Toujours Chic Les Robes Hiver 1921-1922 1921 - 1922

Curator: Instantly, I'm struck by how minimal yet evocative the composition is. The simplified lines and limited color palette really grab the eye. Editor: Indeed. What we’re looking at is a print, a watercolor illustration titled "Toujours Chic Les Robes Hiver 1921-1922" created around 1921-1922 by G-P. Joumard. It resides here at the Rijksmuseum. It exemplifies the fashionable styles circulating shortly after the First World War. Curator: The angle and linework have an intentional graphic quality. Look at the elongated figure and how it fills the space, balanced by the confident text at the top. It speaks to a sophisticated simplicity that feels incredibly modern even now. Editor: It's fascinating to consider the rise of mass media and print culture at the time. These images shaped aspirations for middle-class women. Fashion magazines played a crucial role in democratizing style, offering attainable images of chic, Parisienne elegance and feminine ideals. Curator: I'm drawn to the stark contrasts in the figure. There is also the texture achieved, somehow, through just a few deliberate strokes. The watercolor gives it such a distinctive identity. Editor: Yes, it certainly highlights the post-war fascination with redefining femininity. There is the looser silhouette with the slender, boyish figure moving away from previous generations and the binding restraints on female empowerment. The simple lines embody modern ideas on self expression. Curator: I see how Joumard has carefully arranged positive and negative space to maximize our gaze and to evoke its essence, making it as 'chic' as possible. What would you say the goal was, beyond pure sales of items and dresses? Editor: One thing is sure: they used 'chic' as shorthand for modern and liberating ideals for that generation. What starts out as a print on clothing can also reveal a deeper change in modern concepts and modern culture. Curator: Well, however 'chic' Joumard was intending this illustration to be, you have made me see so much more! Editor: The pleasure was all mine.