Fashion Plate 420 by an anonymous French artist

Fashion Plate 420 by an anonymous French artist

c.1826-1828

Hand-colored Engraving

This Restoration-era French fashion plate depicting early Romantic dress presents two women in fashionable early nineteenth-century attire defined by increasingly sculptural silhouettes and heightened decorative detail. Both figures wear garments characterized by the period’s signature gigot sleeves, fitted bodices, and full skirts that emphasize a narrowed waistline. On the left, a woman is dressed in a pink gown with tiered volume and a blue-ribboned bonnet, paired with a matching parasol that underscores the coordinated elegance of her ensemble. On the right, a second figure wears a purple gown with a floral-embroidered apron and a lace-trimmed pereline, or short capelet, while holding yarn beside a knitting basket placed at her feet. The printed caption identifies the ensemble as a straw bonnet and challis dress, situating the scene within the fashionable domestic and leisurely codes of the period.

Published in Paris during the Restoration era, this plate exemplifies the role of fashion publishing in disseminating the latest trends prior to the advent of photography. Such prints were produced through a collaborative process involving artists, engravers, and colorists, translating ephemeral sartorial innovations into finely detailed and collectible images. The Journal des Dames et des Modes was among the most influential fashion periodicals of its time, shaping taste across Europe and documenting the rapid evolution of elite dress. These plates are now valued not only for their aesthetic refinement but also for their documentary significance, offering insight into shifting ideals of femininity, textile luxury, and social presentation in early nineteenth-century France.

Dimensions: H 8 ⅛” x 5 1/2 “ W

Condition: In very good condition overall, slight tear on bottom left corner