[Fr. à la (sc. mode) in the manner.] After the manner, method, or style of; in such phr. as à la Française, à la Russe, and hence à la Reine (= à la mode de la Reine), à la Roi, etc.
1646. Suckling, Fragm. Aurea, 61. As ill a Mine [= mien] as this Act has, ’twas a-la-Romansci, as you may see by a Line of Mr. Shakespears [cf. Jul. C., V. iii. 90].
1881. W. S. Gilbert, Patience, I. An attachment à la Plato for a bashful young potato.
1882. Englishman, 2 Dec., 3/5. Entrees, Chicken à la Stanley. Lamb Cutlets à la Reform.
