MegaGeeks Inc First Give-Away – Final Blog - Art Deco Inspiration (Part 1)

An Art Deco Woman – Classic 1930’s

            When I first got to Arika’s give-away post I searched for the eye shadow name I most wanted to see in the give-away…and didn’t see it. I fell in love with this color at first sight. It has everything I like, strong, metallic, deep, and full of possibilities.

That color is…

Gothic Lolita Collection - Plush Romantic: Slate blue with pearl shimmer and blue sparkle.

Here is it next to other colors

I love dark silvers like this. It reminds me of old treasure, modern cars, sweeping lines and angular pieces, futuristic daring women, and (oxymoron aside) classic modern without tack or cheapness.

It reminds me of Art Deco.

Art Deco is an artistic style that started in the 1920’s and had the biggest impact on how we view modernism. In this post I will endeavor to explain Art Deco, provide various examples of its style and finally, why it is so culturally significant in today’s world.

This is my homage to Plush Romantic.

Art Deco Brief History

            Art Deco started in Paris in the 1920’s and was at its height in the 1930’s. It was wedged tightly between World War I and World War II. Art Deco was considered a breath of fresh air and ushered in a new idea of “modern” and “future” and, most of all “elegant-glamour.” The style influenced everything from fashion to architecture to art and reflected the revolutionary ideas of its time.

Women’s Movement and Fashion

            Art Deco completely shucked the old trappings of Art Nouveau with its pastels and organic curls and embraced bold, geometric lines and symmetry. This new style emphasized bright colors and stark blacks, whites, and silvers.

Art Nouveau 

Art Deco

This was indeed fashion following politics as the western world was shucking the prudishness of the Victorian age and entering a world of women’s rights. Women came out of the house, won the right to vote, got driver’s licenses, cut their hair short, smoked, and drank.

Out of the ashes of the strict Victorian woman arose the witty party woman who was the equal of any man. They became “flappers.” No longer was she wasp-waisted and tied down with long skirts. Now, she reveled in a flatter silhouette that was freer and suited to a more active lifestyle (and the Charleston). 

Art Deco saw “A new spirit of freedom and liberation was taking over and out went the traditional, meek woman and in swaggered the ballsy, short-haired, sexually-confident flapper!”  - Art Deco Style.com (click link for more info)

Men’s Fashion changed too; became sleeker, more confident and strong.

With the sexual revolution underway (for both sexes) traveling had become far more available and popular. So with the rise of modern came the subverting of old historical styles from Greco-Roman, Egypt, and beyond. Art Deco modernized historical geometric shapes such as chevrons, ziggurats, fountains, and sunbursts.

TO BE CONTINUED...