'Age Of Glamour: Fashions Of The 1920s And 1930s'

CHARLESTON, S.C.

:It was a time of liberation, the glitz and glamour of movies and their stars, of dance crazes and all that jazz - it was the Roaring Twenties when a generation's fads were de rigueur. Nothing gives more insight into this fascinating era in American history than the fashion craze that swept across the country and helped to shape the fabric of this decade.

Center stage among the medical, technical and industrial advances were the new trends in couture as women shimmied into this new era with their calves showing and fringes flowing. The Charleston Museum is showcasing the 1920s clothing phenomenon in the first installment of the exhibition "Age of Glamour: Fashions of the 1920s and 1930s" that runs though September 5. The second portion of the exhibit featuring the fashions of the 1930s will open September 9 and continue through February 2007.

Founded in 1773, the Charleston Museum is considered America's first museum and, according to curator Jan Hiester, "We started collecting textiles and clothing around 1917 or so; it became part of our mission. These are all from local donors cleaning out their grandmother's attic or for whatever reason, finding neat things that they then offer to the museum. In the 1980s, we narrowed our focus a little bit so that when we accept something it really has to have something to do with this area of the country, the South Carolina low country."

The museum houses more than 8,000 pieces in its textile and costumes archives. Rotating exhibits, such as this current one, enable it to feature rarely seen items as an annex to its permanent exhibitions.

Having just ended an exhibit of undergarments titled "Foundations of Fashion," the museum was ready to change gears and expose the fun side of the 1920s. "We're focusing on the glamorous aspects. I know that the 20s wasn't all fun and games, but for this particular exhibition, that's what we're focusing on. It's more just to highlight our own collections and that our history doesn't really stop at 1900, which is what our permanent exhibition goes up to right now. But it's a little more fun to bring out some of these other decades and time periods and remind people that we're still making history," admits Hiester.

Fashions of the 1920s were a drastic change for women. From hemlines to hair, the new styles added a different kind of feminine flair. "Women were no longer under the same restrictions. World War I had a big impact on a woman's attitude toward herself, as well as men's attitudes toward women. The corsetry went out the window and the big bustles and hoops were no longer considered interesting. Women were showing a lot more skin, skirts were rising, and the whole attitude was a little freer and looser," says Hiester. "There was more emphasis on sports and activities, so clothing became a little more comfortable and active. It was a real big change. It's the first time that women really didn't wear the restrictive corsets of the previous decades."

Indeed, the outfits on display reflect more than just utilizing less fabric; they highlight a gender freed from buttons, bows and stays. Clothes swathed in beading, fringe and sequins serve to focus on the glamorous theme of the exhibition. Many of the dresses were worn at the dances and parties that became popular events in the 1920s. Radio awakened the senses to the latest sounds, and jazz had the country moving and shaking to a new awe-inspiring beat. The outfits swayed along to these upbeat rhythms in liberating new dance crazes, such as the Charleston, Fox Trot and the Shimmy.