La Mode, 1830, T.3: Coeffure polonaise nouvell (...) 1830

Curator: This watercolour illustration, dating from 1830, is a print by Jean-Denis Nargeot titled “La Mode, 1830, T.3: Coeffure polonaise nouvell (...)." Editor: It feels almost dreamlike. That shimmering blue dress practically floats off the page, yet there's a strange gravity in the subjects. It’s not exactly natural, is it? Curator: The exaggerated proportions are typical of fashion plates of the time. What draws my attention is the overt display of wealth: expensive textiles and detailing that signal the rise of consumer culture, right on the cusp of industrialization. It reflects aspirations beyond mere function. Editor: Those enormous sleeves look utterly impractical. It must have taken someone hours to create that silhouette. Curator: Precisely. That very impracticality communicates social standing, what Thorstein Veblen termed "conspicuous consumption." We are what we display. Beyond just showing off this incredible craftsmanship is a type of status competition by way of dress. The choice of watercolor—transparent, delicate—further emphasizes luxury and ephemerality. Editor: You can really see the Romanticist influence at play. Though on the other hand, the young man feels like a material critique in the composition! His gaze directed up towards her. Curator: That contrast is one reason why it is intriguing to revisit now; fashion and art never happen in isolation. I also can’t shake the idea that he looks far older than what one could think of as a young child. There is something else that it offers the modern eye, more than just a “historical record” of what the dresses or class structures were. Editor: It reminds us, fashion is, after all, a manufactured thing, constructed layer upon layer from the fabric to how the wearers must have felt inhabiting these clothes. The materials of this illustration reflect real aspirations and lived experience even today.