Today was a busy day for us at Costume College. For our class on Charles Worth, we brought two original Worth dresses from our collection: one an evening gown from the late 1880s – early 1890s and a wedding gown from the late 1870s. We’ll be posting more about soon, so in the meantime, we salute you Mr. Worth! 🙂
At the hotel bar after the class….
Here’s a little promotion for Costume College. I’ve laid my suit out and I’m ready to go. It should be a lot of fun. 🙂
The weather here in LA has been pretty warm lately and when that happens, one can not help but think of going to the beach. 🙂 Here are a few views from the 1880s:
And now for a somewhat idealized view:
Stay cool ths summer! 🙂
Life is short, use the lace! We encourage our customers to agree to this as well. Antique lace is a treasure that needs to be appreciated and gently taken care of, and in most cases…gowns were constructed so the lace could easily be removed for cleaning, then re-attached by hand. 🙂
Ensemble dresses were not just present in the 1890s- here’s an example from circa 1877 by Worth:
Worth, Ensemble Dress, c. 1877 – 1878; Cincinnati Art Museum (1986.1200a-c)
The view above reflects the cuirass bodice style that was coming into vogue during the late 1870s and the lines are well-sculpted and clean with a minimum of trim. This bodice was intended more for wear at daytime functions while the bodice below was meant for evening functions:
With the night bodice.
Here’s a close up of the day bodice. The edges of the bodice front openings and sleeve cuffs are trimmed with the same fabric that the underskirt is made from, combined with lace trim.
Close-up of the day bodice.
Although we don’t have a side profile picture, it does appear that the silhouette is a bit more slimmed down and with the cuirass bodice, the wouldn’t be much room for a full bustle. Stay tuned for more on ensemble dresses…