Petit Courrier des Dames, 1822, No. 95 : Robe et garniture en Cachemir (...) 1822

This fashion plate, *Petit Courrier des Dames*, was printed in Paris in 1822. Its delicate lines and colors were achieved with a combination of engraving and hand-coloring, processes that required both technical skill and artistry. The print shows the latest modes, including a dress and its trim made of cashmere, a luxurious textile imported from afar. This detail speaks to the expanding global economy of the 19th century, where goods and materials were sourced from around the world to create fashionable items for those who could afford them. Consider the labor involved in producing the garments, from the textile mills to the seamstresses who hand-stitched the dresses. These were the kinds of considerations largely absent from the drawing rooms of Paris, but implicitly present here. Fashion plates like this one document not just the styles of the time, but also the complex networks of production and consumption that underpinned them.