Fashion Plate, Full Dress, 1810

The process for producing a fashion plate began with an artist, who would create the design with pencil and watercolor, elaborating as many details as possible. The drawing was then given to the engraver to print, who used sharp tools to engrave image onto a metal plate. Ink was then applied to the plate, the paper laid on top, and then a roller applied pressure to transfer the image to the paper. An assembly line of women, most unknown, would then hand paint the color onto each print.

This fashion plate is from Ackermann's Repository of Arts, Literature, Commerce, Manufacturers, Fashion, and Politics, a monthly periodical published from 1809 to 1828 in London. As the full name suggests, Ackermann’s was not just a fashion periodical, as it also included a wide range of subjects, such as travel writing, poetry, social reports, and commentary on the arts. The company included two fashion plates every month along with complete descriptions of the fashion illustrations.

This fashion plate was published on September 1st, 1810. It depicts a mother with two children at her side. The mother is wearing a light blue dress with a V neckline and paned sleeves. Her collar is raised and edged with a serrated border. She wears a two corded necklace with a cross pendant. She is also wearing a shawl to add warmth.

For most of the eighteenth century, children were dressed as miniature versions of their parents, which constrained their mobility. The restrictive swaddling gave way to a new loose-fitted garment for infants. Modern mothers, like this one, were keen on dressing their babies in comfortable garments, which emerged late in the eighteenth century. The little girl on the left is wearing a long, white, cotton dress, a common garment for girls and boys in early adolescence. It was not until after their toddler years that children would be dressed in accordance to gender. The dress has a high Empire waist and tucks on the skirt hem. Boys were put in dresses just like girls, then in pants as a sign of “manhood”. The boy on the right is depicted in a red skeleton suit with a white blouse. Fashion plates, such as this one, exemplify the trends of the time, including new attitudes towards children’s dress.

References

HBC. (1998, October 8). Boys' clothes during the 1800s. boys clothing during the 1800s. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://www.histclo.com/chron/c1800.html.

Knowles, R. (2013, March 4). Ackermann's Repository of Arts. Regency History. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://www.regencyhistory.net/2013/03/ackermanns-repository.html.

Gregoor, I. (2018, October 14). Researching historical children's wear. Ilse Gregoor Costume Design. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://www.ilsegregoorcostumes.com/researching-historical-childrens-wear/.

National Portrait Gallery. (n.d.). Fashion plates introduction. National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://www.npg.org.uk/research/fashionplates/fashion-plates-introduction.

History of fashion plates. (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2021, from http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~monicaf/histfashplates.htm.

Boyle, L. (2020, July 26). A tour of regency fashion: Day and evening dress. Jane Austen Centre and the Jane Austen Online Gift Shop. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://janeausten.co.uk/blogs/womens-regency-fashion-articles/a-tour-of-regency-fashion-day-and-evening-dress.