Revue de la Mode, Gazette de la Famille, dimanche 24 février 1884, 13e annee, No. 634: Toilettes de la M.on Duboys (...) 1884

This fashion plate by A. Chaillot appeared in the Revue de la Mode in Paris, 1884, likely printed with a combination of lithography and hand-coloring. Note the textiles: the luxurious draping of the skirts, the crispness of the lace. Fashion plates like these were instrumental in shaping the desires of a burgeoning consumer class. Printed in multiples and distributed widely, they were a powerful tool of marketing. The amount of labor required to produce garments like these was immense, from the cultivation of cotton and silk, to the weaving and dyeing of fabric, to the intricate construction of the dresses themselves. While this print represents a fantasy of effortless elegance, it is crucial to consider the social and economic systems that made such an image possible, including the exploitation of labor, and the environmental costs of textile production. By focusing on materiality and making, we can consider the wider cultural significance of what may at first appear to be just an image of beautiful dresses.