Revue de la Mode, Gazette de la Famille, dimanche 22 mai 1887, 16e Année, No. 803: Toilettes de Mme Edon (...) 1887

Curator: So, we’re looking at "Revue de la Mode, Gazette de la Famille," dated May 22, 1887, a print illustrating ladies' fashions. It’s quite a confection, isn’t it? Editor: A confection is right. It feels very tightly wound, constrained almost. All that lace and those bows… almost suffocatingly pretty. Curator: It is certainly decorative, of its time. The Romanticism that echoes even in late 19th-century fashion—idealizing women, emphasizing delicacy. Editor: It makes me wonder, though, about the red ribbons. Red often stands for passion or danger, a flash of something fiery beneath the surface. Is that an accurate read, do you think, a subversive detail? Curator: I think you might be onto something. It isn’t just innocent ornamentation; that bold splash is a conscious declaration of vibrancy against the very pale palette. Think about fashion magazines as propaganda—what image of womanhood do they want to project? Editor: True! And the indoor-outdoor dichotomy! One figure is placed against the garden, carrying the sunlight metaphorically. And the other is surrounded by very expensive objects and decor, yet somber attire. Such an insight in contrasting identities. Curator: These contrasting elements make for quite a memorable tableau—both celebrating and critiquing ideals of beauty, and subtly portraying the many diverse roles women have occupied. Editor: Yes, it is true! It looks decorative but as if it represents so much more than the fashion itself. The artist here creates a whole story, full of symbolic imagery.