yesterwire.comBack to search

On the date

Saturday, February 14, 1920

From the day

Perspective: The Teenager · Tactile

I’m itching to hike up this drop-waisted hemline and dance, feeling the cool, slick rayon slide against my legs while I hum "Whispering" under my breath. Ma is all in a lather about the suffragists in Chicago, but I’m just trying to keep my bobbed hair tucked tight under this wool cloche before I sneak out to the picture show. I had to swipe **$0.11** from the kitchen jar—the same pittance she spends on a loaf of bread—just so I could feel like some **big cheese** at the confectionery. My fingers are still stained red from clutching my new Raggedy Andy, his rough cotton limbs a far cry from the beaded silk I’m dying to wear tonight.

Memories from that day

No memories yet. Add yours if you remember this day.

The Headlines

SUFFRAGISTS PRESS GOVERNORS TO HAVE AMENDMENT PASSED; Demand Prompt Ratification by States Which Have Not Adopted It. 2,00 REJOICE AT CHICAGO Delegates Join in 30-Minute Demonstration Over TheirComing Victory.ASSOCIATIONS TO DISSOLVE League of Women Voters Also WillBe Organized as an Independent Body.

Read in The New York Times →

Best-selling Sheet Music

Whispering

John Schonberger

The must-have

Raggedy Andy

On This Day

Slang

Slang of the decade

General

applesaucebaloneycheaterscrush

Flapper

bee's kneescat's pajamasgiggle watershebahotsy-totsy

Gangster

big cheesebump offstool pigeongatfall guy

Catchphrases of 1920

  • Return to normalcy

Tech Check

Commercial Radio Stations (KDKA), Hair Dryer & Band-Aid.

Style of 1920

Silhouette: Straight and drop-waisted (Flapper)

Material: Beaded silk and rayon

  • Bobbed hair
  • Cloche hats
  • T-strap heels

Cost of Living (1920)

Loaf of Bread

$0.11

Gallon of Gas

$0.30

Average Home

$6,296

New Car

$575

Meanwhile

  • Post-WWI RecessionSevere deflation and collapse of agricultural prices.

Time Elapsed

38,828 days ago

(106 years, 138 days)