Evening Coat

And We’re Moving Towards Winter (Slowly)

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

It’s actually a little cold here in Southern California so we immediately thought of coats so here’s an evening coat from Maison Worth, circa 1902:

Maison Worth, Evening Coat; Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009.300.308)

This coat is constructed from a silk brocade with a large floral design and trimmed along the front opening edges and cuffs with an ivory lace. The collar is in the Medici style and also trimmed in ivory lace with two large ivory-colored tulle bows. Finally, the sleeves are wide Mandarin sleeves. It’s interesting to note that the floral pattern has been matched so it’s symmetrical on the front and matches perfectly in the back, as can been seen in the picture below:

And for a view of a live model wearing the coat:

One thing that we found striking is that on initial viewing, it appears to be more of a tea gown with it’s lace and tulle trimming than a coat. It’s an interesting style effect giving both the appearance of something worn only at home while at the same time something that could be worn to a formal public event. This is a garment that we would love to be able examine in person. 🙂 This is definitely something we would love to recreate and it could even be worn today.


And Something For Fall From Maison Worth

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

To us, one of our most favorite things about Fall is going out to plays, concerts, and the like. Unfortunately, recent events have eliminated this option but we can still dream and to celebrate Fall, we decided to feature this circa circa 1900 evening coat from Maison Worth:

Worth, Evening Coat, c. 1900; Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009.300.94)

Unfortunately, details as to specific fabrics was not readily available but we believe it’s safe to say that the sleeves and upper part of this coat are constructed from a silk velvet. As for the main body of the coat, it’s hard to say without viewing it in person. But nevertheless, the Tudor-inspired black floral pattern provides an interesting counterpoint to the black velvet. The flat floral design motif has a very contemporary feel and while it’s a clean design, it’s still complex at the same time. It definitely catches the eye. Here’s a close-up of the coat (unfortunately the resolution of the available pictures from the MET Museum website are not the best):

Below is a close-up of the floral design. It’s hard to tell whether it was printed or a brocade but knowing Maison Worth, we suspect the latter. 🙂

This is a fascinating coat and bears further examination, especially in how the floral decorated portions integrate with the black velvet portions. We’re sure that the answer is a simple one but unfortunately, the lack of high resolution pictures hampers this.1We really wish that the MET would revised their picture policies. But, nevertheless, we’re still left with a nice Fall feeling and that’s what counts! 🙂