Le Moniteur de la Mode

The Moniteur de la Mode was first published in 1843 and fashion plates entered a new age where they were made more scenic and became conversation pieces. It is an important Paris magazine in that most artwork was done by the artist Jules David. It was David who developed the fashion plate into a composition with interesting backgrounds. He placed the models in settings such as garden or against rose trailed pergolas. He also used carefully studied interiors from bedroom to dining room to drawing room. We are able to observe ladies taking afternoon tea or strolling at the racecourse and at the same time get a good idea of the surrounding style of the day.

For the British fan of fashion plates, the artist Jules David is particularly important as The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine (a Beeton publication) imported French engravings to use instead of struggling to create inferior artwork. Many British households have access to copies of The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine and they can often be found in antiquarian bookshops.

Jules David always signed his fashion plate designs and all were used initially for Moniteur de la Mode. Later the original engravings were sold on and found their way into both German, French, Spanish and American publications. This meant that in what were then distant places like America, fashions could be up to a year out of style as designs were kept in seasonal line.

The American version of this magazine was the Monitor of Fashion which ran 1853-54 in New York.