Roaring 20s party decorations come down to five things: black and gold, low warm light, feathers and pearls, coupe glasses, and jazz. Decide first whether you want Gatsby glamour (bright, white and gold, champagne) or a hidden speakeasy (dark, a password at the door, a bar that looks illegal), because they point in opposite directions. Then decorate the five places guests actually notice: the door, the lights, the bar, the music and one photo corner.
Gatsby or speakeasy?
| Gatsby party | Speakeasy party | |
|---|---|---|
| Feel | Lavish mansion party | Secret bar in a basement |
| Light | Bright and sparkling: string lights, candles, mirrors | Dark: candles and a few warm lamps only |
| Colours | White, gold, cream, silver | Black, gold, deep red or green |
| Door | Open, with a welcome sign | Closed, with a password |
| Bar | Champagne, coupes, a tower if you dare | Unlabelled bottles, teacups, a "PRIVATE" bottle |
| Dress | Sequins, feathers, white tie | Pinstripes, fedoras, flapper dresses |
The door
The first thing guests see sets the tone.
- Speakeasy: put a password on the invitation and a small sign on the door: "Knock twice. Password required." Have someone answer the door in character. It costs nothing and it is the moment people talk about.
- Gatsby: an "Admit One" style sign, a gold balloon arch, or a doorman with a list.
Light
This matters more than anything you buy. Turn every overhead light off.
- Candles in clusters, in glass holders. Use LED ones near fabric.
- Warm string lights along the ceiling or the bar.
- One lamp with a gold or amber shade by the food so people can see what they are eating.
Colours and Art Deco shapes
Stick to two colours plus one accent: black and gold, with cream, emerald or burgundy. The 1920s look is Art Deco: fans, sunbursts, chevrons and stepped shapes. Easy versions:
- Gold paper fans on the wall.
- A black tablecloth with a gold runner.
- Gold-rimmed or geometric plates.
- Feather plumes in tall vases; strings of pearls draped around candles.
The bar
The bar is the centrepiece of any 1920s party.
- Coupe glasses, the glass of the era. Borrow them before you buy them.
- A bar tray with a shaker, a jigger, lemons and limes.
- Bottles without labels, or with handwritten labels such as "Cough Medicine" and "Hair Tonic", for the Prohibition joke.
- Teacups for a speakeasy: a nod to disguising what was in the cup.
- A chalkboard with tonight's two or three cocktails. Recipes are in 1920s food and cocktails.
Music
Have it playing before the first guest arrives. Hot jazz and blues of the 1920s: Louis Armstrong's "West End Blues", Duke Ellington's "Black and Tan Fantasy", Bessie Smith's "Downhearted Blues", Jelly Roll Morton's "Black Bottom Stomp" and Bix Beiderbecke's "Singin' the Blues". A record player is lovely; a phone in a bowl (it makes the sound louder) is fine.
A photo corner
One spot with a good backdrop gets more use than decorations spread everywhere.
- A gold or black fringe curtain on a plain wall.
- A chair, a feather boa, a fedora, a long cigarette holder (a prop one) and some fake pearls in a bowl.
- A small sign with the party name and the year.
Costs, from free to splurge
| Level | What to do |
|---|---|
| Free | Lights off, candles, a jazz playlist, a password on the door, borrowed coupes |
| Cheap | Gold and black paper fans, a fringe curtain, a few feather plumes, fake pearls, unlabelled bottles |
| Splurge | A champagne tower, a hired jazz trio or a vintage record player, an Art Deco backdrop, a dressed doorman |
Give the room a story
Decorations look best when something happens in the room. A murder mystery gives your speakeasy a reason to exist: a password at the door, a club owner found poisoned, and every guest a suspect with something to hide. Put a "crime scene" in one corner (an overturned glass, a rope, a chalk outline in masking tape) and the room tells the story for you. Teach the guests some 1920s slang and they will play along all night.
With Sleuth Night
Death at the Speakeasy is our 1920s murder mystery: The Velvet Hour, Chicago, 1927, where owner Vinnie Marlowe is found poisoned during a fake police raid. It plays 6 to 16 guests, about two hours: three rounds of 20 to 30 minutes, then the vote and the reveal. Each guest gets a private link with their character and a costume suggestion, the clues show on your TV, and the host plays too. Setting up is free and you pay $29 when you press Start Round 1. The optional Party Pack adds printable invitations, name tags, signs, awards, a décor checklist and the playlist for this theme. For bigger groups, see 16 players or a 1920s bachelorette.