The House of Worth
July 10, 2014 9:47 AM   Subscribe

150 designs from the House of Worth. Charles Frederick Worth dominated fashion in Paris in the second half of the nineteenth century. Vogue describes the House of Worth as the first great maison de couture.
posted by immlass (17 comments total) 23 users marked this as a favorite
 
Oh! It's not sketches - it's actual photos of existing gowns!

Lovely.
posted by winna at 9:59 AM on July 10, 2014


The jump from 1900 to 1925 in the sideshow is pretty dizzying.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:13 AM on July 10, 2014 [1 favorite]


Yay!
posted by dejah420 at 10:35 AM on July 10, 2014


DRESS PR0N! DRESS PR0N!

If you'll all excuse me, I'll just be over here in my bunk with my computer, a crinoline, and a couple yards of peau de soie.

It's said that when Worth was dressing Empress Eugénie's court, they looked like a garden of upside-down flowers.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:47 AM on July 10, 2014 [3 favorites]


You guys would not believe the number of hours on eBay I racked up between 1999 and 2001 finding and (once or twice) bidding on Worth dresses from 1885-1895.

I had a thing for the late bustle era. I can still date women's clothing in photographs between 1850 and 1900 to within an accuracy of two years.

Oh. This is what people feel like when they lament their misspent youth.
posted by annathea at 11:07 AM on July 10, 2014 [5 favorites]


I think you mean awesome youth there, annathea.
posted by winna at 11:39 AM on July 10, 2014 [6 favorites]


First meeting of the Society for Sartorially Challenged Fashion Lovers, through the door to your left. (Thanks, I *love* beautiful gowns despite my personal inability to wear skirts or, you know, dress myself decently.)
posted by wintersweet at 11:57 AM on July 10, 2014


P. S. TAKE NOTES, STEAMPUNKS!
posted by wintersweet at 12:02 PM on July 10, 2014 [2 favorites]


TAKE NOTES, GOTHS!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:29 PM on July 10, 2014 [1 favorite]


Lately I've been thinking about getting a corset.

But it turns out that corsets range from mildly to obscenely unaffordable.

This corset from Dark Garden, though. Maybe if I didn't spend any money on food for three or four years I could get one.
posted by winna at 12:34 PM on July 10, 2014 [1 favorite]


Absolutely stunning images-- thanks for posting.
posted by BibiRose at 2:37 PM on July 10, 2014


winna, if it's your first, that company is an excellent one to go through.
posted by _paegan_ at 3:35 PM on July 10, 2014


So much loveliness. Thank you!
posted by korej at 3:51 PM on July 10, 2014


They are gorgeous, those Dark Garden corsets. But if I ever won the lottery I'd go for one of Sparklewren's.

Her blog right now has a bunch of photos of antique corsets, such as might be worn under a Worth dress!
posted by winna at 4:21 PM on July 10, 2014


Usually when I make an outfit with a corset and a bustle, somebody else gets to wear it, but this one is just for me.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:01 PM on July 10, 2014 [3 favorites]


These are amazing.

It was striking to me how much variation there was between the dress sizes-- some of them were designed for a slender body, some quite obviously a larger figure, with no particular change in "feel" or style or quality between them. I guess modern high fashion's exclusive obsession with coat-hanger-like figures is just a recent thing.
posted by Bardolph at 3:52 AM on July 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


Oh, underpants Monster...that's wonderful.
posted by dejah420 at 12:29 PM on July 11, 2014


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