A fashion drawing, engraving, or illustration that depicts the newest clothes, shoes, hairstyles, and accessories of a particular period in time. Fashion plates were first used in England and France during the late sixteenth century and were a wonderful way to promote fashion workshops in countries throughout Western Europe. They were also a source for "common folk" to copy what nobility was wearing with, of course, modifications. Fashion plate is also a term given to a person who is known to dress well.
See also Fashion illustration; Fashion illustrator.
Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry. Francesca Sterlacci and Joanne Arbuckle.