"The Latest Fashions"
Godey's Lady's Book was as much a magazine about intricate, elegant pictures and art as it was the influence and education of women. Volumes released during Godey's peak production in the mid-nineteenth century became notorious for their hand-painted fashion plates, which encouraged its audience to purchase for the art and pictures. paintings such as the one shown here, which is from January of 1854, were also used to give a clear depiction of the female beauty standards of the time. As the fashions shown in these images were always reflective of the upper echelon, they were sending the constant message that women needed to keep buying - regardless of what was within the budget.
"A Gossip On The Fashions"
Godey's Lady's Book often included sizable deliberations on the latest fashion trends, and would guide women on which garments, home practices, and etiquette were in style and acceptable within society, such as this discussion from January of 1851. These deliberations would often lead to the women being told that the clothing or home fashions they already owned were now outdated, and they would then feel encouraged to buy the necessary accessories to keep them in fashion per the latest issue of Godey's. This made Godey's one of the most powerful mechanisms for the female participation in the market from the side of consumerism, and signaled a shift in women having significant buying power.
"Chenille Work"
Godey's didn't just promote the latest fashions in hopes of convincing women to buy them, it also included patterns on apparel that women were expected to buy material for and then make themselves, such as this pattern for a chenille headdress that was featured in the January of 1851 issue of Godey's Lady's Book. Similarly to the modern idea of a handmade gift having more emotional value, the ideal domestic women according to Godey's was expected not only to wear the latest fashions, but also create them herself using the patterns given in magazines such as this.
"A Glance At A Chameleon Subject"
Fanny Fern was not subtle about her belief that women who cared a great deal for fashion trends were "vapid, expression-less, soul-less..." and complicit in their own commodification. In this essay, printed in her Fresh Leaves portfolio, she makes the assertion that women are never truly able to express themselves when working to adhere to the fashion trends, and that blending in works to their deficit. As she says, these women "never shed their feathers" and express vulnerability by going against the fashion expectations, which results in women as a whole not being taken seriously in a professional capacity.
"My Liking For Pretty Things"
During an event one night, a spectator referred to Fanny Fern as a "luxurious puss", to which she wrote this essay in response and included it in her Caper-Sauce collection. Fern took this opportunity to clarify for her audience that it was not her lack of appreciation for beauty and luxury that led her to speak against women strictly adhering to fashion trends, but rather that it was her belief that women could be capable of expressing their appreciation for beauty without having to buy it. "My Liking For Pretty Things" served as both an admittance that Fern was susceptible to the desire for beautiful things and a suggestion that a woman could be capable of substance while still striving for respect and intellectual stimulation.