Designs by Worth and Other Haute Coutures Part I

If its a forgery, its a good one.

I absolutely love the 1907 wedding dress posted a few pages back!

This thread is so valuable because so many of the photos are in color and we can truly see the beauty of the materials that Worth used.

      

Hmmmmmm, Worth on ebay, whatever next?

If it is the real deal from the House of Worth, then it will be costly.  Worth garments are most sought after and whilst this is not a garment designed by the master himself, if authentic, it will have no little value.

The label looks like the real thing, but I would love to see where it is postitioned and how it is sewn in.  Of course, an original bill of sale would naturally also send the price up considerably.......

This is a Worth label from a 1900s dress from the collection of the Union Francaise des Arts du Costume which looks remarkably similar to the one on the Ebay coat.  If the Ebay coat is a forgery, it certainly isn't obvious!

And here is the dress the label comes from.  It was made in about 1900.

Lovely! I said this about another dress (and I don't know how to express myself better so forgive the triteness) but the material and color just look so rich and buttery. I love the pink ribbon at the waistline and the thinner ribbon at the hem which match the small flowers embroidered on the dress. Is this dress on exhibit somewhere?

Elisabeth de Caraman-Chimay, Comtesse Greffuhle, is wearing Worth in these photographic studies by Paul Nadar - she was "habillee chez Worth, Fortuny, Doucet ou Beauches [I never heard of Beauches] mais toujours avec une touche personnelle......"

Alas, no, it is from a book.  Although Worth's creations are very grand and striking, they aren't always actually pretty - which I think this dress is.

Is this dress on exhibit somewhere?

Sorry, I was replying to this question in my post above.

I can well understand the women of the late 19th century going crazy over the Worth creations!

As with all designers, I don't suppose his every creation pleased everyone all the time, but most are just beautiful and I would definitely be a patron (if, that is, I could afford to be) if I lived at that time.   

Hmmmmmm, Worth on ebay, whatever next?

Worth dresses show up from time to time on e-Bay.

The dresses on this page are wonderful!

Hmmmmmm, Worth on ebay, whatever next?

If it is the real deal from the House of Worth, then it will be costly.  Worth garments are most sought after and whilst this is not a garment designed by the master himself, if authentic, it will have no little value.

The label looks like the real thing, but I would love to see where it is postitioned and how it is sewn in.  Of course, an original bill of sale would naturally also send the price up considerably.......

How much in BPS do you think iy would go for?

TampaBay

"Designed by Charles Frederick Worth c.1888, for Esther Maria (Lily) Lewis Chapin to be worn for presentation at a European court. This exquisite gown and train sold to a collector for $101,500 at the Doyle Couture Auction of May, 2001. "

I cannot imagine what it would cost to have this dress dry cleaned!!!  I doubt this dress could be dry cleaned.  I wonder how these dresses were cleaned?

I wonder how often these dresses were worn in a life time; five or six times?

TampaBay

TB- never twice in front of the same people, of coursement!! Perhaps once at Court, then maybe again  on foreign shores? Cleaning would have been done by wardrobe maids, I would imagine.
 I wonder if they were adaptable?  That is different train, bodices, et al so as to get more value for money? After all, jewelry was that way.
 In any case, these creations are truely  "works of art" and craftmanship.

My grandmother was born in 1896 and so grew up while my great-grandmother still wore the long fashions of the day.
 
Alas, not Worth.

However, my grandmother spoke of using a stiff  brush to clean the hems of my great-grandmother's skirts every Saturday to remove the debris and stale chewing tobacco and other detritus that had accumulated on the hems during the week.

I don't think that they had dry cleaning or could afford it if it was available.  But they did wear so many under garments that could be washed  that perhaps the outer dresses just did not get as dirty as we think.

My grandmother married my grandfather in 1915 in Canada.

(I never thought about it until today, but she was a year younger than Olga Nicholaevna.)