FASHION: Back to the jazz age

White dress and coat from Carla Ruiz (£325)

from Fenwick, York

Fashion’s in a flap as the Roaring Twenties take centre stage this spring. MAXINE GORDON throws the spotlight on the trend, while FRANK DWYER takes the pictures…

ARE you ready to become a flapper girl? Fashion continues its love affair with the past and this season it is the turn of the 1920s.
Dropped waists, beaded dresses and layers of pearls are swinging this way for spring and summer.

Taking its cue from movies such as the Oscar-winning The Artist and the upcoming remake of The Great Gatsby, the Twenties are the style decade du jour. Top designers are at the helm of this revival; their collections for spring/summer were brimming with feather trims, crystal beads and sparkling sequins.

Dress from All Saints (£295) at Fenwick's

For Ralph Lauren, the flapper dress reigned supreme; over at Gucci, it was all about the dropped waist. Feathers were the trim of choice for Michael Kors and Oscar De La Renta. Marc Jacobs worked the straight silhouette (think Twiggy in The Boyfriend) and Matthew Williamson went for all-out Gatsby glamour with a classic combination of gold, beading and feathers.



But you don’t have to cough up couture prices to copy the look. We teamed up with Fenwick’s department store in York to stage our own Twenties-inspired photoshoot.

The look is all about shape. Waistlines should be dropped, of course, but look for other features such as tunics with banded hemlines, or light knits with kimono sleeves. Opt for sheer shifts or straight-line dresses covered with beads and sequins. We found a perfect example at All Saints, now available at Fenwick.



Kimono top, Mint Velvet (£59),

at Fenwick



Accessories make the look – and add a splash of glamour. Have fun with feathers and headpieces. Take a beaded hair band and wear it around your forehead rather than in Alice fashion for instant Twenties feel.



Shoes should make you want to hit the dance floor. Pick strappy sandals in gold or some daintier court shoes with straps – perfect for a spot of tap dancing. We found the perfect selection at Kurt Geiger in Fenwick.

Handbags are catching the mood too. Clutches covered in pearls and boxy bags with crystals would complete any outfit.

We staged our shoot at York’s fabulous Grand Opera House, which is paying its own homage to the Twenties in April with a return run of the hit musical Chicago.



Starring Ali Bastian as Roxie Hart and Bernie Nolan as Matron ‘Mama’ Morton, the award-winning musical – based on real life events in the 1920s when nightclub singer Roxie Hart shot her lover and tried to escape death row – will be taking over the Opera House from Monday April 16 to Saturday April 21. For tickets, call 0844 871 3024 or visit www.atgtickets.com/york

Photoshoot thanks to:

Model: Beth Argile

Hair and make-up: Beckie Stirk (www.beckiestirk.co.uk)

Stylists: Pauline Robinson, at Fenwick, York, and Hannah Clugston

All clothes and accessories from Fenwick, Coppergate, York

Venue: Grand Opera House, York