Here is a mystery: is the woman depicted in these fashion plates the same model? I have been trying to determine if models were used by the artists who created fashion plate engravings or if they drew them from imagination. Both date from 1820. Both appeared in Ackermann’s Repository of Arts.
Paraphernalia 
Oh, goodness. I say they’re the same lady for sure. What an interesting find!
Hope you’re well. 🙂
– Corra
from the desk of a historical writer
It could be that the artist has a specific person in mind. But equally likely that the contemporary conventions for attractiveness in women are guiding his pen. Either that, or he (it was usually a ‘he’ then) had his ideal type in mind … ;-)!
As an art school-bound child, I used to pore over illustrations of every kind. I recall being struck by just this point when looking at fashion illustrations/ads (which still used graphics right up to the late ’60s/early ’70s).
What a fascinating q, Dody Jane – thank you!