Accessories are an important part of your outfit. They help you personalize your outfits. The 1920s and 30s were a great time for fashion as many new ravishing trends hit the market at the time. There were various economic changes taking place at the time and these changes gave their significant inputs in various sectors of the market as well. The fashion of the era still survived in various sectors and now over the ages, some have become immortal.
One such sector was the sector of accessories in the market. We are going to take a look at some such accessories that changed the map of fashion forever. Let’s scroll through then!
List of accessories from the 1930s:
The fashion bent vigorously in the 1930s. The style of clothing, especially for women changed. Earlier it used to be more inclined on the just the comfort and convenience side of the clothes that women wore. It became increasingly necessary as when the men were busy in the war front, they had to take up several jobs as well. However, gradually, around the 1930s, the outfits began to cate to the convenience as well as the feminine nature of them. Various such moderations came about in the style of accessories too. Let’s take a look at some of them:
Belts:
Belts have forever been an essential part of various outfits. But the angle of using belts as style statements instead of just out of necessity was something that the 1930s fashion taught us. The waistline, after a bit of fluctuation, had now returned to its original place. Belts were essentially made to be slim for most of the first half of the century. The buckle was the best and the most elaborate and important part of the belt. They had all kinds of buckles, even personalized ones. Towards the second half of the century, though, the belts were no longer that slim. Many elaborate belts were made for occasions and gatherings that were meant to be held in the evenings where people naturally came all dressed up. Leather styles were more common during the day time.
Hats:
Feminine clothing was always meant to be elegant and have a certain sweetness in it. The best part of the fashion trends of the 1930s was the fact that they spun trends that balanced convenience, elegance, and grace quite craft fully.
- Cloche:
The Cloche hat would be a supreme example of the fact we are discussing. It began with the restructuring of the hat a bit, bringing about minor changes here and there. The Cloche hat of the 1930s fit perfectly on the crown guarding your face against the sun from all directions. But it never covered the forehead. These hats were floppy enough and made to be quite asymmetrical, but never caused massive inconvenience. They gave rise to hats with smaller sizes. These were often decorated with a certain strip of cloth or a flower. These gave a certain elegant and feminine look to the entire outfit.
- Berets:
These came just after the cloche, as a series of various smooth changes over time. The Berets, then came into the market. They were quite larger in shape. The specialty of the hats was that they had an angle and were often higher up on the posterior end. Their angles were much jauntier than the styles that had preceded the berets. Unlike the cliche, they were not floppy at all. Rather, they had a certain stiffness in them.
- Sailor hats:
The renaissance brought about changes in every aspect of life. Fashion was one of them too. Hats for women became more convenient and less voluptuous. They now could be easily handled. The sailor hat was one of them. They were nothing elaborate in their outlook. These hats were just simple sailor hats, but topped with carefully calculated pieces of frills, ribbons, and pleats. They were the finishing touch to your summer outfits.
- Man tailored hats:
These were inspired by the formal men’s hats. They were however much more complicated in structure than a man’s hat. The hats had them pulled down at a sharp angle at one side, but stood quite tall over your head. The carefully crafted folds made it look like origami. These hats were perfect for a posh Sunday brunch afternoon and went amazingly well with suits.
- Toques and turbans:
These are something that is still trending in the markets of the 21st century. These became the fad when the price of Gold dropped remarkably. It was then used to decorate such headpieces. These were an evolution of the hats, but became completely different from them soon after. The gold was often embroidered over metal or lame cloth that gave them a shimmering outlook. Not only were these great accessories to be worn in gatherings at evenings, but the turbans especially gave a bohemian look that was great to add a certain style statement to your outfit during casual outings.
Bags:
Bags have always been important in our wardrobes. One of the most important accessories, bags too went through a series of changing styles in the 1930s. The bags of the century again showed a perfect blend of practicality and design. Novelty shaped handbags and day time bags made out of leather and such materials were the latest fad back then.
- Envelope bags
These were also known as pochettees. Envelope bags are what we now know to be clutches. They were usually built in geometrical shapes, especially rectangles. Their building was practical enough to hold essential items of your use. Their built as well as the material from which they were built was in complete accordance with the smoothness of the polished Art Deco style that was in the market then. With time, the purses were expected to carry more items and often exhibited several hidden chambers. They were often adorned with initials of the owner. However, later this style was used by various brands to put their signature initials on the purse.
- Short handle bags
These again were mostly geometrical in shape mimicking the Art Deco patterns of design. They had short handles that were meant to be clasped on while carrying the bags around. The fashion of using magnetic clasps was also something that started during this time. They were naturally used for bags that had metallic frames. Zippers were a more practical choice as they went with any shape and material of bags and removed the requirement of a flap altogether. They made the handbags easily openable and less bulky too.
- Evening bags:
The ones that we saw so far were various kinds of dah bags. They were made to be more practical and convenient to carry your stuff around. They were often customized into shapes of various objects or to the kind of dress you could be wearing. But evening bags were made to just appeal to the eyes more. They were made to carry only the most essential items. They were sometimes made of leather and even mimicked day time bags too, but as if on a miniature scale. They were mostly meant to be clasped in the hand or carried under the arms. They also sometimes had a short and slim handle.
Jewelry:
The stock market suffered horribly during this span and this of course affected the kinds of jewelry that were worn during the period. In the 1920s, the style of od jewelry followed the trend of thin and slim bands. While in the 1930s the trend shifted to much heavier Victorian-style ornaments. Jewelry resembling geometric shapes prevailed while shapes of the stars and the moon were also blended into the neckpieces and earrings of the time.
- Sparkle jewelry:
It is just as the name suggests. The jewelry pieces consisted of a lot of sparkling stones. The general notion was that more the amount of sparkles, more is the shine, and hence better is the ornament. This was a result of the increasing number of moviegoers at the time. The films were in black and white, and the silver screen started using stones that sparkled rather than colored stones, as colors could not be perceived on the screen. Sometimes the stones were even pasted together to achieve the maximum amount of sparkle.
- Hairclips:
This was a time when women began styling their hair. This naturally called for some jewelry that could adorn their styled and curled hair. The hair clips were by the art deco style and were mostly resembled geometric shapes. These too, like other forms of jewelry, supremely decorated with sparkling stones.
- Dress pins:
These closely resemble what we called brooch today. They were worn to adorn their neckline and came in pairs or could also be bought separately. Their uses, however, were not limited to just dress pins and were often worn on their hats and scarves or even their handbags at times too. They were also sometimes clipped on to the back of a low cut dress you that you could be wearing.
As they say, in difficult times, fashion is always outrageous. Various changes governed various sectors of the market during the 1930s. But fashion used these changes and brought about marvelous trends in clothing and accessories. The trends were good indeed, as many of them have now travelled under the eternal sunshine of style, making it impossible for them to fade away from the market.