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1920s Menswear Virtual Presentation

The daring knee baring flapper is the icon of Jazz Age fashion, but modern menswear was just as flashy, colorful and outrageous! On Nov. 16 at 2pm we're headed to a time when tweed was an artform, men couldn't wear enough competing patterns, Douglas Fairbanks golfed in a suit of bright red plaid knickers and silent film comedians relished parodying it all onscreen!

Menswear historian Marc Chevalier has outdone himself in putting together an entertaining look at the out-sized cultural trends and subcultures that evolved "Jazz Suits," "Oxford Bags" and tuxedos that drew from the styling of traditional Mexican fancy men's dress. All this, in an era when tailors offered a myriad of stylistic choices that allowed creative young men to move buttons higher, bell the bottoms of their trousers or tighten the fit across their shoulders to accentuate the flair of the bottom of the coat - fashioning innovative new styles.

Oh and wait until you see the opulent embroidered silks in vibrant purples, greens and oranges that were produced for men's ties!

This presentation is virtual on Zoom and if tickets are purchased by Saturday, Nov. 16 at 1:45 PM, can be enjoyed via a recording if one cannot attend live.

Marc promises to answer these questions (and more):

IN 1920s AMERICA…

WHY did “cake eaters” hate “finale hoppers”—and vice-versa?

WHY did so many unsold jazz suits end up going to India?

WHY were Oxford bags banned from most dance floors?

Menswear tends to be the ignored stepchild of modern American fashion history. It’s one reason why the costuming in many American period film and TV productions gets the details of 1920s menswear all wrong, from hats down to shoes.

Join ADSLA board chairman (and amateur American menswear historian) Marc Chevalier as he shows us, in words and pictures, authentic 1920s menswear pieces and outfits. Marc reveals the surprising evolution of those clothes…and how the second half of the ‘20s determined what men would wear for the next 80 years.

You’ll never watch a Gatsby flick the same way again!


This presentation is live online, on Zoom. The link is provided with ticket purchase confirmation. Audience members will be able to interact with the speaker. If you purchase a ticket now, you will be able to view a recording of the presentation if you can’t make it to the live broadcast.

Only one ticket is necessary, per household, as long as you plan to all view it on the same device.

Tickets are non-refundable.

$12 Members of Art Deco Society of Los Angeles and ICADS organizations. (ICADS members much use their code to access the member price.) (plus fees)

$18 Non-Members (plus fees)

Tickets are not refundable, but you may sell or give them to a friend. Transfer them within Agile.