In the 1920s, women would wear suits (matching skirt and jacket sets) for day to day work, travel, and leisure. In sporty environments, suit jackets were often replaced with cardigan sweaters or pullover vests.
Suits were made of a thick wool serge, poplin or tricot in winter and light linen and cotton blends in summer. Sports clothes were made of wool tweed. Velvet suits became stylish in the very late 20s.
Women’s suits of the ’20s were nothing like today’s suits. Jackets were quite long with a matching belt to pull in the waist in the early years. A single button jacket came in at the second half of the decade. Skirts were narrow and straight with a mid calf length.
Here are some 1920s women wearing suits from my collection:
1920s Women’s Suits to Buy?
Debbie Sessions has been teaching fashion history and helping people dress for vintage themed events since 2009. She has turned a hobby into VintageDancer.com with hundreds of well researched articles and hand picked links to vintage inspired clothing online. She aims to make dressing accurately (or not) an affordable option for all. Oh, and she dances too.