Object: Evening dress
Brand:
The House of Worth
(French, 1858 - 1956)
Date: c. 1883
Medium: Yellow silk brocade, cream silk crepe, silk net, chenille, magenta silk velvet, glass faux pearls, and seed beads
Country: France
Credit Line: Gift of Jessie L. Hill
Object number: 79.40.5
DescriptionTwo-piece evening dress, bodice and floor length bustle skirt with long train in silk brocade with pale gold ground and cream feather like design overall, trimmed with chenille, glass seed beads, glass / fish scale pearls and chenille fringe; princess bodice with sweetheart neckline and pointed waist, elbow length sleeves with silk net; asymmetrical draped front skirt - apron like panel, reverse draping at underskirt panel in cream silk crepe, large magenta red / purple bow at left side in silk velvet; pleated and draped back bustle extending to layered train
Label Text:The great couturier Charles Frederick Worth was widely regarded as "an artist of luxury." He created dresses that were expensive confections of lavish fabrics, trimmings, and embroidery for a clientele of wealthy Europeans and Americans. Worth proclaimed, "We live by and for luxury."
Exhibitions:
- Minimalism / Maximalism: Fashion Extremes
- Femme Fatale: Fashion and Visual Culture in Fin-de-Siècle Paris
- Trend-ology
- Luxury