Le Moniteur de la Mode, 1845, No. 95 : Manteau & Caprice de la Maison (...) 1845

Jean-Baptiste Réville created this print for *Le Moniteur de la Mode* in 1845. This was a period of vast social inequality in France, as industrialization increased, and a widening gap emerged between the bourgeoisie and the working class. The print, showcasing the height of bourgeois fashion, ironically highlights this divide. We see two women adorned in the latest styles. Their garments, reflective of their class, signal luxury and leisure. Beside them, a child, tattered and kneeling, reminds us of the labor and poverty that supported such opulence. The very title of the journal, "The Fashion Monitor," indicates the performative aspect of clothing. These women are not merely wearing clothes; they are displaying their social status. "Fashion is the decorum of the world," wrote the philosopher Walter Benjamin, and here, fashion is a stark marker of socio-economic boundaries. Ultimately, this print prompts us to consider how fashion, identity, and class intersect, and how the visual representation of these elements can both reflect and reinforce societal structures.