May 1, 2021

By Leslie Drollinger Stratmoen 

Though Clara Bow has been credited by many historians as the ultimate “flapper girl,” my research shows she was riding a fashion wave that had already hit the shore by the time she was cresting. You see by the time Bow was dubbed “The It Girl” via the 1927 film, “It,” the “flapper girl” had been making waves since the beginning of the decade as I’ve already shown by the articles in my 1922 McCall’s magazine.

So, even though Bow may have popularized the look to the masses, it was the actress Olive Thomas who showed up as the first “flapper girl,” in the 1920 movie, “The Flapper.”

Digging my toes in the sand even deeper, I’d say the term and persona of “the flapper girl” was the invention of Frances Marion because she wrote the script.

Now, as for the “flapper” look, well that accolade should go to the film’s costume designer, but there doesn’t seem to be any credit listed, which is not surprising for that time period. I’m still hoping that detail might pop up somewhere in my ongoing quest for knowledge.

Getting back to Clara Bow, apparently it was her electric and sexy performance in the “It” movie that spoke to the flapper persona of the times, according to biography.com, published by A&E Television Networks. Though the film proved to be a box office success, Bow retired from acting only six years later, in 1933, at the age of 26, after suffering a nervous breakdown. Historians attribute her fragile mental state to an overloaded work schedule, celebrity scrutiny and an assistant’s betrayal of publishing a pamphlet on her relationships.

And here I thought she’d lived this happy life based on all her beautiful, glamorous photos and the “It Girl” moniker. So, I was surprised to learn all this. Researching further, I discovered Bow broke into show business, as they say, when she was 16 escaping a traumatic upbringing, being raised by a mentally unstable mother and abusive father. She broke in by winning a beauty contest promoted by a magazine that landed her a small part in the 1922 film, “Beyond the Rainbow.”

She did have some happiness, we can assume, because she was known for having a fun personality, according to biography.com, and while recovering from her breakdown she did meet and marry fellow actor and future politician Rex Bell. The couple spent the next thirty years together and had two children. She was 60 years old when she died in 1965 just three years after her husband.

So, even though she wasn’t in the business for long, only riding the wave for a mere 10 years, she still made her mark in the sand and will forever be remembered as a trailblazer in both film and fashion. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: By the way, several historians hypothesize that the term “flapper” originated in Great Britain with a brief fad of young women wearing rubber galoshes that flapped when they walked. Well, I’m not buying it. I say the term originated with Frances Marion, the writer of “The Flapper.”

References: McCall’s magazine, askinglot.com and biography.com