The development of the flapper began with the transition out of the Victorian Era. Victorians considered behavior to be an outside representation of character. There was a prominent emphasis on integrity, good grooming, proprietary, emotional control. Women were expected to follow Victorian notions of “True Motherhood”; emotional, dependent, gentle, and passive. Sexual prudence was an essential part of the standards (Hughes). During the last leg of the 19th century, the term flapper carried a suggestion of innocence, and evoked images of gawky, unfledged teenage girls (Mackrell, 5). When the U.S entered WWI, thousands of women took up assembly jobs, as well as unaccustomed jobs, including conductors, delivery drivers, traffic cops, and mail …show more content…
“Within the competitive climate of post-war capitalism the new fun-seeking flapper with her dyed hair, bee-stung lips and Charleston frocks was proving to be a wonderful opportunity for business” (Mackrell, 6). Advertisers saw potential for economic growth, and they took advantage of every aspect. In 1915, American advertisers invested just $1.5 million in the beauty industry. By 1930, that sum had multiplied by 10 (Mackrell, 7). Companies played on women’s desires for a better self image. Smoking by women, once considered a sign of immortality, was encouraged in cigarette ads whose slogans - ‘reach for a Lucky instead of a Sweet’ - appealed to a slender body image (Cellania). New brands of cosmetics and depilatories were advertised by celebrities for large sums of money to endorse them, which called for lots of profit to be made. Never being exposed to this type of advertising, women mistook these celebrities as paragons, thus impelling the start of false deductive reasoning in women’s spending patterns. Cosmetics advertising was only one of the dozens of products that began to be advertised and thrown into the faces of Americans. In today’s marketing environment, advertisements are everywhere. Jay Walker-Smith, President of the Marketing Firm Yankelovich, says we’ve gone from being exposed to about 500 ads a day back in the 1970s to as many as 5,000 a day today (Johnson). The opportunity for profit off of material goods only increases from the 1920s and on. Shopping districts began to populate around the country. One of most noteable districts was called the “Ladies Mile”, located in New York City. These districts took place in semi-public, and commercial settings, and held the purpose of promoting the pleasures of looking and touching, and seducing women into desiring goods (Cellania). As department stores became more popular and well established with all