I have always been fond of Victorian fashion plates and have used them as inspiration for the gothic lolita dresses I designed over the years. 
Fashion plates were the fashion magazines of the 19th and the early 20th century. They are illustrations of the clothing that was in style at the time. There were so many different modes of dress that, once you've spent too much time looking at plates, it becomes pretty easy to identify which decade the fashion plate demonstrates.
Just look at the difference in dresses between my two favorite decades of the Victorian era:
The fashion plate on the left is from the 1850's and the one on the right is from the 1870's. I can usually identify a 50's plate by the low shoulders, V shaped bodice, full even-weighted skirt, lace, and rather simple parted hairstyles. The 70's is identifiable by the appearance of the bustle skirt, high waists, taller hairstyles, and massive amounts of ruffles and ribbons. These are my favorite decades because I love lots of flounce! If you look at fashion from the 1860's (Civil War era) you will notice that the skirts are huge but the designs become rather simple. A lot of the ruffles are replace with other decorative trims and (because of the elliptical cage crinoline) the skirt shape is unflattering. :(
If you would like to see more historical fashion, including plates, check out Old Rags on tumblr! 
