Journal des Dames et des Modes, Costume Parisien, 14 février 1805, An 13 (618) : Habit de Cour 1805

This print from 1805, by Pierre Charles Baquoy, is a fashion plate. It depicts a courtly gentleman and would have been printed using etching and engraving techniques. The image is all about the appearance of status. Consider the labor that would have been involved in the making of this garment. Fabric was produced by skilled weavers, tailors, and embroiderers. The embellishments on the coat, sash and hat would have been hand-stitched. These richly ornamented textiles were only available to the upper classes. Prints like this one in Journal des Dames et des Modes helped circulate ideas about style at a time of rapid change, as industrialization began to transform textile production. They also remind us that fashion, then as now, involved a great deal of human work. This gives the image a political edge. Fashion is never just about aesthetics. It involves issues of labor, politics, and consumption.