A new resource

It's amazing what you find when you have a clear out. This time my discovery was digital rather than physical. My laptop was getting a bit creaky, and I realised that this was hardly surprising as it's over a decade old. So it seemed wise to get a replacement before it died on me, potentially taking everything with it. In the process of identifying what was worth transferring from old to new, I came across a bookmark referencing Le Petit Echo de la Mode.

Masthead

This was a French publication, described in the English translation of its Wikipedia entry as "a weekly family newspaper, practical, mainly intended for women, . . . with a very low selling price". It ran from 1879 to 1983, selling over one million copies a week at its height. The bookmark was for the collection of issues held in Gallica, the digital library of the National Library of France (BnF).

Although I had saved this, I had forgotten all about it. So I investigated, and found an absolute treasure trove. There are issues for 48 separate years, including a complete run from 1888 to 1932. It's free to use, and open access. Plus, it's a reflection of what the majority of women would be wearing rather than high fashion. So of course, given my project to make a complete 1915 ensemble, I had a look at some issues from that year.

My very rusty Higher French is not equal to the task of translating large amounts of text, but it's clear that each issue contains the same three fashion-related items. First, there is the Revue de la Mode, written by the editor-in-chief 'Baroness de Clessy' (actually Claire de Penanster, wife of the proprietor Charles de Penanster). This always includes an illustration of several outfits, along with detailed descriptions, and sometimes the prices of the patterns used to make them.

25 April issue

Then there is a separate full-page or sometimes double-page fashion feature.

2 May issue

Finally, amid the advertisements for toothpaste, hair improvers, dubious medications etc., is this week's free pattern offer. The reader can claim one of the three by sending off a stamp and the coupon at the bottom of the page. Judging from the number of page scans with a bottom section missing, this was a popular feature.

2 May issue

The patterns were available in four sizes; bust 92cm, 100cm, 108cm and 116cm (36" – 46"), and readers were reminded that each pattern must only be used by one person.

24 October issue

Some issues also include a needlework feature.

25 April issue

Amid all the fashion however, it's impossible to miss the fact that France is a nation at war. And, unlike Britain, it is a war on their own soil. For two-thirds of the year, the cover illustrations regularly include wounded soldiers - albeit nothing too severe; crutches and a heavily bandaged foot appear often.

2 May issue

20 June issue

Family scenes also have war references.

21 March issue

From September onwards however, once the war was into its second year, the cover illustrations revert, mostly, to those of a family and fashion publication.

24 October issue

What could not be ignored though was the scale of bereavement, an area in which women bore the brunt. Mourning wear appears regularly.

25 April issue

Sometimes it takes centre stage, as with this cover.

17 October issue

On other occasions it is more subtle, such as this somewhat incongruous image of a widow sitting amid an otherwise cheery beach scene.

20 June issue

In Britain, the old rules for mourning wear eased slightly as the war dragged on; the sheer number of casualties meant that almost everyone would be perpetually wearing black otherwise. It will be interesting to spend some time looking at later issues, to see if a similar pattern emerges in France. And I'm sure there will be lots of other reasons to consult these magazines as well.