This definition of a fashion plate is broader than the one adopted by Mr. Vyvyan Holland, who has
written the only substantial book on the subject.[1] Mr. Holland limited his study to hand-colored fashion plates of the period from 1770 to 1899, possibly because these are most in favor with collectors. He omitted trade and advertisement plates, believing them to be primarily concerned with the history of dress.
The main functions of fashionable dress are to draw attention to the wearer, to define his social position, and to show who he is and what he is doing. Modesty, protection against the weather, and appeal to the opposite sex, are, so far as fashion is concerned, subsidiary functions. Interest in fashionable dress goes back at least to the 16th century, as is evidenced by a popular dialogue written by Alessandro Piccolomini, a relative of Pope Pius II, who subsequently became coadjutor Archbishop of Siena.[2] Piccolomini wrote under the pseudonym “Lo Stordito,” and it is not clear to what extent the dialogue was sponsored by the Academy of the Intronati, an aristocratic, literary, and social society of which he was a member. He stated that the requirements of fashionable dress were that it be sumptuous in material, tasteful in style, and borne gracefully by the wearer. Unfortunately for the costume historian, the dialogue is not illustrated.
It has been assumed too readily perhaps that the fashion plate dates from the late 18th century, but it is not difficult to demonstrate that it existed in all its essentials at earlier periods, even though its history may not be continuous. The beginning of the illustration of fashions is found in portraits, the earliest of which, either sculptured or painted, developed from images of kings and important personages.[3] These images, unlike the imagines of the Romans, made no attempt to portray the features of an individual, but made his identity known rather by his clothes, his arms, and other indications of rank or position. The development of the stylized image into the personal portrait is well illustrated in the diary of Jörg von Ehingen.[4] Von Ehingen, who traveled widely in Europe during the years preceding 1460, might be described as a professional jouster, who took part,
usually with great success, in tournaments at the various courts. To illustrate the account of his exploits, he had portraits drawn and painted of the different princes and kings, portraying each not with his crown and scepter but with the distinctive fashion of his court. This diary—not printed until the 19th century—was circulated in manuscript and shows, in addition to the interest in personal portraits, the growing interest in the dress of individuals.
Although the earlier painters of the Italian Renaissance recorded the decorative and often exotic dress
of their times, their portraits of individuals consisted in the main of medallic heads and busts. It was the German portrait painters who, to a greater extent, recorded and disseminated the knowledge of fashions. Hans Burgkmair painted himself on the occasions of his betrothal in 1497 and his marriage in 1498,[5] and in the 16th century Hans Holbein the younger noted
on his drawings the dress material and colors of the clothes worn by his sitters.[6] Even a much less distinguished person, Matthäus Schwartz, a clerk employed by the banking firm of the Fuggers at Augsburg, had a book prepared showing the clothes he wore at what he considered to be the most important stages of his career.[7]
