Revue de la Mode, Gazette de la Famille, dimanche 26 juin 1887, 16e Année, No. 808: Etoffes de la M.on Le Houssel (...) 1887

Curator: So this image, "Revue de la Mode," from June 26th, 1887, showcases the fashion of the day, offering a peek into the styles embraced by fashionable women. Editor: Instantly, I'm struck by the sense of constraint and, dare I say, awkward elegance. They look imprisoned by those boned bodices! Are they playing lawn tennis...or being slowly consumed by fabric? Curator: Perhaps both! Consider the era. "La Belle Époque" was emerging, but the Victorian emphasis on the female form remained. This print served a distinct social function, dictating appropriate dress and conveying aspirations of class and refinement. It appeared in the *Gazette de la Famille*. Editor: Yes, *Gazette de la Famille*…so aspirational middle class, not cutting-edge avant-garde. The decorative details feel suffocating: ribbons, bows, fussy hats…almost as if beauty and grace could be enforced through artifice. I wonder, did the artist, P. Deferneville, believe in this vision or simply record it? Curator: A provocative question. The controlled environment hints that Deferneville perhaps felt both obligated to social mores and artistically liberated to represent the fashion plates with decorative splendor and stylish elegance, thereby immortalizing women’s place within the art world. Editor: Exactly. But in presenting them passively displaying their wealth—it reinforces prevailing expectations. And even in “leisure,” like tennis, those constricted silhouettes must have been restrictive! A social commentary then, subtly delivered under layers of lace. Curator: Yes! And there’s tension. These images provided models for a rapidly changing society and new access for the middle classes to couture…but at what cost for individual self-expression? Editor: Well, whatever one’s views on restrictive dress, seeing these women caught in time capsules always sparks a bittersweet sort of yearning. Thanks for that. Curator: It’s remarkable to witness through this watercolor illustration the social expectations from so long ago and reflect on our expectations for self-expression today.