fashion plate
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Puzzle #190 · December 8, 2025
Today, a fashion plate is a person who is always dressed in the latest fashion. But the term dates to physical engravings in the late 1600's.
Created by the French, fashion plates are images depicting women, and sometimes men, dressed in the latest styles and trends. Even after the advent of photography in the 1830s, fashion plates disseminated the most current fashion trends and provided a reference that instructed their dressmaker how to construct or alter a garment in the latest style. Those who made these illustrations used copper and steel engravings, hence the name ‘fashion plate’. A Brief History of the Fashion Plate
Created by the French, fashion plates are images depicting women, and sometimes men, dressed in the latest styles and trends. Even after the advent of photography in the 1830s, fashion plates disseminated the most current fashion trends and provided a reference that instructed their dressmaker how to construct or alter a garment in the latest style. Those who made these illustrations used copper and steel engravings, hence the name ‘fashion plate’. A Brief History of the Fashion Plate
Puzzle Appearances
The expression fashion plate has appeared in 1 puzzle:
- Puzzle #190 on December 8, 2025
Rate of Appearance in English Language Print
Google's Ngram project shows how often a pair of words has appeared in print every year since the 1800's.
Data from Google Books Ngram Viewer. Licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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