La Mode Illustrée, 1883, No. 41 : Toilettes de Mme Delaunay (...) 1883

Editor: So this print, "La Mode Illustrée" from 1883 by J. Bonnard, it seems to be ink and watercolor over a drawing. I’m struck by how much detail there is in the clothing. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see an intricate intersection of fashion, social status, and the rise of consumer culture. "La Mode Illustrée," was more than just a fashion plate. These images were instrumental in shaping and disseminating Parisian style across the globe, and served as advertisements. The dresses here dictate very specific postures; what does it tell us about female posture as cultural display? Editor: I didn't think about the postures as shaped by culture. It looks uncomfortable to pose in dresses with bustle in the back. The woman in front seems more casual. How would prints like this have shaped ideas about women? Curator: Fashion publications perpetuated and codified ideals of femininity and luxury. By studying fashion plates, we understand who was excluded. Editor: Did illustrations dictate what upper-class women bought and how they acted, and excluded women with less socio-economic power? Curator: Precisely. These weren't mere guides to clothing; they were guides to behaviour, aspiration, and belonging in a specific social stratum. Notice the setting: How does it further solidify its exclusive audience? Editor: They're by the sea. A leisure activity. I suppose these prints advertised a lifestyle as much as dresses. It makes you wonder about all the invisible labor behind them and the people who were then excluded from the social ideal presented here. I am going to check out more about it. Thank you! Curator: Indeed, it's a complex layering of art, commerce, and societal expectations that continue to resonate.