Women 1840, Plate 100, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Woodman Thompson
Fashion plates were engraved images in magazines during the mid-1800's and through the 1900's that depicted the latest styles of dress from London and Paris. A precursor to the fashion magazines today, they are useful for conducting research related to historical dress during those eras. For further information on fashion plates, see this introduction from the National Portrait Gallery and this post from the Maryland Center for History and Culture.
A number of museums, libraries, and universities have digitized collections of fashion plates for study. They are available for educational use. If published before 1927, they are in the Public Domain and can be used for any purpose. (For fashion plates published after 1927, and other copyright inquiries, contact the PC Library and we can help you verify usage rights!)
You are free to use images from these sources in papers, presentations, multimedia projects, websites, blogs, and portfolios that are open and available to the public. When you use these images, you do not need to restrict access to your class or academic environment.
Always read and comply with the use restrictions for specific image sources. Always cite images someone else created.
These sites offer at least some images for free general use. These sites also contain advertising and/or offer images for sale.
Read each site's conditions for use carefully. Different images from the same site may have different use restrictions, too. Make sure you know what they are.