Browse Items (71 total)

Philadelphia Fashions  April 1831, Godey’s Lady’s Book This plate represents the type of illustration Godey’s produced in its first years of publication. Labeled “Philadelphia Fashions,” it features a walking dress and an evening dress, both with 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…

Published in the Court Magazine, No. 11, May 1833 by Edward Bull 26 Holles Street Cavendish Square This fashion plate, dated 1833, displays the popular “gigot” sleeve. This sleeve style creates the illusion of a narrow waist with the exaggeration of…

Costumes allemande et français 1835 This fashion plate shows two dresses with large sleeves, narrow waists, and full skirts. The figure in white, along with the detail, illustrate plumed bonnets. In contrast, the figure on the right is in mourning…

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…

Latest Fashions, July 1841, for Graham’s Magazine The woman on the left illustrates the latest in evening dresses. By 1840 all vestiges of the exaggerated sleeves of the 1830s are gone. Attention is shifting to a very narrow waist, accentuated by a V…

Fashion plate, probably mid to late 1850s This fashion plate, although undated, provides clues to its time period through the silhouettes of the women’s dresses. By the 1850s, skirts had widened to a bell shape achieved through cartridge pleating at…

Fashions for September, Frank Leslie’s Family Magazine, 1858 Frank Leslie, an Englishman who emigrated to New York City in 1848, published numerous illustrated newspapers and magazines over the course of his career. This image is from the family…

Magasin des Demoiselles, April 1855 This French fashion plate illustrates a range of styles for children. The custom in Europe and America was to dress boys and girls alike during their first years of life. The adult woman, presumably the mother,…

Graham’s Magazine, 1841 Graham’s Magazine was predominantly a literary magazine designed to appeal to both ladies and gentlemen. It included literature, music, and fashion. The 1841 volume featured a serialized version of Edgar Allan Poe’s Murders in…