When it came to haute couture, Maison Worth was a master not only noted for its imaginative designs, but also for the sheer output of product as demonstrated by the extensive collections of Worth gowns in many museum collections such as the Met in New York. Also, thanks to the internet and all manner of reference works, many of Worth’s creations are well documented and known so it’s always a treat when one comes across examples that aren’t in museums and thus less well documented- principally from auction websites. Below is one such example, a circa 1900 ball gown we came across on Drouot, a French antique auction website:

In the above view, we get a closer look at the bodice front. What’s interesting is that the bodice pieces make no attempt to match up the pattern and thus it looks a bit jarring when view up close.

As with many of Maison Worth’s gowns of this period, the emphasis was on the fabric itself and thus there was a minimum of trim. The fabric appears to be an ivory silk brocade with a floral pattern (the lighting in the pictures can sometimes make fabric colors deceptive). Here’s a closer view of the fashion fabric starting with part of the skirt:

The floral design is beautiful and we would have liked to be have been able to view it in person. Also, unfortunately, there’s no information online as to the garment’s provenance- that would have been interesting to know. But that all said, this ball gown is a wonderful example of Maison Worth’s late 1890s/early 1900s designs. In future posts, we’ll have some more wonderful new (at least to us) examples to look at. 😉

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