Toujours Chic, Toilettes de Soirées, Hiver 1921-1922: Luciole 1921 - 1922

This fashion plate, "Toujours Chic, Toilettes de Soirées, Hiver 1921-1922: Luciole" by G-P. Joumard, is made with pen and ink, watercolor, and graphite on paper. The composition presents a slender female figure adorned in a white evening gown, its skirt embellished with floral motifs and scalloped edges. The artist's handling of line and form is striking. Vertical lines create a sense of elongation and elegance, while the scalloped hem introduces a rhythmic visual pattern. The limited color palette—dominated by white, with accents of emerald green and silver—contributes to the overall sophistication. Joumard emphasizes flatness and pattern over depth. Considering structuralist thought, the dress can be seen as a sign. The signifier is the dress, and the signified is modernity and the changing role of women in the 1920s. The semiotic reading reveals the cultural codes of fashion, where clothing communicates identity and aspirations. Joumard engages with new ways of thinking about representation by reducing the figure to an essentialized form, emphasizing the abstract qualities of line, color, and composition over realistic depiction.