Fashion Plate, 1821

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 article on fashion plates explains, “fashion plates were increasingly relied upon to suggest the latest and most appropriate outfits for different times of the day and for specific occasions” (National Portrait Gallery). Starting in the late eighteenth century, Paris and London were the centers of fashion which influenced dress in Europe and America. The influence Paris and London had over fashion trends in the past continues to the present day.

Early fashion plates were small, engraved, and hand-colored, but by the middle of the nineteenth century technological advancements spurred the availability of larger, colored images. The lithograph technique developed in the 1860s. Photography became widespread in the 1840s, but it wasn't used to disseminate fashion information in magazines until the twentieth century. The early fashion magazines also included accurate descriptions of the outfits depicted and discussion of latest fashion trends in London and Paris (National Portrait Gallery).

Petit Courrier des Dames is a fashion journal from Paris depicting various modes in fashion plates. This particular fashion plate, "Modes de Paris," dates back to 1821, and portrays a woman in a romantic white evening gown. This gown is appropriate for evening wear as it exposes much of the neck due to the bateau neckline. Short full sleeves and a horizontal design elements across the hem were popular trends in the early nineteenth century and are displayed on this fashion plate. Decorative ribbons drape the bust, shoulders, back, and hem. In the 1820s waistlines gradually lowered from the higher Empire style, as seen here. A bow of ribbon or silk sits at the back waistline. The hemline is decorated with a row of bow-like puffs and two rows of ribbon. Flowers were becoming very popular at this time; here the woman’s gown has a small bouquet of red flowers centered on the skirt and also adorning her hairstyle. Her hair is fashionably styled in an updo incorporating curls that frame her face and a single braid in the front. Her outfit is accessorized by white gloves, a gold necklace with a red stone, and red earrings.  The woman is also wearing flat white slippers with a little bow on the top. This is a hand-colored fashion plate.

The fashion plate depicts neoclassical style transitioning into a more romantic phase. We see this in the full skirt, full short sleeves, and the slightly lower waistline in comparison to the neoclassical era. Later into the nineteenth century the sleeves become the large gigot style and the skirts widen to create balance within the outfit. The cashmere shawls from India were becoming more popular with their paisley motifs.

Fashion plates are beneficial to research of historical dress which also leads to greater understanding of people and historical events.

References

Byrne, Janet S. "Fashion Plates." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 26, No. 3, (Nov. 1967): 141-50. www.jstor.org.

Holland, Vyvyan B. Hand-Coloured Fashion Plates, 1770 to 1899. London: Batsford, 1955.

Ingham, Erika. "Fashion Plates introduction." The National Portrait Gallery, London, England. https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/research/new-research-on-the-collection/fashionplates/fashion-plates-introduction

Nevinson, John L. Origin and Early History of the Fashion Plate. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Press, 1967.