La Mode Feminine

Here are some scans from a book I have, published in the 1920's, of fashion plates from the eras starting in 1795-to 1820.  They used the pochoir (stencil) technique, rather than individually painting each print with water-colors as fashion magazines in the Georgian-Regency-Empire Era did.

La Mode Feminine, Empire/ Regency Fashion

La Mode Feminine Late Regency Early Victorian Fashion

La Mode Feminine  Empire/Regency Fashion

The drawings are somewhat Art Deco-y; I think they highlight the similarity of Fashions of the time to the Regency time. Both were influenced by "Greco-Roman classicalism" mixed with Egyptian themes, the Empire/Regency got theirs from Napoleon (and then Admiral Nelson's) excursions to Egypt.  And in the 20's fashion -and Art- was somewhat influenced by the discovery of King Tut's tomb.

La Mode Feminine  Empire/Regency Fashion

La Mode Feminine  Empire/Regency Fashion

La Mode Feminine  Empire/Regency Fashion

I'll be adding more in a bit.  The prints are in good condition, tho yellowed.

La Mode Feminine  Empire/Regency Fashion

La Mode Feminine  Empire/Regency Fashion

Here is the next La Mode Feminine, years 1820 to 1845.  Some plates are missing. It wouldn't be hard to loose one or two as they are loose, not bound.

La Mode Feminine  Empire/Regency Fashion, Early Victorian Fashion

La Mode Feminine  Empire/Regency Fashion, Early Victorian Fashion

La Mode Feminine  Empire/Regency Fashion, Early Victorian Fashion

La Mode Feminine  Empire/Regency Fashion, Early Victorian Fashion

La Mode Feminine  Empire/Regency Fashion, Early Victorian Fashion

La Mode Feminine  Empire/Regency Fashion, Early Victorian Fashion

La Mode Feminine  Empire/Regency Fashion, Early Victorian Fashion

Regency England Stage Coach; Pantheon Shopping "mall"

French Fashion Illustration

This print was in such bad condition -it looked as tho it had been used as a place-mat- that I went ahead and did a lot of "fixing up" of the original.

La Bon Genre, Empire Fashion plate

Some pictures from Ackermanns Repository of Arts

Ackermann's Repository of the Arts.  Regency Fashion Plates

I scanned these plates in a year or so back, and omitted the Title, Dates or comments.  I'll have to go thru my albums to get the info; then add it to the pictures.   These were in such great condition they didn't really need much cleaning up.

Costume Parisien & Modes etc.

Costume Parisien, Men's Fashion Plate (Empire)

Costume Parisien, Ackermann's

Costume Parisien, Empire/Regency Fashion Plates

La Belle Assemblee always has a problem with women's bossoms.

Regency Dresses from Lady's Magazine

Not nearly as well engraved or tinted as Ackermann's or La Belle Assemblee, and the paper quality quite grainy.  But they've held up pretty well for 200 years!

Ladies' Magazine, Regency Fashion Plates

Ladies' Magazine, Regency Fashion Plates

More Georgian-era Fashions.

I am unsure when these were published, probably early 1800's.

Georgian era Fashion Plates

Ackermann's Regency Fashion Prints with Children

Ackermann's Fashion Prints, Regency Fashion Prints Pretty sure the child in Red on the left is a boy in "long pants"? Or Jammies?

Some non-Ackermanns/Parisien fashion plates

From Georgette Heyer's "BLACK SHEEP" -Ackermann's & Costume Parisien "Walking Dress" & "Carriage Dress"

"... no one had ever cast a slur on Selina's eye for the elegant and the becoming. In her youth she had been the least good-looking but the most modish of the Wendover girls; in her middle age, and endowed with an easy competence, she enjoyed the reputation of being the best-dressed woman in Bath. If Fanny did not, like Abby, seek her advice, she was shrewd enought to respect her judgment; so that when, presently, she showed Selina the sketch of a grossly overtrimmed walking-dress, her secret longing to be see abroad in this confection was nipped in the bud by Selina's devastating criticism.

"Oh dear!" said Selina, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "All those frill, and tucks, and ribbons–! So–so deedy!"

So nothing more ws seen of that fashion-plate ..."

Ackermann's Fashion Plate, 1823

I think this is one of the prettiest fashion plates I have.  Even tho the background is white, the artist gives one the impression of a lady walking in the dark.  It's also one of the best preserved plates, a bit yellowed with time, but no spots or stains, very clean.  The lady in pink is another favorite.

Costume Parisien

Lady's Magazine Fashion Print

My Lady's Magazine prints are very yellowed, and a bit spotty; so it takes a little time to clean them up.  I think I'll show a few "as is",  We'll see.  Here's another one.    Coming: a few Mystery engravings.

La Belle Assemblee Fashion Plate

 

The "La Bell Assemblee" prints are very spotty, perhaps mildewed, so I had to do a lot of cleaning up. The next one is in perfect condition: I'm not sure its an original or a later reprint. The paper seems similar to the others, but I can't tell for sure.  The original engravings are very detailed and beautiful, tho not colored like Ackermann's & all the other fashion plates.  I really like the caps: they aren't really well described in fiction, and when reading, say, a Georgette Heyer novel, I tend to imagine the Hollywood "maid's cap".  Apparently they could be quite  detailed and elegant.  Women in those days nearly always wore hats or caps.  It was a bit "fast" to go bear-headed!  And to go around bare-headed and with the hair hanging down: Ooo La! La!  Very naughty.

First Print.

Lady's Magazine fashion plates, early 1800's (Regency)

Costumes Parisiens, and Costume Parisien

Some equestrian fashion plates.

Costume Parisien, Napoleon Era Fashion Plates

Here are some French Ladies from the Napoleonic Era:

Lady on the right is using a quizzing glass, not only a prerogative of men!

The dress on the right is using a shawl (probably cashmere) for the bottom third of the dress, a fashionable trim in those days. Cashmere is warmer than wool: about 3 times for their comparative weights, and the fashion of wearing lightweight muslins & cottons made warm outer-wear imperative.

Examples of Spencers and-or Pelisses.

Costume Parisien Napoleon-era fashion plates for MEN

Now I'm scanning & cleaning up some Costume Parisien fashion plates.  Half the problem is my scanner over-or-under-exposes everything,  Once scanned into Photoshop, I just hold the original artwork up and work to get the digital image looking pretty much the same, with less age-related yellowing.

Ackermann's Repository seldom had drawings of men, and they weren't nearly as detailed as the French fashion plates.  The rather sad thing is I mostly own post-Waterloo (1815) for men.  However, the fashions didn't change that rapidly: once guys discovered comfortable & attractive clothes, they pretty much stuck with it.  Well, jeans have replaced skin-tight knit -or buckskin- breeches!