PRESIDENT OF OXFORD COLLEGE FOR WOMEN DEFENDS FLAPPERS*
Chicago, Illinois (JFK+50) On February 25, 1922, Miss Eleanor Adams, president of Oxford College for Women, "defended the golosh-flopping, bobbed-haired wearer of knee-length skirts of the present."
Miss Adams, speaking at a meeting of deans of women, said...
"The socially grotesque features of today are no worse than those of other times. Remember the merry widow hat**, 'balloon' sleeves***, the wire 'rat'**** of the...pompadour and the 'Boston dip' waist."
*flappers--young women of the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed hair, & were considered wild by the older generation.
**merry widow hat-- designed by Lucile for the operetta 'The Merry Widow' (1907) & popularized by English actress Lily Elise (1886-1962)
***balloon sleeves--long, puffed sleeves gathered at the shoulder & then puffed out & gathered back at the waist
****wire rat--term for extra hair saved & used for puffed up hair styles
SOURCES
"Fashion History Of Details: The Merry Widow Hat (1900s), The Fashion Follies, September 6, 2018, www.thefashionfolloies.com/
"Mama Was Some Flapper Too, With Her 'Rats' and 'Balloons," The Sunday Star, Washington, D.C., February 26, 1922, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
