Revue de la Mode, Gazette de la Famille, dimanche 23 octobre 1881, 10e année, No. 512: Toilettes de Melles Vidal (...) 1881

A. Chaillot created this print, "Revue de la Mode," in France, 1881, as a fashion plate in a women's magazine. This was a period where Parisian fashion houses were setting international trends, and these magazines served as a key medium for disseminating them. The print presents two women in elaborate dresses, embodying ideals of feminine beauty and domesticity. The emphasis on refined silhouettes and luxurious fabrics reflects the values of the upper classes. The institutional context is crucial here: fashion magazines like "Revue de la Mode" helped shape consumer culture and reinforce gender roles by dictating what was considered fashionable and appropriate for women. This was a self-consciously conservative medium, invested in the status quo. To understand it better, we might consult primary sources like the magazine itself, alongside studies of fashion history and gender in 19th-century France. Approaching it as an object shaped by complex social forces reveals its wider cultural significance.