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Before WWI, lipstick was associated with prostitutes and actresses, but during the 1920s flappers embraced it. [41] Lipstick was used yet again as a means of showcasing a woman’s new found confidence. Many suffragettes wore bright red lipstick as a symbol of their new found voice in society. [42] Flappers also wore red lipstick to boost self-esteem and “complete a woman’s face for the world." [43] With the rise in popularity of lipstick came a greater need to produce more lipstick. Lipstick and other beauty products became so popular that women even began carrying makeup in their purses, a new trend during this era. [44] Companies, such as Maybelline and Coty, began manufacturing lipstick to meet the demands of this popular product and help woman achieve this new look. [45]
The most popular color of lipstick worn by women was red. Red is a color associated with rage, passion and strength. By wearing red on their lips, women were associating their voice with strength and passion. They also told the world that this new era of American women, one that achieved freedoms in the 19th amendment, should be feared because of their rising involvement in the country.
"The Cupid's Bow"
Clara Bow
Clara Bow was a popular actress during the 1920s who symbolized the flapper. [46] Clara Bow was one of the first women during the 1920s to reshape their lips to look like cupid's bow. [47] Applying lipstick in the cupids bow look made the lips seem smaller: "On the upper lip, lipstick rose above the lip line in the shape of a cupid’s bow. On the lower lip, it was applied in an exaggerated manner. On the sides, the color stopped short of the natural lip line." [48] Clara Bow along with other actresses influenced women to adopt this new style. Wearing lipstick and shaping one's lips was a new, unique way to show the world that the women of the 1920s were no longer the same, restricted women that existed before WWI.
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