Most of you are probably like me in that you know somewhat what the term "art deco" means, and can peg a few buildings (The Chrysler Building in NYC), pieces of jewelry, and runway collections to the style. I decided to do a little bit of research to help understand the concept more. Here's the gist of the art deco movement.
The term art deco was coined in the 1920's in, of course, Paris. It encompassed architecture, art, industrial and interior design, fashion, jewelry, and more, and focused on glamour, elegance, and modernity. Art deco ideas drew ideas from earlier twentieth century concepts such as cubism and modernism and influenced many other well-known movements such as pop art and film noir (look for more on these two later!). While a lot of artistic movements are based from philosophical beliefs and ideas, art deco is solely, well, decorative, and draws from the geometric shapes of the classical Greco-Romans, Aztecs and ancient Egyptians. Faceted, crystalline, and repeated features are a common characteristic of an art deco piece, as well as the use of materials such as chrome, lacquer, and wood.
Old-fashioned yet modern, bold yet streamline, austere yet ornate. I'm really loving this trend Bauble Bar has going on right now. And the best part? It's all so wonderfully affordable. So please, indulge yourself in a little bit of old Hollywood glamour. It's a revival that can only be considered necessary.
