The 1920s Lifestyles and Social Trends: Chronology

1920:      A new three-button sports jacket made of cartridge cloth, fabric used to hold powder charges during World War I, becomes a predecessor of the men's lightweight summer suit.

1920:     January 16 The Volstead National Prohibition Act goes into effect, providing enforcement for the Eighteenth Amendment that prohibits the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquor.

1921:      High-button shoes for men are replaced by oxfords, low-cut shoes with laces.

1921:     March 4 Warren G. Harding becomes the first U.S. president to arrive at his inaugural ceremony in an automobile.

1921:     May Construction begins on the Wrigley Building in Chicago. It will have a 32-story tower and 442,000 square feet of office space.

1921:     September 8 The first Miss America pageant is held in Washington, D.C.

1922:      Architectural delineator (artistic renderer) Hugh Ferriss draws and publishes his influential artwork of the four stages of skyscraper construction.

1922:      The "slouch suit," with jacket bloused over a hip-level belt, becomes popular among women.

1922:     May 5 Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel introduces Chanel No. 5, which will become the world's most famous perfume.

1922:     May 30 The Lincoln Memorial, sculpted by Chester French, is dedicated in Washington, D.C.

1922:     September 22 Congress passes the Cable Act, granting independent citizenship to married women.

1923:      The upscale Bergdorf Goodman fashion store for women opens a ready-to-wear department at its original Fifth Avenue location in New York City.

1923:     October 29 The African American musical revue Runnin' Wild opens in New York City, featuring an exuberant, jazzy dance called the Charleston.

1924:      Fashionable men begin wearing blue blazers with round-toed oxfords.

1924:      Heavy make-up and plucked, redrawn eyebrows become popular with women.

1924:      Architect Louis Sullivan publishes his influential book The Autobiography of an Idea.

1924:     September Gimbel Brothers opens an upscale clothing store, Saks & Company, later to be called Saks Fifth Avenue.

1925:      Skirt hemlines rise to knee length.

1925:      The Model T Ford reaches its lowest price of $260. It had sold for $950 in 1909.

1925:      The Jewish Institute of Religion graduates its first class.

1925:     May 13 The Florida legislature passes a law requiring daily Bible reading in public schools.

1926:      Two thousand people die from drinking poisoned liquor during the year, as the illegal liquor trade reportedly brings in $3.5 billion.

1926:      French tennis player Jean René Lacoste, nicknamed "The Crocodile," introduces the short-sleeved knit Lacoste tennis, or polo, shirt with a crocodile emblem on the chest.

1927:      Grauman's Chinese Theater, a legendary American movie palace, opens in Hollywood. The architectural theme is Oriental.

1927:      A dance called the lindy hop is named for aviation hero Charles Lindbergh.

1927:     May 10 The Evangelical Church rules that only celibate women may be ordained as ministers.

1928:      Architect R. Buckminster Fuller introduces his prefabricated Dymaxion House, a six-sided module suspended from a central utility mast with outer walls of glass.

1928:     January 1 The Milam Building opens in San Antonio, Texas. It is the first air-conditioned office building in the United States.

1928:     December 1 The Model J Duesenberg, one of America's most spectacular automobiles, is first presented at the New York Automobile Salon.

1929:      During the year, American women purchase an average of one pound of face powder and eight rouge compacts apiece.

1929:     Fall Designer Jean Patou drops skirt lengths to mid-calf, ushering in a new style for women's fashion in the 1930s.

1929:     October 16 The Federal Council of Churches of Christ pledges its support for the textile worker strikes in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and Gastonia, North Carolina.

1929:     October 29 Black Tuesday: The stock market crashes. Within weeks, unemployment rises from 700 thousand to 3.1 million.