The ''Gazette du Bon Ton'' was a small but influential

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion i ...

magazine published in France from 1912 to 1925.Davis
48
Founded by Lucien Vogel, the short-lived publication reflected the latest developments in

, lifestyle and

beauty Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is the main subject of aesthetics, o ...

during a period of revolutionary change in art and society. Distributed by

Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast, and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The company's media ...

, the magazine was issued as the ''Gazette du Bon Genre'' in the USA.Antique Print Club, ''Gazette du Bon Ton : "Etes-vous pret?"'' (1913)
re: "''Gazette du Bon Ton ..., published by Lucien Vogel in Paris between 1912 and 1925... and distributed by Condé Nast. Distributed in the U.S. as ''Gazette du Bon Genre'', both titles translate roughly as Journal of the Good Style.''" Both titles roughly translate as "Journal of Good Taste" or "Journal of Good Style."

Elitism and arts focus

The magazine strove to present an elitist image to distinguish itself from larger, mainstream competitors like ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' and '' Harper's Bazaar'' in America and '' Femina'', '' Les Modes'' and '' L'Art et la Mode'' in France.Davis
50
51. It was available only to subscribers and was priced at a steep 100 francs per year, or $425.61 in today's money.Davis
50
The magazine, published on fine paper, signed exclusive contracts with seven of Paris' top couture houses – Cheruit, Doeuillet,

Doucet Doucet is a French language surname, especially popular in Canada, the former area of Acadia in particular (now Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and parts of Quebec and New England). As a result of the Great Expulsion in 1755 ...

, Paquin,

Poiret Poiret is a French language surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jean Poiret, French author * Jean Louis Georges Poiret, former Lieutenant-Governor of Guinea *Jean Louis Marie Poiret, French clergyman, botanist, and explorer * Jeanne ...

, Redfern, and Worth – to reproduce in luscious

pochoir Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface, by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object, to create a pattern or image on a surface, by allowing the pigment to reach ...

the designers' latest creations. After World War I, a select group of other design firms were added to the magazine's repertoire, including the houses of Beer, Lanvin, Patou and Martial & Armand. However, the editors' choice of designers was arbitrary, and a number of the era's most prominent couturiers never contributed to the pages of the ''Gazette du Bon Ton'', among them Chanel and Lucile. The magazine's title was derived from the French concept of ''bon ton'', or timeless good taste and refinement. The ''Gazette du Bon Ton'' aimed to establish fashion as an art alongside painting, sculpture and drawing. According to the magazine's first editorial: "The clothing of a woman is a pleasure for the eye that cannot be judged inferior to the other arts."Davis
49
To elevate the ''Gazettes literary status, the publication featured essays on fashion by established writers from other fields, including novelist Marcel Astruc, playwright Henri de Regnier, decorator

Claude Roger-Marx Claude Roger-Marx (12 November 1888, Paris – 17 May 1977, Paris), was a French writer, and playwright, as well as an art critic and art historian like his father Roger Marx (1859–1913). He also used the pen name "Claudinet". Biography Roge ...

, and art historian Jean-Louis Vaudoyer. Their contributions ranged in tone from irreverent to ironic and mocking.

Fashion illustrations

The centerpiece of the ''Gazette'' was its fashion illustrations.Davis, 56. Each issue featured ten full-page fashion plates (seven depicting couture designs and three inspired by couture but designed solely by the illustrators) printed with the color

technique. It employed many of the most famous

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

artists and illustrators of the day, including Etienne Drian, Georges Barbier,

Erté Romain de Tirtoff (23 November 1892 – 21 April 1990) was a Russian-born French artist and designer known by the pseudonym Erté, from the French pronunciation of his initials (, EHR TEH). He was a 20th-century artist and designer in an a ...

(Romain de Tirtoff),

Paul Iribe Paul Iribe (8 June 1883 – 21 September 1935) was a French illustrator and designer in the decorative arts. He worked in Hollywood during the 1920s and was Coco Chanel's lover from 1931 to his death. Early life and career Joseph Paul Iribe was b ...

Pierre Brissaud Pierre Brissaud (23 December 1885 – 17 October 1964) was a French Art Deco illustrator, painter, and engraver whose father was Docteur Edouard Brissaud, a student of Docteur Charcot. He was born in Paris and trained at the École des Beaux-Ar ...

, André Edouard Marty,

Thayaht Thayaht was the pseudonym of artist and designer Ernesto Michahelles (1893–1959) best known for his revolutionary design of the TuTa and his involvement with the Italian Futurist movement. Early life A mixture of British, German, Swiss and A ...

(Ernesto Michahelles),

Georges Lepape Georges may refer to: Places *Georges River, New South Wales, Australia *Georges Quay (Dublin) * Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses * Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 19 ...

, Edouard Garcia Benito, Soeurs David (David Sisters), Pierre Mourgue, Robert Bonfils, Bernard Boutet de Monvel,

Maurice Leroy Maurice Leroy (; born 2 February 1959) is a French politician who served as Minister of City Affairs under President Nicolas Sarkozy in the third government of Prime Minister François Fillon from November 2010 to May 2012. In this capacity, h ...

, and Zyg Brunner. These artists, rather than simply drawing models in outfits, depicted them in various dramatic and narrative situations.

Footnotes

Works cited

*Davis, Mary E. ''Classic Chic: Music, Fashion, and Modernism.'' University of California Press: 2006. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Gazette du Bon Ton 1912 establishments in France 1925 disestablishments in France Defunct magazines published in France Women's fashion magazines Women's magazines published in France French-language magazines Magazines established in 1912 Magazines disestablished in 1925