Vintage Fashion Posters & Style Prints

Some clothes are sold with a description. Others get a look that makes the description rather beside the point.

Digitally restored reproductions from £19.99, printed on 200gsm Enhanced Matte Fine Art Paper with pigment inks. Printed locally and shipped from the UK, US and Canada. Supplied unframed.

1920s French advertising poster: allegorical woman in pink gown reaches toward a floating flat cap above a globe, navy ground | The Vintage Poster Archives

The vintage fashion posters here bring together Domergue, Cappiello and French advertising for clothing and accessories. Bagheera, Corset Le Furet, Mele Napoli and Lorella Casquette each make a different case for getting dressed. A pose, a sweeping line, a well chosen colour: style can be remarkably economical when it knows what it’s doing. Start with the figure, or find the print whose colours you would happily build a room around.

Clothes, character and the pleasure of a pose

Fashion advertising gives an illustrator more to work with than a garment. The figure can suggest an attitude, an occasion or a life the customer might like to inhabit. A hat changes the outline of a face. A dress changes the movement of a body. A pose can tell you who is in charge before you read a word.

The current selection is small enough to compare closely. Cappiello’s Mele Napoli brings Italian fashion advertising into the group, while Corset Le Furet approaches clothing through a different commercial brief. Domergue’s Bagheera and the Lorella Casquette design add other silhouettes and personalities. Look at how much each picture chooses to describe, and what it leaves to your imagination.

Choosing a fashion print for your space

A dressing room offers an obvious home for these images, but the shape of the composition matters as much as the subject. A tall figure can sit well beside a mirror or on a narrow wall. A design with a strong area of colour can hold its own in a larger room. Check the image proportions and the available print dimensions before planning a pair.

For companion artwork, follow the line or palette. You might pair a fashion figure with a theatre performer or a colourful advertisement by the same artist. The Cappiello collection offers more of his visual wit, while Cinema, Theatre & Music brings dancers and cabaret into the conversation.