La Mode par Fried, Février 1919, No. 6, Pl. VI : Robe de marié (...) 1919

This fashion plate, created by an anonymous artist in 1919, presents a silver lamé wedding dress, capturing the zeitgeist of post-war Paris. The veil, a potent symbol, drapes the figure, evoking both purity and mystery, its delicate lace edges softening the metallic sheen of the gown. The veil's history stretches back through time, from ancient Roman rituals where it warded off evil spirits to its later association with modesty and piety in Christian iconography. Consider Botticelli's "Venus," emerging from the sea, often depicted with flowing drapery, a symbol of transformation and new beginnings. The donning of a wedding veil is a moment charged with expectation, a psychological threshold between one life and another, and this plate immortalizes this fleeting moment, revealing how the past is always intertwined with the present.