A Century Ago - Life & Fashion in 1926

1926 was the beginning of that Art Deco era we think of when we picture ‘the 20s’ in our head - the economy was booming, the skirts were short, and jazz was everywhere.

Newspaper headlines reported on the deaths of Harry Houdini and Rudolph Valentino, as well as the criminal underworld made famous by Al Capone. In news from around the world Mussolini embodied ‘totalitarianism’ as he promoted himself to head Italy’s military, reintroduced the death penalty, and outlawed women from holding public office. Hirohito became the emperor of Japan, and Nguyen became the emperor of Vietnam. Labour unrest resulted in a general strike in the UK., but in the U.S. Henry Ford implemented a 40-hour work week at his car factories.

New Automobile brands included the Pontiac and Mercedes-Benz, and the rear-view mirror first appeared on some models. In England, the first traffic lights were installed in Piccadilly circus, and in the U.S., a numbered highway system was established, that included Route 66. If travelling by air, Luft Hansa was founded in Germany, and the forerunner of United Airlines was founded in the States.

In the world of sports, the first greyhound race track was opened in Manchester, Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel, and in golf the first ‘open’ was held.

‘Negro History Week’ (the precursor of Black History Month) was founded in the U.S. for the second week in February. Other premiers this year include the first transatlantic phone call made from New York to London; Scottish-born John Logie Baird demonstrated radiovision (television) at his London lab; the fibreboard Masonite debuted on the market, and the ‘pinscher’ (short-coated terrier) dog breed was registered.

Breakfast might feature the new variety of ‘Clementine' orange or even an Orange Julius, and maybe a bowl of ‘muesli ‘– or maybe some ‘hash browns’ to have with a popular new cut of steak – the ‘rib eye’.

Trending in popularity in 1926 were high school yearbooks, shower parties for soon-to-be brides or expectant mothers, and in North America, Halloween door-to-door ‘Trick or Treating’ was becoming popular.

In slang terms, even if you were from the ‘bible belt’ in ‘the Midwest’, you could still be a ‘red-hot mama’ dating a ‘jughead’ for a ‘hoot’, at least until your ‘sugar-daddy’ comes along.  You might ‘gate-crash ‘a ‘flick’ or ‘finagle’ a drink to get ‘cock-eyed’ if you can’t get it on ‘tick’ and your finances are ‘in the red’. If the 'palooka' is running a 'racket' in 'narcotics', he might get. 'booked', but whatever you do, don’t try to ‘outsmart’ or take a ‘potshot’ at him or spill the ‘dirt’ as he might not ‘buy’ that you are kidding, and ‘suckerpunch’ you, so ‘save your breath’ or try a ‘pep talk’ instead.

The terms ‘Lost Generation’ and ‘Shot to Hell’ emerged from Hemingway’s book The Sun Also Rises – his enduring novel about war and trauma, which met with mixed reviews upon publication. Agatha Christie disappeared from her home for eleven days but was found in a spa in Harrogate, Yorkshire suffering from amnesia. On the lighter side, A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh was published, and P.L. Travers’ short story Mary Poppins first appeared in a New Zealand newspaper.

The Russian film Battleship Potemkin was released in the US, and the first talkie The Jazz Singer was filmed. Buster Keaton appeared in the years most popular film The General, and Greta Garbo premiered in the film Torrent.

The American radio network N.B.C. launched in 1926, where you might hear some of the year’s hits: "Bye Bye Blackbird" or "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue” by Gene Astin, and "When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along" or "I'm Sitting on Top of the World" by Al Jolson. From Broadway, a ‘tunesmith’ ‘noodled’ the hits "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "Do, Do, Do", both popularized by Gertrude Lawrence.

If you wanted to hear some ‘scat’, or a ‘vibraphone’ you might try Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra with "The Birth of the Blues" or Duke Ellington and His Washingtonians with “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo”.

If you needed some new ‘threads’ you could buy a pair of 'sweatpants', or have your feet measured in a Brannock Device to check for the correct shoe size.  The trending style was for ‘La Garçonne’ - an androgynous style popularized by Coco Chanel that relied on cosmetics to bring attention to the face while short hair and shapeless dresses, wide leg pyjamas, tailored suits and coats, and scarves and ties accentuated a slim figure. If you weren't built for the look, cosmetic surgery was becoming more popular, but if you did't want to undergo the knife, there were MANY fad diets to try to achieve the ideal svelte figure.