Political Déjà Vu and the Costuming of American Womanhood
In the 1920s, America faced rapid technological change, heightened racial violence, anti-immigrant rhetoric, and a widening wealth gap. Sound familiar? A century later, the 2020s echo many of these political crises. But in fashion, the story shifts: flappers flaunted and celebrated women’s liberation, while today’s rising tradwife agenda embraces domestic constraint.
In a 1922 article for Metropolitan Magazine (as cited in Smithsonian magazine), Zelda Fitzgerald, a flapper and writer married to F. Scott Fitzgerald, captured the spirit of the era: “The Flapper awoke from her lethargy of sub-deb-ism, bobbed her hair, put on her choicest pair of earrings and a great deal of audacity and rouge and went into the battle. … She was conscious that the things she did were the things she had always wanted to do.” For Fitzgerald, the flapper was a woman who pursued a career, dressed daringly, or behaved flirtatiously—pushing back against the gendered constraints of her time.
Photo: Biblio Blog
During the alcohol Prohibition, flappers defied this conservative push and continued to drink, even in public. They organized “petting parties” at Jazz clubs where couples gathered to drink and engage in promiscuous, sexual behavior. Flappers also popularized women driving cars, encouraging women to assert agency in their lives and relationships.
Photo: chifferobeevents
Photo: Windsor Star
In their distinct style, flappers challenged gender norms. By adopting bobbed haircuts associated with masculinity, they claimed roles traditionally reserved for men, while their risqué fashion (exposed ankles, raised hemlines, and sleeveless dresses) projected a new, sexualized version of modern femininity.
Photo: Vintage Dancer
But growing rapidly in popularity, with a 100% increase in traction from August 10th to August 17th this year, the tradwife aesthetic rejects what flappers fought for, instead embracing a government-endorsed vision of traditional womanhood.
Under “#tradwife” on TikTok, you will find videos of women baking bread and maintaining a pristine home in prairie dresses. In one video, creator JaneaElizabeth kneads sourdough on her kitchen counter beneath the caption: “In a world of women sexualizing themselves, hating on men, and wanting a 9-5…I’m proud to be a modest submissive, SAH (stay at home) wife. There’s something so beautiful and elegant about true femininity.”
Photo: Kaitlin Brito/Mother Jones
Between the 2020 and 2024 elections, the share of women ages 18-44 who voted for Donald Trump rose by 7%, rising from 34% to 44%. The simultaneous popularization of the tradwife suggests possible alignment between this cultural trend and women’s growing support for a candidate known for his anti-abortion stance, sexual assault and rape allegations, and promotion of backward gender roles.
These two movements, though separated by a hundred years, show how in the midst of politics, fashion becomes a battleground for women’s rights. Both flappers and tradwives have personified a new definition of American womanhood: one centered on moving towards the future, and the other on a retreat to the past.
XOXO, The Fashion Stock Market
Cover Photo: Medium
Editor: Felicity Field
