Fanny Brawne's Fashion Plate Book
Fanny’s Fashion Plate Book contains a selection of fashion, theatrical and historical costume plates that Brawne collected over a fifty-year period.
Most of the plates appeared in magazines published in England, France, Austria and Germany between 1812 and 1863. Brawne was a regular subscriber to fashion magazines (such as Court Magazine, Le Voleur and Petit Courrier des Dames), and would regularly exchange bound volumes with Fanny Keats.
The earliest plate dates from when Fanny was 12 years old, suggesting that she had an interest in fashion from a very young age. There are only two plates from 1827 – 1833, suggesting that following the death of John Keats in 1821 and the death of her mother in 1829, her interest in fashion waned. Notably, it was in 1833 that Fanny married Louis Lindon at St. Marylebone Parish Church. Her Fashion Plate book points to a renewed interest in fashion after this point.
Her letters to Fanny Keats give an indication of her creativity, passion and enthusiasm for fashion. As well offering advice on fashion, textiles and London dressmakers, she also used diagrams to enhance her explanations.
She insisted that Fanny Keats not show these sketches to a dressmaker, as it gave ‘no great idea of [her] skill at drawing’. In addition to fashion, Fanny also occupied herself with embroidery, sewing and knitting. Items in the Keats House Collection, such as a fichu scarf, indicate that she was a skilled worker.
Plates featured here form part of a larger display about Fanny and fashion which can be seen at the house.