La Mode Illustrée, 1867, No. 17: Toilettes de Foulard (...) 1867

This fashion plate was made in 1867, by an anonymous artist, for 'La Mode Illustrée', a widely circulated French fashion journal. These plates offer a glimpse into the visual culture of the time. Fashion journals weren't just about clothes; they mirrored and shaped the aspirations and identities of women in the middle and upper classes. They promoted an ideal of femininity centered around elegance, domesticity, and refinement. Consider the impact these images had on women who often found themselves confined by societal expectations, yet yearned for self-expression. What narratives did these images perpetuate, and what possibilities did they offer? These weren't passive representations; they actively contributed to the construction of gender and class identities, telling women how to present themselves to the world, and inviting them to participate in the burgeoning consumer culture. While these images reflect the limited roles available to women, they also reveal the creative ways in which women engaged with fashion as a form of agency. They invite us to consider fashion as a complex site of both constraint and expression.