a sheer sleeve with a bit of embroidery work is not a bad choice. It will enhance the outfit more. But if you prefer a sleeveless one, then obviously go for a sheer caplet with that dress to give it more emphasis.
Great Gatsby Shoes
Before the 1920s, women wore full-length dresses, and hence their shoes were hardly visible. As time progressed, the length of the dresses shortened and shoes became a prominent fashion trend. Women began to buy shoes pairing them up with their outfits and the season. The choice of shoes reflected their sense of fashion and personality. Hence they had to be careful while buying shoes and sandals. Mostly shoes were made up of leather. During the daytime, women wore shimmery patent leather shoes or the ones having a matte finish. They were mostly bright coloured like black, blonde, grey, or brown. Whereas at night, they preferred wearing high heels that sparkled and glittered. Towards the end of the decade, the fashion sense of women developed further and shoes of combined colours began to be worn. Let’s see the popular shoe types of the great Gatsby period:
- Mary Jane shoes
Present-day Mary Jane shoes have the pump with a single strap. These types of shoes were most popular during the 1920s. They were available in fanciful, elegant flapper models. They were available in both high heels and flat comfortable shoes. Aristocratic women generally wore high heel Mary Jane and summer sandals whereas maids preferred to wear simple flat shoes that had soft soles to make sure they don’t make noise while walking around the house. Mary Jane shoe is still in fashion and is here to stay. Sadly, the present-day Mary Jane shoes don’t come with the decorative straps and buckles.
- Lattice pumps
These are another kind of strap shoes popular during the 1920s. These shoes have a wide band across the vamp and feature cutouts all over the shoe. This gives it a stained glass window or latticed effect. These shoes are somewhere between the high heel Oxford cap toe shoes and the slip-on pump shoes. They are available in a variety of styles and designs.
- Colonial pumps
The 1920s fashion party took ideas from the 18th century people by adapting to their theatre costumes, masquerade outfits, robe de style dresses, and shoes. The colonial pumps were slip-on flat pump shoes having a fanciful tongue, shoe clip, or buckle on the center vamp. They were mostly worn during the daytime, but were fancy enough to be worn for evening parties, especially the ones made of satin or silk.
- T strap heels
The most iconic shoes were the T strap, Sally pump, or T bar shoes. These shoes didn’t have any strap attached from the toe to the vamp. The T strap heels were popular for a short period during the 1920s. They became more popular and prevalent during the 1930s. The t strap allowed women to wear the shoe comfortably while showing off much of their skin. These were perfect for party nights.
- Slippers
The aristocratic women wore slippers white at home. Similar to lingerie and house dresses, slippers were also preferred when at home. Slippers were usually made up of quilted satin, velvet, silk, or soft sheepskin leather. Women had them on their feet as long as they stayed at home. They were available in a variety of colours, red, blue, purple, yellow, orange, black, etc. having solid or plaid patterns on them. Either they were rimmed in fur or fur-lined along the edges.
The type of shoe women chose depended on the occasion and the outfit they wore. For example, a tennis shoe couldn’t be worn for any professional event or a party while leather shoes couldn’t be worn for playing. The right shoe is needed to enhance the outlook of women. Choosing the right size of shoes is also essential to make sure it doesn’t hurt while walking or dancing. The right style, type, and size of shoes are needed to make one look stylish and comfortable.
Great Gatsby Accessories
To complete the great Gatsby look, women paired their outfits with gorgeous accessories like cigarette holders, hip flask, hand fan, feather boa, headband, flapper bag, pearl jewellery, etc, sunglasses, flask, hat, gloves, eyeglasses, etc. However, one doesn’t have to wear all these together. All they need to do is pick two or three suitable accessories to give them the stunning great Gatsby roaring 20s party look.
- Gloves
Gloves made women look more sophisticated and fashionable. They kept their hands clean and warm. Leather gloves were worn during winters. During summers, they wore lace, silk, or cotton gloves. The colour of the gloves was either dyed matching the colour of their outfits or plain neutral in colour. Gloves often had ornate decorations on the cuffs.
- Watches
Watches continued to become popular all through the 20s. Initially, they were only straps or pocket watches. Over time the shape of the watches changed. Rectangular watches having round corners came into popularity. Mostly women’s watches were on silk ribbon bands. The fancy ones had filigree or diamond casings. Watches were an important accessory that reflected the aristocracy and wealth of the ones wearing.
- Handkerchief
Handkerchiefs were also common during those times. These were a blank canvas on which hand embroidery works were applied, creating Endless designs. Women took ideas from magazines and journals. Several of them featured art deco designs and some had floral prints. Carrying a handkerchief was also considered to be a mark of sophistication that women loved to show off.
- Cigarette holders
Another mark of rebellious attitude that flapper girls most importantly had during the roaring 20s is carrying a cigarette holder. It reflected their bold, defying personality. They were made up of jade or silver mostly. Also, decorated ones were found especially meant for fancy evenings, parties, etc. having Deco, art, or flapper images painted on them.
- Headband
In the 1920s, hair accessories such as tiaras, hair clips, hair combs, headbands, and beaded skullcaps were very popular. Daisy in The Great Gatsby movie wore a beautiful rhinestone headband which is now easily available at a cheap rate. Whether it is rhinestone beaded headbands or skullcaps or even a feather hair clip, the 1920s women knew the art of dressing with just a flapper and minimal hair accessories.
From the mid to late 1920s, hair accessories were totally in fashion. It was a must for every evening party in the 1920s. These hair accessories were mostly made of faux pearls and rhinestones. Some of the great Gatsby accessories are available in stores online. So what are you waiting for! Go and grab these amazing accessories at a cheap rate. It is a perfect go-to style for every party, get together, event, wedding, etc.