To continue the theme of yesterday’s post, we present some more examples from the House of Worth as it relates to 1890s style and using of the whole dress silhouette as a canvas for the fabric pattern with a minimum of extraneous trim. We begin with an afternoon dress made in 1896:

Afternoon Dress, Worth, 1896; Museum of the City of New York (49.125.1A-B)

Close-Up Of Back Bodice

Side Profile

Once again, we see the entire dress as a canvas for silk floral brocade pattern fashion fabric along with an inset faux waist in the front. Compared to most Mid-1890s dresses, the sleeves are somewhat restrained and we don’t see much of the characteristic gigot sleeve effect (although this may be due to the staging of the dress in the museum display).

Below is one more example, in this case a dinner dress made someone between 1890 to 1895. Here we see the characteristic open bodice, lined on both sides with shirred tulle and sleeves cut close to the arm. The lapels and sleeve cuffs are trimmed with beading and the same shirred tulle as on the front of the bodice. Overall, the trim is fairly minimal and acts as a counterpoint for the main decorative effect- the floral pattern on the skirt. The flowers themselves are large and they trace their way up the skirt at several points. Visually, the skirt comprises the largest area and as such, provides the perfect canvas for display.

House of Worth, Dinner Dress, c. 1890 – 1895; Metropolitan Museum of Art (31.37a-b)

Rear View

The above two dresses are just a few of the many examples of using the skirt as a canvas for decoration and while this style was fairly common, it was by no means the only style during the 1890s nor was it exclusively used by Worth. In the future, we’ll be featuring more from the House of Worth from the 1890s as well as works from some of its competitors. Enjoy!