Customer Reviews

Regency Era Fashion Plates: 1800-1819

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book has a great deal of fashion plates from various contemporary sources of the time. I would have given 4.5 stars if I could have simply because the reproductions are at times very faint, so details are a bit soft. It's my guess that someone went a little overboard photoshoping them, trying to get the backgrounds white (originals would have been on an off white/cream ground)and in doing so have washed out the lighter tone. Still, it's a fairly good and large collection all in one book. Only womens fashion though - well there's one male costume in the middle.

This book was just what I wanted. The fashion plates are a good size and the details show up well.
You have to remember that these are copies of drawings, they are not photographs of models.
There are so many different looks and styles that I have already picked out 4 outfits I want to make.

This compilation of fashion plates from the early 19th century includes many that I have not seen before, either in published collections or on-line. The book would have been a little more useful, though, with some written material accompanying the plates. I recommend it to anyone who is studying early 19th century fashion. It can serve as a good source of inspiration for those creating their own re-created fashions of the era.

I purchased the book and eagerly opened it. The plates are wonderful. No quibble there. But there is no text, no foreword with a short history or explanation of how or why these plates were chosen. I would have liked to know the following: the differences in English and French fashions at the time; some history of the Ladies Magazines that provided the illustrations; the materials the gowns, pelisses, spencers, and hats were made with; and what season the outfits were made for. A few Ackermann plates in the back of the book had full descriptions, but mostly they were absent. This is a compilation of fashion plates without context, so buyer beware.