Journal des Dames et des Modes, Costumes Parisiens, 1913, No. 90 : Robe de taffetas à fleurs (...) 1913

This fashion plate, "Journal des Dames et des Modes, Costumes Parisiens, 1913, No. 90," was made by Loeze, and, looking at it, I am reminded of the way fashion can be like art, each mark, each stroke building towards a final composition. Here, thin washes of color define the dress and parrot, giving a delicate, almost watercolor feel. The gray palette has tiny floral patterns, like ghostly echoes, hinting at a world just beyond the surface. The flatness of the paper is disrupted by the suggestion of texture in the taffeta. Look closely at the way the lines create the folds of the dress; there's a real sense of form in this rendering. The eye is drawn to that feather in her cap, a jaunty, playful touch. This piece is a cousin to the work of Erté. Both capture the ephemeral beauty of fashion with a flair for the dramatic. It reminds us that art is always in conversation, borrowing and reimagining, never truly fixed.