Form and Fashion

Jacqueline Beaudouin-Ross examines the evolution of form or silhouette in nineteenth-century feminine dress, applying theories developed by art historians such as Henri Focillon and Heinrich Wofflin to demonstrate that an inner dynamic of change appears to be responsible for the evolution of contour in fashionable attire in the nineteenth century. Beaudouin-Ross evaluates the dissemination of fashion images in Montreal to show to what extent Montrealers were "fashionable" and reveals that fashion plates from Paris or London were sometimes published first in Montreal rather than in New York. Photographs from the Notman Photographic Archives and from fashion plates have been used to date the sixteen dresses discussed and complete documentation is provided.