Follow high-style couture trends over a 100-year period from 1800 to 1900, as illustrated in 374 color photographs of original, hand-colored fashion plates from the author's private collection. The 11 chapters (organized by decade) include a brief survey of the subtle changes in clothing design through each decade and a social history of the times. Follow the whims of fashion on this promenade through the 1800s, when high-society women sported beribboned toques and turbans and crinolines, capes, and extravagant sleeves. Based mostly on original French artwork, the fashion plates, which appeared in magazines of the day, also document fashion illustration as an evolving art form, making this book an invaluable resource for historians, scholars, theater costume designers, artists, and fashion enthusiasts.