Did you know that back before the 1920s, makeup and cosmetics were not accepted by American Society because of their relation to loose living and prostitution? But because of popular movie stars like Joan Crawford and Clara Bow, women began copying their makeup. Now makeup is even more widely accepted by society. This and other fun facts make the 1920s among some of the greatest decades of all time because of the interesting fashion, jazz music, and celebrities. One of the defining characteristics of the roaring twenties was the fashion. A lot of the popular fashion trends in the 20s were set by popular figures like actors and actresses. For women, they wore formal clothes when they went to afternoon parties and evening parties. During afternoon …show more content…
Starting in New Orleans, jazz music swept the whole country off its feet. Dressmakers advertised “jazz styles” and poets wrote “jazz poetry”. Almost everyone living in America at the time were affected by this fun new music. One of the most important jazz musicians in this time was Father Dip aka Louis Armstrong. His solos and his magnificent trumpet playing made him such a popular jazz musician. Another famous jazz musician was Bessie Smith. She was very popular in the south and among the ghettos of the north and earned the nickname Empress of the Blues. Though it was often said that her sound was “too basic for the general public.” King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band were claimed to be the best group in 1923. The band consisted of 3 members; Johnny Dodds, the clarinet player, his younger brother, nicknamed “Baby”, who played the drums, and Joe Oliver, the cornet playing leader who had been acknowledged as the Crescent City’s top brass man. They often did duets with Louis Armstrong. One of the most celebrated musical events of the decade was the premier of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue at Manhattan’s Aeolian Hall in the winter of 1924. It was so popular that there was a mob of people outside of the hall who were fighting to get in. Deems Taylor said that the Rhapsody revealed “a genuine gift and a piquant and individual harmonic sense. It is genuine jazz music.” These musicians are just a few of the many others who were able to