Through the Lens of Fashion

This article presents a study of dress worn by women living in Canada West, now called Southern Ontario, as seen in daguerreotype photographs from the late 1840s until about 1860. This rich medium chronicled not only a woman's appearance, but also her values, sartorial tastes, and family's relative wealth. As well as the physicality of the sitter, photographic images projected how her appearance was constructed with signs and symbols that were part of the philosophy of early Victorian Canada. Daguerreotypes captured images of women in all stages of their lives: as young adults, through marriage and the birth of children, and as older women. Analysis of selected images of Canadian West women in each stage helps catalogue dress during a relatively short period and serves as a basis for further investigation.