The 1920s – arguably the best decade in all of history. The roaring 20s were full of change and innovation that no decade since has been able to replicate. Women empowerment, the economic boom, the amazing fashion, and more – all of it was created in the 20s.

First of all, let’s just talk about the fashion in the 20s. Full of short-dressed flappers and suit-wearing gangsters, the 20s changed the way people thought about fashion for the next century. The women’s scandalous outfits, composed of “short skirts, bobbed hairstyles, make-up and cosmetics,” were enough to make the older generations blush (Women in the 1920s). Long gone were the days of full-length gowns and petticoats, women in the 1920s wore what they wanted to wear and completely changed the norms for fashion. Without the influence from style icons in the 1920s like Coco Chanel and Clara Bow, we might still be living in Victorian era clothing. We should follow the example of these influential women in the 1920s and create a whole new style in the 2020s that exemplifies who we are and who we want to become. Fashion was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to women acting out and defying what was “ladylike” or “proper”. In the 20s, women started smoking, drinking, and working without a care in the world about who saw them. They influenced future women to stand up for their rights and even managed to obtain the long sought-after right to vote. Women in the 1920s were the epitome of feminism and strength and they showed this both in their clothing choices and in their actions.

Not only was roaring 20s fashion to die for and definitely something we should take up again in this coming decade, but the economy also prospered in the 1920s. People started living in big cities and working in urban businesses and they made much more money than in decades past. This amazing economy left people with money to spare; this excess was something people has never experienced before, and they didn’t know what to do with it. So, what did they do with that money? They spent it, of course. People started buying things for ease and pleasure rather than necessity. This included refrigerators and laundry machines, as well as the all-too-famous radio; radios were all the rage and “by the end of the 1920s, there were radios in more than 12 million households” (The Roaring Twenties History). The many radios sold during the roaring 20s were used to listen to the epic jazz bands that were popping up like wildfire across the US.

Jazz music in the 20s was the epitome of creativity and change. Musicians started playing off the page and improvising many of their solos and other music. Louis Armstrong, one of the most well-known jazz musicians of his time, popularized jazz by “improvising and adding personal musical variations with his trumpet” (1920s: A Decade of Change). Jazz is all about being yourself and playing with your soul, and this music style has impacted music for decades after. Even now, we have excellent jazz bands and improvisation has become a major part of entertainment. These jazz artists are rarely recognized and played on the radio today, and that is something that needs to be changed in the 2020s.

So, why should the 2020s adopt the culture of the 1920s? Well, the roaring 20s were one of the best decades in all of America’s history and brought about more creativity and uniqueness than any other decade. If we want to be dull and forgettable, then sure, we should keep doing the same things that we have been doing for the past decade. But, if we want to leave an impact on history, then we should become more like the people from a century ago; we should take risks and speak out for what we believe in. Maybe then, we will be remembered.