Life — February 10, 1921 — page 29: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical illustration by R.M. Crosby about winter fashion trends, titled "The Dictates of Fashion." The main panel shows three elegantly dressed women in long coats and hats, appearing to dictate or model fashionable country wear. Their postures and expressions suggest they're authoritatively presenting these styles as required fashion standards. The smaller inset panel below shows four figures in various outfits, likely illustrating different winter fashion options or variations on the theme. The satire targets how fashion arbitrarily "dictates" what people must wear—treating arbitrary style choices as absolute rules. The women's commanding poses emphasize fashion's tyrannical grip on society. For modern readers, this reflects timeless humor about how fashion industries establish trends as social requirements rather than choices.