A 1920s themed event is one of my favorites to dress up for. It is both incredibly glamorous and not to difficult to find something to wear. I have been researching and writing about 1920s fashion all summer.  I’m here to help you shop local (or online) for an authentic 1920s look for both the ladies and the gents.
1920s Fashion History
1920 Delineator Evening Gowns- both Straight and Full Skirts
In a nut shell, 1920s fashion for women was all about getting loose, which applied to morals, too. Dresses were sleeveless, shapeless, long or short slip gowns accented with beading, sequins, fringe, and some feathers. Rich jewel tones and soft pastels made the simplest of gowns look expensive. Add to that some lavish accessories, such as a diamond tiara or headband, silk shawl, feather fan, long pearl necklaces, and gold arm bangles, and you will look like a silent movie star!
1927 Mens Pink Striped Suit
While ladies lavished in richness, men found relief in slightly more comfortable dinner jackets (tuxedos) instead of stuffy tailcoats. Many men cast off formal attire all-together and embraced the colorful life of striped suits, flashy neckties, homburg hats, and gold capped walking sticks.
For a formal affair, getting a dose of fashion history (and a lot of pictures) will help you get in the right mindset for the night. Ladies be sure to read about creating the iconic flapper costume look or getting really fancy with 1920s formal dresses. Gentlemen should read about 1920s tuxedos. If you would rather look semi-formal, try 1920s party dresses for the ladies and 1920s suits for the gents. Knowing how popular the Great Gatsby is men might also like to dress in all white like Jay Gatsby did or perhaps as a bootlegger like the characters in Boardwalk Empire. Speaking of popular TV shows this year, ladies might enjoy the sophisticated look of Downton Abbey and gents too.Â
1920’s Flapper Costume Guide– Pin This! Share on your website (see below)
Where to Shop- Ladies
I am an avid window shopper and thrift store addict. Whatever your style and budget, there is something local that can work for you. Let’s start with the cheapest and move up in luxury. The stores I include here are local to me (Reno, Nevada), but regardless of where you live, you can probably find these or similar stores to shop at.
Thrift Stores
Up-cycled Thrift 1920s Dress
Finding a 1920s style dress in a thrift store is fairly easy. Look for a long to knee length straight cut dress. A drop waist will also work (where the line is around your hips or below, nothing above you naval). Any color will do and even small pattern prints. Anything with beading, sequins, metallic thread, velvet, ruffled skirts, tiered layers, crochet, and even lace will be best. If it has sleeves, remove them, or match with a shawl or light weight evening jacket if you want to cover your arms. Many ’80s bead/sequin dresses can and do look fairly ’20s. Just remove any shoulder pads if you can. I recently put together eight thrift store twenties outfits here and 10 Downton Abbey inspired clothes here for some inspiration.
10 Downton Abbey Costume Ideas
New Dresses (mid price)
Right now ’20s drop waist dresses have been in fashion with the younger women’s fashion set. Mature women also have some great choices in the women’s dress areas, usually in waist-less (sheath), not drop waist styles. Many mature styles have sleeves, a longer hem length and are overall more accurate to the time period.
There are also cheap Halloween flapper costume dresses available year round online or in Halloween costume stores in October. Cheap costumes are terribly inaccurate (too much fringe, too short) but the accessories are usually nice enough. Splurge on the dress, save on the accessories!
1920s  Downton Abbey/ Great Gatsby (Dress is a Pisarro Nights)
Forever 21–Â I have found several drop waist dresses here. They run a bit too short for authentic ’20s, but you can layer them over a long satin slip to get the right length (or cut off the slip it comes with and re-attach it to the hemline.)
Sears, JC Penny – In the formal dress area, they have quite a few beaded, tiered and longer Downton Abbey style gowns. Most are under $100. They are also very flattering styles for the mature woman. Worth a look before going to the spendier stores.
Fancy Dresses ($200 and up)
1920s Style Long Beaded Papell Gown
Macys or Nordstrom or Dillards– In the formal section they have brands Patra, Papell, and Pisarro Nights that all have the most beautiful beaded gowns in a wide range of sizes. I usually shop their online selection, but you can find them locally, too.
More dress choices online:
1920s  Style Jewelry
1920s Style Jewelry for Sale
Besides the classic long pearl necklace, long faceted bead necklaces, tassel necklaces, short bib necklaces, and drop earrings to match are all jewelry styles to consider. Â I prefer cheap costume jewelry to pricey antique pieces. Some of my best jewelry I find at the grocery store, Target or one of these shops.
Read more about 1920s jewelry styles here.
Forever 21 – Has some great jewelry for $10 or less. Long necklaces, Art Deco bib necklaces, drop earrings, and rhinestone headbands.
Claire’s – They have “bridal” jewelry, headbands and tiaras that work perfectly for formal 1920s. Also try Icing stores, Francesca’s, and your local grocery store (seriously I find great costume jewelry at Raley’s).
Headbands- Shop here.Â
Charming Charlie – I love this store for jewelry. It’s sorted by color, so you can find what you need fast. 1920s style jewelry is usually in the crystal clear or white pearl sections. Consider black or jade green stones, too. Gold bangle bracelets give the Egyptian look along with a matching headband or hair clip.
1920s style hats for you- Shop hats
A headband or other hair decoration is a must have piece of jewelry for a 1920s evening affair. They were made of beads or crystals and even strings of pearls wrapped around the head. They were often worn around the forehead, too. Some women went as far as to wear a tiara. Shop here for 1920s style hair accessories.Â
For day wear, consider a cloche hat or similar 1920s hat style.Â
More jewelry choices online:
1920s Style Shoes
1920s Style Shoes- Shop now
Shoes- Right here in Reno we have our very own historical shoe designer, Lauren Elizabeth at  Royal Vintage shoes with plenty of 1920s style shoes to buy for less than $200.
Local shoes- Pretty much any shoes store in town will have something that can work as a 1920s shoe- even Payless, Footwear, DSW Shoes and Target. Look for T-strap or Mary Jane shoes in black, gold or silver with or without some bling on them. Avoid open toe sandals if you want to be authentic. 1920s shoes had a mid heel that was sturdy, not too thin and came with straps- one, two or many. Basic heeled pumps were also in style, so if you already have some in your closet by all means wear them.
More online shoes –
1920s Men’s Clothing
Striped Suit for a 1920s Look
A tuxedo will be your best formal choice for a classy event. Choose a standard notch lapel black tuxedo jacket with flat front tuxedo pants. A white button down shirt (not a pleated tuxedo shirt) will look good underneath. A white or black vest is optional and a good choice if you want to take off your jacket. Add a white or black bow tie and a snazzy pair of cuff links. A top hat will take you to new heights but isn’t necessary (and proper etiquette says it is to be removed inside).
You can rent a tux from almost any department store, wedding shop or men’s clothing store (they all come from the same source). Better yet, buy a good tuxedo at Jos. A Bank. They have them in stock and will make the necessary alterations.
Jos. A Bank – Besides tuxedos, they also have some great striped suits you can buy (watch for good sales). They carry good shoes, ties, cuff links, and dress shirts as well. For a more casual look, you could just wear high rise classic fit pants with a vest and shirt. Their pants are a true mid rise, not a modern low fit. Great for vintage clothing. When you have them hemmed there make sure they put in a 2-3 inch pant cuff.
Ivory Suit from Paul Fredrick is 1920s Summer Fashion
Dillards– My husband has lucked out a few times with suits and bow ties at Dillards. We found a great striped linen Perry Ellis suit a few summers ago. They tend to be more trendy and slim fitting, which is good for an early ’20s look. Trendy vintage inspired suits are stripes and tweed along with matching vests! Dillards also has a few two tone lace up shoes, bow ties, pocket squares, and suspenders for that extra 1920s dapper style.
Online Paul Fredrick and Men’s USA have a large selection of mid-priced suits in big patterns. You can make an entire look from the suits, vests, shirts, shoes, ties, and sometimes hats that Paul Fredrick carries. Men’s USA features all kinds of suits. I like their wide fit fashion suits with big strips for a late ’20s Gangster look.
1920s Style Men’s Suits
Day and Evening Men’s Clothing Guide.
Thrift Stores- Sometimes you can find tuxedos, but usually the thrift stores will have some good used suits. Look for stripes, checks, plaids with a definite pattern– subtle wasn’t in. Grey, brown and dark blue are the best colors, although if you want a summer look try white, ivory or pastel colors. 1920s suits were fitted and usually three pieces with a matching or similar shade of vest. Add a bow tie or necktie in diagonal stripes, paisley or small repeating pattern and a pocket square that matches at least one color in the tie.
Casual Vintage Inspired ’20s Look
A men’s dress shirt had a detachable white collar on a striped, colored shirt. You won’t find detachable collars anymore, but a white collared shirt is trendy right now. A white dress shirt or solid color is fine, too, but the striped shirts with white cuffs and collar really look vintage! Shop 1920s style men’s shirts here.Â
You could also go for an informal look with just pants and a vest, or a sporting golf look using pants and a sweater or sweater vest.
Here are some more 1920s costume ideas for men:
Click to learn how to create 7 different 1920s men’s looks.
1920s Men’s Hats
Besides the formal top hat, most men went for felt hats in winter and straw hats in summer. Consider the center dent fedora, the round bowler or derby or the unique Homburg for felt hats. The classy straw Panama or round crown Boater or Skimmer are great for summer. The casual flat cap, aka newsboy cap, is versatile year round. Fedoras are classic, too, although most modern Fedoras have very narrow brims. 1920s fedoras had wide brims and tall crowns. Your best bet is to buy a hat online. Read more about 1920s men’s hats styles and shop here for some good hats:
1920s Style Men’s Shoes
1920s Men’s Shoe Styles- Shop Shoes
DSW Shoes, Footwear Etc, Off Broadway Shoes,  Any men’s shoe department store — they all have some basic lace up Oxfords and wingtips (what you would wear to the office). 1920s shoes were either black or rusty brown leather Oxfords with a cap toe or wingtip design. Brown and white, and grey and white were also common but less formal. Wear these with a brown or grey striped suits not with a tuxedo. Formal shoes were shiny black slip on or lace up shoes. Lace up boots were the most casual or working class shoe. Here are some online shoe options you can also find locally:
1920s Style Men’s Accessories
1920 Ties as seen in Boardwalk Empire
A necktie or bow tie is needed for all but casual looks. Paisley, small patterns and wide stripes were all common in the 1920s. They were quite colorful– never bland choices. Mustard yellow, burnt orange, red, gas flame blue, pink, etc. Shop 1920s style neckties here.Â
A pocket square was neatly folded into the suit coat. It did not usually match the necktie but coordinated with at least one color in it. For example, a gold, navy and maroon paisley tie may have a gold pocket square with it. It’s a little detail that makes a big difference.
Gloves are a nice accessory as well-although hard to find in warm weather. White gloves are needed with formal suits, brown or grey leather gloves with semi formal business suits.
More 1920s men’s accessories:
More help:
I am just an email away to help you with your costume needs. Contact me here, and I will get back to you quickly.
11 thoughts on “Roaring Twenties Themed Clothing”
I am going to a 20’s theme wedding. They are not wanting Great Gadsbys style. What formal wear did women wear who were not necessarily rich?
An afternoon dress with elevated material like silk, satin or chiffon and pretty embroidery or a brooch was what most women could afford to wear in the evenings as well. This article should help: https://vintagedancer.com/1920s/1920s-afternoon-dresses/
How did female gangsters or female mob bosses dress in the 1920’s?
They dressed like any (usually wealthy) woman did in the 1920s. There wasn’t anything specific about them, just like male gangsters. Normal nice dresses with coordinated accessories for those who could afford them. Simple dresses or blouse and skirts for those less well off.
Did women wear pants in the 1920s if so, what style.
Yes. Here is the article all about womens pants https://vintagedancer.com/1920s/did-women-wear-pants/
I love this all 1920s collection of both men and women and it’s really unique.This blog is quite interesting and helpful for vintage bloggers
So if you were a girl but wanting to wear a suit, how exactly would you put that outfit together?
You would put your suit together almost the same way. The difference being in the cut of the clothes for a slightly more feminine look. Wide leg pants, white shirt, suit coat, vest, black necktie, bowler hat, oxford shoes. You could buy all men’s clothes and wear them as is or have them tailored a bit more to your shape such as taking in the waist on the coat and vest and tapering the legs around hips to the ankle. Search for pictures of women in pants and you’ll see more ideas of how women put together their looks.
Did men wear ruffled tux shirts in the 20’s?
Just the flat front shirts.