The 2013 film The Great Gatsby, directed by Baz Luhrmann and based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s original iconic novel, made a splash amongst movie-goers. It earned itself a profit of over $90 million, with the expenses for the production of the movie coming to a grand total of $145 million Australian Dollars. The possibly profligate sum of money put into the movie undoubtedly reflected the extravagant visuals and the immensity of the sets, costumes and cast of the movie. Luhrmann had great expectations and intentions for the assembly of his very own visceral, and visually exciting rendition of the 1920s.
The 1920s, also very suitably labelled as ‘The Roaring 20s’, was a vibrant and energetic era of transformation and dissidence. The rise of Wall Street was the spark that ignited a decade of revolution, especially in terms of women’s fashion. Women rose out of the constrictive era of corsets, big skirts and conservatism, taking a big step from the conventional. The following outcome identifies the extent of accuracy of the women’s fashion in Baz Luhrmann’s, The Great Gatsby, pertaining to the actuality of the 1920s era.
This report includes interviews with a design teacher from a highly accredited school in the Adelaide CBD, whom is qualified with a Bachelor of Art in Design, and a representative from SA History Trust with knowledge and expertise in the subject of 1920s fashion. Internet research as well as a literature review, and an in-depth analysis of dresses from Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby are also included as part of the process of research. The 1920s saw the rise of the jazz age and the liberation of women.
This expression of freedom was reflected most notably through fashion. As a result, fashion and clothing became more of a social statement for women. Clothes became looser and less restrictive, and the ideal silhouette for women completely transformed. Women of the 20s aimed for the ‘garconne’ look, which is defined as a straight-bodied, square shouldered look, similar to the body shape of a young boy. Hem lines rose to just below the knee and waistlines dropped down to the hips.
More vibrant colours were introduced and with the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, Egyptian and Oriental influences wove their way into fashion culture. The 1920s was ultimately a time of “excess and extravagance,” especially in fashion. This formal dress shown in Figure 1 is taken from The Great Gatsby movie, and worn by the character ‘Jordan Baker’. Figures 2 and 3 are examples of accurate dresses from the 1920s. This dress features a reasonable number of aspects accurate to the 1920’s era. The exposure of the shoulders and arms, common in dresses in the 1920s, is evident in Jordan’s dress.
Her waist is deemphasised through the use of a softly draped bodice and a belt at the hips, effectively achieving the straight-bodied garconne look. The dropped waist style is also present in Figure 2 where a belt is tied at the hips. The understated and flatchested look the dress provides, also follows through with the ideal androgynous style of the 20s. Although not shown in the image, the hemline of the dress reaches half way between the knee and ankle, an accurate and acceptable length for the time period.
Embroidered beads and jewelled embellishments are present around the neck, and down the chest of this dress, a popular feature in the 20s. The colour black as seen in Jordan’s dress, was a prevalent colour in women’s clothing of that time. In contrast, although backless dresses were fashionable in the era, the backline of this dress is much too low and would have been too revealing for the fashion customs of the 20s. Figure 3 provides an alternate and more accurate example of a backless dress in the era; a V-shaped backline, only just reaching the small of the back.
Despite bare shoulders and arms being attractive in the 20s, the extent to which the front of this dress drops, is quite low to be acceptable in that era. Figure 2 displays a more common and accurate style of neckline for the 1920s, being of a simple scoop-neck style. The second dress taken from The Great Gatsby movie for analysis is shown in Figure 4, and worn by the character Daisy Buchanan. Figures 5, 6 and 7 are examples of accurate dresses from the 1920s. This formal dress is very accurate to the 1920s era as many of its features are exact to the 1920s.
This ensemble showcases the popular peach colour of the era, also seen in Figure 6 and Figure 7. Daisy’s dress displays a neckline which rises above the cleavage line, detracting from the womanly curves breasts give and therefore consistent with the garconne style. Tied fabric bows were attractive in dresses of the era, another example of this being shown in Figure 7. In accordance with the glamorous qualities of the 1920s, jewel embellished fabrics were also very popular, seen in both Daisy’s dress as well as in Figure 6.
The taffeta fabric used in the dress was a luxurious and widely used fabric of the 20s. The choice of an uneven hemline, was common in many dresses and can also be seen in Figure 7. Although not shown, the back of Daisy’s dress comes down to the mid back and has a square cut finish. This backline is popular amongst 20s dresses as the squared edges aided in achieving a slim and straight-bodied silhouette. An inaccuracy of Daisy’s dress would include the length of the dress, as her knee is visible and dresses produced in the 1920s would have come down to just below the knee.
This dress is also pinched slightly at the waist, which would have been completely avoided in the 1920s as the evidence of curves was not desirable to women of the time. The dress seen in Figure 8 is taken from The Great Gatsby movie and worn once again by Jordan Baker. Figures 9, 10 and 11 are examples of dresses from the 1920s with features accurate to the era. This outfit from The Great Gatsby is somewhat accurate to the fashion of the 1920s era with some aspects of the ensemble being true to the time period.
Jordan’s outfit features a v-neck cut which was present although not widely utilized in the 20s. Figure 10 provides an example of a more accurate type of neckline, a deep scoop-neck cut. Silk was seen as a luxurious fabric in the 20s and therefore was frequently used in clothing. Different variations of silk fabric are used in both the top and bottom segments of this outfit. Especially so in sandy and bronze colours, which are appropriately and accurately the chosen colours of the top.
The top and pant combination ensemble of Jordan’s outfit were not commonly seen in 1920s women’s fashion and strays from the conventional. The skirt seen in Figure 11 would have been a more appropriate choice to keep true to the era. The V-shaped lines graduating towards the middle of the torso in Jordan’s dress would have been avoided in the 20s, as it accentuates the waist and is not reminiscent of the androgynous look. Due to this, too much emphasis is placed on the breasts, which does not form the ideal silhouette of the time period.
The straight-bodied figure shown in Figure 9 would have been a more appropriate choice, suitable and accurate to the 20s era. The dress shown in Figure 12 is sourced from Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby and worn by the character Myrtle Wilson. Figures 13, 14 and 15 are instances of accurate dresses from the 1920s era for validation. This dress is very inaccurate to the era, with majority of its features being more akin to the fashion of the 1930s. This ensemble features a ruffled collar, both of which are individually common to the era, although not commonly seen paired together.
The dress reaches ground length which would have been very uncommon as the decade progressed, due to the 20s being the pioneer of the shortened hemline. A fabric band at the hips, which was an attempt of the garconne style, is present and supported in Figure 15, however the tightness of the dress renders this dropped waist useless. The tangerine colour present in Myrtle’s dress, also seen in Figure 13 and 15, was a popular colour in dresses in the 1920s, as many fashion designers opted for more vibrant colours throughout the period.
It can be noted that her breasts were also intentionally emphasised, something that would have been completely avoided in the 1920s, as it is the opposite of the ideal body figure intentions of the decade. Myrtle’s look as an entirety is more so akin to the style and intentions of the 30s rather than the 20s as overall it is too ‘sexy’ and ‘feminine’ to comply with the androgynous qualities of dresses of the 1920s. Through the analysis of four dresses from Baz Luhrmann’s, The Great Gatsby, it is concluded that overall, the dresses from the movie have decent correlation with the 1920s era with moderate accuracy of execution.
All dresses were accurate in terms of fabric, colour and style of cut, however most lacked historical accuracy in terms of silhouette, how much skin the neckline, backline etc. exposed, and the fit of the dress. From this, it is evident that costume designer did much research on the fashion of the 20s decade as the finer details are historically accurate, however the afore mentioned inaccuracies may be a result of modernisation in order to be appealing to the modern age. As a general overview, the accuracy of the dresses in Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby is of a moderate historical accuracy,
