The World of Fashion, may 1828 : Morning and Walking Dresses (...) 1828

Curator: Ah, the delicious details of fashion! This print, titled "The World of Fashion, May 1828," is a peek into the morning, walking, and evening dresses of the time. The artist is William Wolfe Alais. Editor: My goodness, talk about accessorizing! The hats alone could launch a thousand ships. The whole image has this airy, watercolour dreaminess, but also a rigid formality, it is quite intriguing. Curator: Absolutely! Alais used ink and watercolor, typical for fashion plates of the era, allowing for delicate lines and subtle color gradations to showcase the fabrics and embellishments. Fashion publications were a burgeoning industry back then. Editor: So, it is almost a news source, telling ladies what is trending, what they should be coveting next. And notice how the women, while individually styled, are grouped together almost like mannequins in a shop window. It really underlines the performance of status. Curator: Precisely! This print would have circulated amongst the aspirational classes. I think it serves almost as a kind of proto-Instagram. But there is an ambivalence here, too. The delicacy contrasts quite starkly with the commercial context of its production and use. Does that read? Editor: It is there—the whole look is aspirational, a bit over-the-top, a tad ridiculous even. So very chic but the scale is a little off, something uncanny lurks. It highlights the human desire for transformation and fitting into the upper stratum. Do you think that the fashions changed very quickly or was it just like an upgrade? Curator: Fashion moved at a clip, perhaps a tad slower than today. Each new season was ripe for signaling belonging, so these prints served as a visual handbook of who’s who and what’s what. And if we remember that, historically, clothing regulations have always been socio-economic regulation also, then they became instruments. Editor: Fashion as social commentary! I never thought to look at it that way, even while finding its frivolity to be quietly haunting. This piece has much more than meets the eye! Curator: Precisely. Next time you’re pondering your outfit, remember the echoes of those May 1828 morning and evening dresses. What hidden stories and messages are *you* communicating?