1920s Fancy Dress: Flapper or Gangster for New Year's Eve, and What Comes in the Pack

The two classic looks for 1920s fancy dress are the flapper, in a fringed dress and a feathered headband, and the gangster, in pinstripes, braces, and a hat, and both make a brilliant New Year's Eve costume. Every flapper and gangster set in this guide comes with its headpiece or hat in the pack. From Boxing Day to New Year's Eve 2025, Google showed our 1920s page for the search "1920s fancy dress" about twice as often a day as its average over the 12 months to November 2026.

Flapper or gangster: which 1920s look should you wear?

Pick the flapper if you want fringe that moves when you dance, and pick the gangster if you want pinstripes and a hat. The table puts them side by side, using what each product page lists as in the pack.

This guide is part of our decades series, which starts with the best 80s fancy dress for adults. Every costume goes through over 30 measurement checks, and our quality team runs over 500,000 checks a year. Each pick below lists what is in the pack, taken from its product page.

Where do the flapper and gangster looks come from?

The flapper and the gangster both come from the 1920s, when many women bobbed their hair, hemlines crept up, and US Prohibition turned the drinks trade into a business for organised crime. The Fashion Institute of Technology describes the decade's look as "a dropped waist and creeping hemlines", with "beadwork, sequins, and embroidery" for evenings, and notes that many women cut "their hair into a bob" (FIT Fashion History Timeline).

The flapper has a British chapter too. The Equal Franchise Act 1928 gave women the vote on an equal basis with men, and about 5 million more women became eligible to register (House of Commons Library). The general election of 30 May 1929, the first in which women aged 21 to 29 voted, is "sometimes referred to as the Flapper Election" (UK Parliament).

The gangster is the American half of the story. US Prohibition came into force in January 1920 and was repealed in December 1933, and the US National Archives traces the rise of the American gangster to the profits of the illegal alcohol market in between (US National Archives). That is where the Prohibition and speakeasy party themes come from.

Which flapper dress should you wear on New Year's Eve?

Choose your flapper dress by size first and colour second, because our three women's dresses cover different size ranges. Together they run from UK size 4 to UK size 30, and each one comes with its own headpiece.

Women's 1920s Black Flapper Costume

Our Women's 1920s Black Flapper Costume is a 100% polyester velour dress with a cold-shoulder cut and fringed sleeves, plus a sequin headband with a feather. It comes in Large, XL, XXL, and XXXL, and the product page describes it as designed to fit plus sizes: check the chest, waist, and hip guide on the product page before you order. Black fringe and a black headband leave room for one bright extra, so pair it with our Long Platinum Blonde Fringe Wig.

Womens 20s Flapper Costume Red

The Womens 20s Flapper Costume Red is a three-piece set: a red fringe dress with tassels on the front and the back, elbow-length red gloves, and a feathered headband. It has the widest size range of the three, six sizes from Small (UK 8 to 10) to XXXL (UK 28 to 30). The product page's own tip is to wear the headband snug at the crown. A dark bob finishes it, and our Black Bob Wig gives you the short 1920s cut in one go.

Womens 20s Charleston Flapper Costume

Gold suits a New Year's Eve countdown, and the Womens 20s Charleston Flapper Costume is a gold velour dress with black fringing all around the hem. The set adds a headpiece with feathers and gold diamante detail, and elbow-length black gloves. It comes in Small (UK 4 to 6), Medium (UK 8 to 10), and Large (UK 12 to 14), and the product page suggests sizing up if you are between two. The name comes from the Charleston, the dance that became a national craze after it appeared in the 1923 Black musical Runnin' Wild (Britannica). We pair this dress with our Black Bob Wig, a short bob in the 1920s style.

What comes in a women's 1920s gangster costume?

A women's 1920s gangster costume from our range comes with the hat and the tie, plus either pinstripe trousers with braces or a pinstripe dress with a belt. That gives you two shapes for the same character: tailored trousers, or a dress with a shawl.

Women's Black Lady 1920s Gangster Costume

The Women's Black Lady 1920s Gangster Costume is four pieces: a white shirt, pinstripe trousers with attached braces, a black tie, and a monochrome hat with a white ribbon. The tie detaches, and the adjustable braces help the fit across different heights and torso lengths. Sizes run from Small (UK 4 to 6) to XX-Large (UK 20 to 22). We pair it with our Adult Gangster Machine Gun Costume Prop; check the venue's rules on toy props before you bring one to a ticketed party.

Women's Pinstripe Gangster Costume

From our 2026 range, the Women's Pinstripe Gangster Costume is a sleeveless, double-breasted pinstripe dress with a fedora-style hat, a tie neckpiece, a leopard print shawl, and a belt for the waist. It comes in S, M, L, XL, and XXL. Gloves, fishnet tights, heels, and jewellery in the photo are not in the pack, so add your own. For a sleek finish under the hat, pair it with our Black Bob Wig.

What should men wear to a 1920s party?

Men can wear a long jacket, a waistcoat, and a peaked cap, or pinstripe trousers, braces, a tie, and a hat, and our two men's sets cover one of each. Both looks have roots in the decade: the Fashion Institute of Technology notes that "Pinstripes were popular" in 1920s menswear, and that hats included "the fedora or trilby, flat caps or the straw boater" (FIT Fashion History Timeline). Both of our men's sets below include the hat, so the look is finished before you pick your shoes.

Men's 1920s Peaked Cap Gangster Costume

The Men's 1920s Peaked Cap Gangster Costume is five pieces: a brown jacket, grey trousers, a waistcoat with a white shirt insert, a grey peaked cap, and a gold chain. It is sized by chest: Medium fits 38 to 40 inches, Large 42 to 44, and XL 46 to 48, and the product page suggests sizing up if you are between sizes and plan to wear layers. The jacket adds a layer for a December walk to the party. For a dressier evening look, swap the cap for our Adult Brown Fedora Hat, which picks up the brown of the jacket.

Men's Pinstripe Gangster Costume

Also from our 2026 range, the Men's Pinstripe Gangster Costume is a black, pinstripe-inspired set: a hat, trousers, a tie, shoe covers, and suspenders. It comes in M, L, XL, and XXL. The shirt is yours, so a plain white one keeps it sharp. The product page suggests a cane, a pocket watch, or novelty money as props, and our Adult Gangster Machine Gun Costume Prop is a fun extra, venue rules permitting.

How do you pair flapper and gangster costumes as a couple?

A flapper and a gangster make a simple couple costume, and two pinstripe sets make a matching one. The table shows three pairings from this guide; any of them works with either partner in either role. For more two-person ideas across the decades, see our 80s and 60s fancy dress for couples and groups.

What should you add to a 1920s costume?

Add only what your set leaves out. Our flapper sets already carry the headband, and the Black Lady and men's pinstripe sets carry braces or suspenders, so most of what you add is hair, shoes, and jewellery.

• Headband: in every flapper set in this guide, from a single feather on the black dress to gold diamante on the Charleston.
• Pearls: not in the women's packs, so wear your own long string, knotted at the chest.
• Feather boa: not in these packs, so bring your own; it works with any of the three dresses.
• Braces: already attached to the Black Lady gangster trousers and included as suspenders in the men's pinstripe set.
• Peaked cap: the grey peaked cap comes with the Men's 1920s Peaked Cap Gangster Costume.
• Hats for everyone else: our Black Gangster Fedora Hat or Adult Brown Fedora Hat.
• Hair: the bob was a popular 1920s cut, and our Black Bob Wig does it in one go.
• Shoes: your own T-bar heels or two-tone shoes; the men's pinstripe set adds shoe covers to wear over them.

Where else can you wear 1920s fancy dress?

You can wear 1920s fancy dress well beyond New Year's Eve: Christmas work parties, murder mystery nights, Prohibition and speakeasy-themed birthdays, and school dress-up days all suit it. A Gatsby party takes its name from F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, published in 1925 (Britannica), and a flapper or gangster costume fits one. Our own 1920s costume sales over the last year were highest in October, the Halloween month, and next highest in February.

Girls Black Flapper Costume

For a family party or a school 1920s day, the Girls Black Flapper Costume is a black fringed flapper dress with a black sequinned headband and an attached feather. It comes in Small (ages 4 to 6) up to X-Large (ages 12 to 14), and the product page suggests sizing up if your child is between sizes, which leaves room for a layer underneath. All of our kids' products are safety tested by accredited labs.

Every set in this guide is polyester, and none goes in the washing machine. Most take a cold hand wash and an air dry away from heat, with headbands and feathers washed apart from the dress; the men's pinstripe set is spot clean and air dry. If you are planning a decades night rather than a single 1920s party, our 70s disco and space-age fancy dress guide and best 90s fancy dress cover the other tables.

Frequently asked questions

Ready to pick? Our full 1920s fancy dress and costume range has every flapper dress and gangster suit in one place, for women, men, and kids.