Tag Archives: twenties

Cabaret

The Ambassadeur Show 1926

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The Ambassadeur Show 1926

Edmund Sayag’s first show at the newly renovated Café des Amabassadeurs was Lew Leslie’s all-black production Blackbirds of 1926. Direct from New York, Blackbirds capitalised on the success of The Revue Negre, featuring Josephine Baker, staged earlier in 1925 and was an instant hit.

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Venues

Lido des Champs Elysees

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The Lido des Champs Elysees

Clearly inspired by the growing status of the Lido in Venice as a fashionable haunt of high society,the Lido des Champs Elysees, Paris, opened its doors on 18th February 1928 and was a novelty being a unique combination of a swimming pool, cabaret and restaurant and was described as ‘the seaside resort of Paris.’

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Dancing

Adagio Dancing

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Adagio Dancing

In the Jazz Age of the 1920s, acrobatic dance routines became extremely fashionable and the dances were either described as ‘whirlwind’ or ‘adagio’. But what does adagio mean?

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Venues

Cafe de Paris, London

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Cafe de Paris, London

The Cafe de Paris was one of the most fashionable dining haunts in London in 1920s. Intimate and elegant it was described by Vogue magazine as ‘delightfully comfortable’ and by Dancing Times as ‘the smartest dance restaurant in London…’

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Fads

The cult of sunbathing

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The cult of sunbathing

Nowadays, despite health scares, most of us yearn to lounge on a beach in the summer, wear skimpy beachwear, dowse ourselves in delicious smelling oils and sprays and acquire a gorgeous dark tan designed to become the envy of our friends. But it is strange to think that sunbathing is a relatively recent pastime, so when did it really become fashionable and why?

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This 'n' That

The bizarre tale of Mrs Smith Wilkinson

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The bizarre tale of Mrs Smith Wilkinson

Described variously as ‘The Countess of Monte Cristo’, ‘The Queen of Diamonds’ and ‘Madame Aladdin’, Mrs Smith Wilkinson can be seen as a society con-artist and one of the first wannabe celebrities. She made a rather big splash in Paris in the summer of 1921 causing much debate and gossip in the press thereafter. Whatever was all the fuss about?

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Art & Decor

Charles Gesmar

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Charles Gesmar by Angelo Luerti

Charles Ges(i)mar, simply known as Gesmar, was one of the greatest designers of costumes and posters during the golden age of the Paris music hall during the Jazz Age and was primarily renowned for his work for the great Parisian star Mistinguett. Although his tenure was short, his output was prolific and his creativity and talent unrivalled.

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Art & Decor, Dolly Tree

Dolly Tree illustrations

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Dolly Tree’s Jazz Age illustrations

Before she became an international renowned costume designer for stage and screen in the early 1920s, Dolly Tree excelled as an illustrator.

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Venues

The Classy Ciro’s Restaurant Chain

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The Classy Ciro’s Restaurant Chain

Among European high society Ciro’s became an institution and perhaps the first classy restaurant chain in Europe with main branches in Monte Carlo, Paris, London and Biarritz. Each venue was regarded as far more than a restaurant but the very centre of fashionable life.

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