Dolled up and lacy, Daisy Buchanan captivated the hearts of many as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s flapper girl. With baby doll dresses and chiffon overlay, the appeal of “The Gatsby Girl” look is hot for spring.
“The ’20s and ’30s have been popular for some time now,” said Jean Smith, employee of Kathryn’s vintage dress shop in the Short North. “Now a lot of designers are creating lines based in this era.”
Smith said celebrities wearing 1920’s styles directly influence the rising popularity of the Gatsby look among young women.
“A lot of movie stars have been wearing 1920’s styles recently, like Julia Roberts and Renee Zellweger,” Smith said. “I don’t think I’ve seen Renee Zellweger without a vintage dress for an award show.”
The Gatsby Girl trend evokes femininity with lace overlay on skirts and dresses and bias cut and slip dresses.
“I like the Gatsby look because it’s not something you find everywhere else, and it’s really beautiful. Not a lot of people wear these kinds of dresses, ” said Cori Page, shopper at Kathryn’s and a local high school student.
Originality and style makes flapper dresses popular among high school and college students, Smith said.
With the emerging popularity dawning on younger audiences from Hollywood icons, the Gatsby femininity is mimicked in high-fashion and affordable venues. Popular designer Marc Jacobs innovated the look for the spring fashion show in New York City last September.
Sheer, short flapper dresses in low bias cuts, silk and chiffon skirts, light airy pinks and pastels highlighted the runway. The prettiness is appealing to young women, but the prices of designer apparel is not. A 1920s inspired open knit wrap sweater with a large flower detail by Jacob’s is $725.
However daunting the high prices for high fashion, affordable retailers and vintage outlets carry the Gatsby Girl look for less.
“Vintage is reasonable, when you compare it to high-end fashion,” Smith said. “To get it at a vintage price is fabulous.”
Kathryn’s had an authentic bias cut chiffon dress from 1928 with an embroidered skirt for $75. The store carries authentic accessories from the ’20s and ’30s – like hats, purses and shoes for low prices. A silver sequined purse from 1930 is $10, and 1920’s cloche hats fly out the door, Smith said.
“Most of our dresses are reasonable prices ranging from $10 to $2500 for very high end dresses,” said Kathryn Conklin, owner of Kathryn’s vintage dress shop. “We have plenty of $20 to $35 dresses.”
Affordable retail designers adapted 1920s motifs within their designs, innovating the look for a younger, fresher appeal.
“All designers look back to the past,” Conklin said. “We have had designers from Abercrombie and Fitch come in and buy dresses to re-design based on retro designs.”
Popular stores for college girls like Forever XXI and Wet Seal offer the Gatsby Girl look for less. Retro dresses like a crinkled chiffon dress, asymmetrical panel lined silk dress and a silk knee length 4 layer dress are $29.80 at Forever XXI.
These dresses embody the light airy sophistication of Daisy Buchanan and the era of elegance.
Wet Seal has Gatsby Girl pieces like a scallop lace cami in lavender for $22.50, a crushed silk skirt with embroidery for $34.50, a hook and eye blouse with lace overlay for $26.50 and a chiffon trim skirt in pink for $24.50.
From the runway to the mall, the chic elegance of a 1920s piece is exciting.
“Everyone finds a piece of treasure that no one else has,” Smith said.
