Letter from Gustave Flaubert, Croisset, to Louise Colet, 1854 January 29 : autograph manuscript signed with initial.

Flaubert speaks of the delicious torment of writing and tells about being overwhelmed by a selection from King Lear he just read. He laments the mediocrity of French authors. He then goes on to speak of Colet's desire to write an article for a fashion magazine. There is room for artistic expression in everything, even fashion. However, artisans (tailors, upholsterers, cooks) have no idea of Art, only of their craft. [Steegmuller: "The narrow specialization in which they spend their lives blinds them to the very significance of their specialty, and they constantly confuse the accessory with the essential, the trimming with the cut."] Because of industrialization, everything is becoming mass produced, mediocre, and ugly. What follows is a long tirade on fashion. Clothes should be made taking into account the features and form of the wearer's face, and people should dress the way they want to, not according to the dictates of fashion. A fashion magazine should address itself to this art. Clothing must be functional, as well, suited to people's or lifestyles.