Browse Items (71 total)

L'Art de la Mode, August 1890  This French fashion plate, available through a New York publisher, is identified as a summer dress. Even though the weather might be warm, Victorian women were expected to dress in layers of under clothes, consisting of…

Journal des Demoiselles, 1869 As the 1860s came to a close, the silhouette shifted away from the cage crinoline towards fullness at the back. Thus began the first phase of the bustle silhouette. In this plate, the figure is positioned to show this…

1880s day dresses The third and final phase of the bustle took place between 1882 and 1888. The bodices of the day dresses shown here have closely fitted torsos and high necklines, and the beginning of puffed upper sleeves. This is when the bustle…

La Mode Illustrée The styles shown here represent the second phase of the bustle period, which lasted from 1878 to 1882. The silhouette, sometimes called the cuirass bodice, is close to the body resulting in a long, narrow look. The ensemble on the…

September 1832 Une Conversation La Mode The conversation, ostensibly about the open book in the woman’s hand, is taking place outdoors. Thus, the fashions represent ensembles suitable for walking outside or visiting friends and relatives. The woman…

Le Moniteur de la Mode, April, 1851 While some brides had been wearing white for their weddings since the Neoclassical period, the practice intensified when Queen Victoria married Albert of Saxe-Coburg in 1840. She firmly established the tradition by…

1840 The five figures in this illustration show fashions appropriate for winter. The man on the extreme left wears a frock coat and top hat suitable for daywear while his companion is dressed in formal evening wear: tailcoat, white cravat, and…

Beginning in France, the recurrent and increased modifications of fashion provoked the introduction of fashion plates. They were the only sources of information on the leading fashions of the period and were treated as instruction manuals for…

Fashion plates are the equivalent of today's fashion magazines, given that the need for paper magazines is minimal in this digital age. In the past, fashion plates became more popular as styles evolved more rapidly. The National Portrait Gallery…

This hand-colored fashion plate is identified on the page as #2567 and dated 1828. The artist is unknown. The image was probably published in Le Journal des Dames et des Modes, Costumes Parisiens. This was a French magazine founded and edited by…