Definition

Noun: 1. A plate illustrating the latest fashion in dress: A printed illustration, often a full-page engraving or lithograph, depicting the newest and most stylish clothing designs. These were popular in magazines and periodicals from the 18th to early 20th centuries. 2. A man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance: A person, typically a man, who is exceptionally attentive to following the latest clothing trends and is always impeccably and fashionably dressed. This usage often implies a degree of vanity or excessive focus on outward appearance.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Illustration):
  • The 19th-century magazine included a hand-colored fashion plate showing the latest Parisian gowns.
  • Researchers study old fashion plates to understand historical clothing styles.
• Noun (Person):
  • He arrives at every event looking like a fashion plate, never a hair out of place.
  • With his tailored suits and polished shoes, he was considered the office fashion plate.

Advanced Usage

• The term can be used metaphorically to describe anything that serves as a perfect example of a current style or trend, though this is less common.
  • The new smartphone model is a fashion plate of minimalist tech design.

Variants and Related Words

• Fashion illustration (n): A broader term for any drawing or painting created to showcase clothing design, often used in the same context as the first definition of "fashion plate."
• Dandy (n): A man who places particular importance on physical appearance and refined language, similar to the second definition of "fashion plate" but with historical connotations.
• Beau Brummell (n): The name of a historical figure synonymous with a dandy; often used as a cultural reference for a male fashion plate.

Synonyms

• For the person: Dandy, fop, clotheshorse, sharp dresser, trendsetter.
• For the illustration: Fashion illustration, style print.

Antonyms

• For the person: Slob, frump, schlep (informal).

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Dressed to the nines: Wearing very fashionable or formal clothes. A person described as a fashion plate is always .
  • He came to the party dressed to the nines, a true fashion plate.
• A slave to fashion: Someone who feels compelled to follow every new trend. This phrase has a more negative connotation than "fashion plate."
  • Unlike a mere fashion plate, he was a slave to fashion, constantly buying the latest fads.

Noun

1. a plate illustrating the latest fashion in dress
2. a man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance