Fashion Plate, 1828

Fashion plates found their origin in the late 16th century and gained popularity throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. A fashion plate is a costume portrait that indicates fashion styles for men and women. Fashion plates were typically finely made illustrations or prints to inspire current fashions. They were often found in magazines, catalogs, or as stand-alone prints, a means of disseminating information about the latest clothing designs. The portraits showcase a person's identity through attire rather than individual features (Nevinson 1967, 67).

The fashion plates in the Historic Textile & Costume Collection feature fashion styles popular in France and England. The illustrations became a relied-upon source for fashion styles of the period, with distinctive choices for evening and daywear. The portraits served as a design source for tailors, dressmakers, or stores.

As many of these fashions would be imitated, particular garments may not gain widespread popularity until a year or more after a plate’s publication. Despite this, they serve as an excellent source for current studies of fashion history. Fashion can be defined as the changing styles of dress adopted by people at a given time and place. Its function often pertains to social distinctions of class or individuality. This fashion plate, dated 1828, comes from the Journal des Dames et des Modes.

Le Journal des Dames et des Modes was an early French magazine that was published every five days to keep up with the rapidly changing fashion trends (National Portrait Gallery). The magazine circulated in Paris as well as in England. Titled “Costume Parisians,” the two men are depicted in menswear fashionable for the period.

The French description at bottom of the illustration has been translated to: “Cloth coat trimmed with gold buttons. Pique vest over a cashmere vest. Shirt buttoned with three pearls. Casimir [cassimere] pants. Hat with steel glove. Madras coat with sleeves.”

The man on the right wears a rich blue, double-breasted tailcoat with sleeves slightly puffed at the shoulder and gold buttons. The coat also features a high collar which became popular in the 1790s for menswear. A decorative handkerchief peaks out of a pocket sewn into the waist seam of the tailcoat. The cutaway tailcoat became popular in the very early 1800s as regular attire for a man not riding a horse. 

Underneath the tailcoat, the man wears a pique white waistcoat. The red peeking out from under the waistcoat would be a second-layered waistcoat, made of cashmere. Colors and patterns were often a feature of men’s waistcoats. The white shirt has three pearl buttons and is paired with a white cravat. White cravats were popular for formal evening wear. The high, collar-like neckband required skill to correctly tie; this became a mark of elegance in men’s fashion (Chenoune 39).

The lower garment worn by this man is a pair of fitted white pantaloons made of casimir/cassimere. The seams of the pantaloons indicate the garment as apair of fall-front trousers. The other man in the fashion plate also wears fitted black pantaloons, with the attached underfoot stirrups clearly visible. Both figures wear stockings under their ankle-length pantaloons.

Accessories of this time often included watch fobs, such as the one attached at the waist on the right. He also carries what appears to be a monocle or perhaps holds a watch in his hand. The two pairs of shoes depicted in the fashion plate are flat, slip-on shoes that would have been worn with formal wear. Each man wears a pair of gloves.

Other accessories for menswear included hats, two styles of which are depicted here. The foremost man holds a black bicorne hat. These were popular beginning at the very end of the 18th century, and could be worn by civilian as well as military men, either with the points front to back, or side to side. This hat, decorated with a black cockade and perhaps made of fur, could be collapsed to carry under one's arm. The French description of the bicorne hat mentions steel gloves. Assistance wtih the translation would be appreciated.

The other man wears a black top hat that widens to the top, and has a brim that is slightly curved down to the front and back. This style is very typical of the late 1820s.  The madras (plaid) coat depicted in the fashion plate is a greatcoat wth an overcape and a very high collar. The greatcoat’s interior pop of pink appears common for greatcoats and capes as a similar garment from 1828 shown in this collection is lined with a red interior.

References

Byrne, Janet S. "Fashion Plates." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 26.3 (1967): 141-50. JSTOR. Web.

Chenoune, Farid. A history of men’s fashion. 88. Paris: Flammarion, 1993.

National Portrait Gallery, “Fashion Plates Introduction.” London. https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/research/new-research-on-the-collection/fashionplates/fashion-plates-introduction (accessed November 2023).

Man's bicorne hat. https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/138520

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

Peacock, John. Men's Fashion: the Complete Sourcebook. 91-102. London: Thames and

Hudson, 1996.

Welters, Linda. “Menswear 1820-1860.” TMD 441 Fall 2023. November 2023.

Welters, L. & Lillethun, A., eds. (2007). The Fashion Reader. Berg.