Fashion: Jazz Age glamour with edge

Unless you've been living under a rock, it will come as no surprise that the 1920s are having another moment in the fashion sun.

Thanks to Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, looks inspired by the Roaring 20s are popping up everywhere.

The 1920s was a decade of excess and economic prosperity. World War I had been and gone and in almost every arena of life, people were shimmying their way away from the stifled styles of the past and into a new, modern era.

In the arts, it was 10 years dominated by jazz, Art Deco, surrealism and some of the greatest writers in history - Hemingway, Tolstoy, Shaw, Kafka and, of course, Fitzgerald.

For many, it was a fresh start after the terrors of war. The Art Deco movement glorified all things shiny and modern - from fast cars, radio and film to the advances being made in air travel.

In architecture, technological advances such as plate glass and steel-reinforced concrete meant skyscrapers popped up on every corner, with the race to build the world's tallest building a fiercely fought one, especially in New York. The Chrysler building, that shining beacon of Art Deco glory, was the tallest for a mere 11 months after it was finally completed in 1931, before it was overtaken by the Empire State building.

Wall Street boomed and new money was spent freely - a theme explored in depth by Fitzgerald. The excesses of the decade are reflected in the fashion. It was an era of anything goes - from sequinned drop-waist dresses to feathered bustiers and fishnet tights - in the Golden Age, there really were no rules.

This year's take on the Jazz Age glamour is more refined and modern rather than a straight period re-enactment, cued by the approach of the film's talented costume designer, Catherine Martin.

Think clean lines, metallic tones and geometric shapes. Anything fur, velvet, beaded or brocade is right on cue.

Accessories are turned up a notch and headwear is a must. Add a smudged, smoky eye, a classic red lip and a lack of restraint and you're there - right back in the thick of Fitzgerald's emotive literary work and what is arguably one of New York's greatest eras.