Topics in Chronicling America - The Rise of the Flapper

The flapper craze arrives on the American scene in the 1920s, featuring young libertine women who bob their hair and dance the Charleston in short dresses. They frequent jazz clubs and use flapper jargon like “the cat’s meow,” “the bee’s knees,” or “that’s so Jake.” In 1922, the Weekly-Journal Miner (Prescott, AZ) printed a photo of a flapper, labeled from head to foot, complete with bobbed haircut, felt hat, and knee-length fringed skirt.” Read more about it!

The information and sample article links below provide access to a sampling of articles from historic newspapers that can be found in the Chronicling America: American Historic Newspapers digital collection (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/). Use the Suggested Search Terms and Dates to explore this topic further in Chronicling America.

Jump to: Sample Articles

Important Dates:

• 1920: Olive Thomas stars in the Frances Marion film, “The Flapper.”
• 1920: F. Scott Fitzgerald publishes a collection of short stories entitled “A Story of Flappers for Philosophers.”

Suggested Search Strategies:

• [Try the following terms in combination, proximity, or as phrases using Search Pages in Chronicling America.] British flapper, modern girl, flapper style, jazz, bob haircut.
• It is important to use a specific date range if looking for articles for a particular event in order to narrow your results. For best results, limit your search to articles published between the years 1920-1922.

Sample Articles from Chronicling America:

• "Graceful Fashions for the Flapper," The Tomahawk (White Earth, MN), January 2, 1919, Image 3, col. 3-4.
• "Everyday Flapper Clothes for Spring," Chicago Eagle (Chicago, IL), January 25, 1919, Image 12, Page 11, col. 3-4.
• "British Flappers Like Morning 'Nip'," Washington Times (Washington, DC), June 8, 1919, Image 1, col. 6.
• "British Flappers Can't Land Jobs," Washington Times (Washington, DC), October 14, 1919, Page 20, Image 20. col. 1.
• "Those Fluttering Flappers ," Evening World (New York, NY), April 20, 1920, Image 21, col. 7-8.
• "Flapper Philosophy...," Evening World (New York, NY), May 8, 1920, Image 10, col. 7.
• "Modern Girls Face Certain Disaster; "Flappers" Called Saddest Type of All," El Paso Herald (El Paso, TX), May 20, 1920, Image 15, col. 1-2.
• "Mother Not to Blame for Flapper's Flapping," Evening World (New York, NY), February 2, 1922, Final Edition, Image 29, Page 29, col. 1-2.
• "Flapper Suits," Ogden Standard-Examiner (Ogden, UT) , March 26, 1922, Magazine Section, Image 31, col. 1-3.
• "Flappers," Tombstone Epitaph (Tombstone, AZ), April 30, 1922, Page 4, Image 4, col. 2.
• "Old-time Jargon "Kicks in" as Flapper Evolves New Jargon," Morning Tulsa Daily World (Tulsa, OK), May 7, 1922, Image 29, col. 6-7.
• "Big Business Banishes the Flapper," Morning Tulsa Daily World (Tulsa, OK), July 16, 1922, Image 26, col. 1-5.
• "Even Turkey Bars the Flapper," Ogden Standard-Examiner (Ogden, UT) , October 1, 1922, Sunday Feature Section, Page 2, Image 18, col. 1-6.
• "Woman Always Pays, Says Girl of 14 in First Flapper Tragedy," Ogden Standard-Examiner (Ogden, UT) , May 1, 1922, Last Edition, Page 1, col. 4-5.
• "The Origin and Rise of the Flapper," New York Tribune (New York, NY), July 23, 1922, Page 3, Image 53, col. 2-5.
• "Typical Flappers," Weekly Journal-Miner (Prescott, AZ), August 2, 1922, Image 1, col. 3.