De Bazar, 1882, Nr. 2, Pl. 490 1882

Curator: It strikes me as an illustration of very constrained leisure. All artifice and propriety, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Before us we have the print “De Bazar, 1882, Nr. 2, Pl. 490,” attributed to an anonymous artist from 1882. My eye goes immediately to the shimmering textiles of the gowns and their intricate patterns. It's quite captivating. Curator: Absolutely! This work provides a portal into the cultural rituals surrounding domesticity, consumption, and the subtle codes of femininity of the era. That doll for example could signify arrested development in the girl's psyche. Editor: Fascinating! But also, consider the printing process itself. Here, it looks like color lithography, allowing for mass production and dissemination. The rising consumer culture democratizing fashion on printed pages, think of the factory production behind those textiles! Curator: Yes, exactly! Mass media, then, is shaping societal values of beauty and desire. Consider the symbolism of the dresses themselves. Stripes, for example, could carry myriad social messages. Editor: True. How are those dresses assembled? What labor was involved, what are their fibers, dyes? Curator: Those colours would be imbued with particular connotations that shift through generations too, reflecting changing notions of morality, beauty and class. The dresses can also serve as containers for women's hopes and dreams, both restricting and enabling at once. The "cage" of a garment. Editor: So you see dress as a sort of second skin… What about the role that clothing plays as an commodity within industrial economy. How many dresses of this period were ready-to-wear instead of being bespoke? Curator: Hmmm... In short, by understanding symbols, like those displayed on this particular garment, and their role in psychological landscapes, we grasp the threads linking us to both our personal and shared cultural past. Editor: A reminder that aesthetics are rarely detached from their making; this piece demonstrates a tension between personal meaning and a broad system of production. Curator: Indeed. Both deeply intertwined as is everything of worth.