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Worth Dress by Carol Sutton ©A little history of my source material and the story of how I came to paint the Worth ironwork dress.
Eiffel Tower
Influence on Fashion
- Charles Frederick Worth (1825-1895), who was the first dress maker to market himself as an artist, even posing for Nadar to photograph him in his artist beret (Worth also at times wore a black skullcap), and moreover making dresses that were not on client commission from a particular client, but rather aimed at his own high standards and distributed through secondary merchandising sources as well, that is ready made, as opposed to custom made. These bold and innovative designs were created for no particular woman in mind, but would rather be wished for by all women who wanted the top fashion designer's latest inventions. Charles Worth 's radical contribution to fashion was adding a label, his own label inside his dresses, and he was the first designer to do this.Worth's sons, Jean-Philippe and Gaston, carried on the label after the death of their father and the enormous export business in a large part due to American clients. These dresses would care the Worth label.
- Charles Frederick Worth died in 1895, therefore this ironwork dress design was probably the
work of his son Jean-Philippe Worth.
Jean-Philippe Worth made this heavy white silk satin voided with
black velvet in an Art Nouveau scroll design around 1900. The building
of the 1000 foot high Eiffel Tower at this time could have also been a major influence on the keen
interest in ironwork and could have played into 
Jean-Philippe Worth's design of an ironwork dress. By June 30,
1887 the towers foundations were finished; these included radically inventive
hydraulic jacks for adjusting the pier angle of each tower, so that the
platform girders could be kept in perfect alignment. This hydraulic jack
set was in itself a new feat of engineering. The tower steel girders were
beginning to rise in July 1, 1988, capturing the imagination of not only
all those who lived in Paris but the entire world. Audacious, optimistic,
and innovative design was ripe in the air.
- Not only was the young Jean-Philippe Worth influenced by Art Nouveau scroll design, but I claim that he was also influenced by the building of the Eiffel Tower and he was most probably one among those many citizens of Paris that visited the new site. Roaming and walking on the tower platforms he would have seen many swirling curvy scroll designs. Inside the tower Jean-Philippe experienced the black and shadowy interlocking ironwork forms, by contrast when glancing outward he saw the vast Paris urban city landscape spreading out from all directions round the tower. The Eiffel Tower was being readied for the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris which lasted for six months. Just imagine that Jean-Philippe Worth
was hard at work on his ironwork forms, only this time out
of velvet instead of steel. These same curved forms are found in the closeup
tower motifs. By the time the next fair rolled around, The Paris Exposition
Universelle of 1900 , the house of Worth, or Maison Worth, was
ready to exhibit a drawing room display that included wax figures posed
and dressed in Worth fashion.They were the only house to do this type of
exhibition at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. Earlier
another fair attracted world attention; fabric, textile, and fashion interest
was high at the time of the Berlin Fabric Exhibition in 1896. Click below
to see some wonderful antique postcards and learn the story of this Berlin
Fabric exhibit and see an entire table list of the world fairs.
World Fairs that had an effect on fashionFair date where elsewhere & etc. timeline: Berlin Fabric Exhibition-
had vintage postcards-NO LONGER
http://www.surveyor.in-berlin.de/
1896 Berlin, Germany
CocaCola invented in Georgia,USA-/Modern Olympics founded,Paris-/Labor riots Chicago Paris Exposition Universelle (Eiffel Tower built for this) 1889 Paris, France 
Mehring & Minkowski use insulin for treatment of diabetes Chicago Exhibition 1893 Chicago, Illinois, USA 
Art Nouveau appears in Europe Brussel Exhibition 1897 Brussel, Belgium 
Ross discovers Malaria bacillus-/New Buchanan-Gordon dress for pearl divers invented (Australia & London)* Paris Exposition Universelle(Maison Worth Exhibit of English drawing rooms, wax mannequins, and Worth fashion.) 1900 Paris, France Sigmund Freud's book-'The Interpretation of Dreams"' published-/discovery of Minoan culture in Crete - I did not used the Metropolitan dress as my source and in fact have never seen the original garment, but found a photography of it in 1988, while on a summer visit to my parents home in Norfolk, Virginia, in a
magazine of my Dad's, 'Connoisseur', (January 1988, volume
218, Number 912, on page 53) ; an article by Anne Hollander, "Old
masters of Fashion" (The same Anne Hollander who wrote the book,
'Seeing Through Clothes',1975, Avon Press.), photographed by
Kenro Izu. Kenro Izu astounding photograph of
this dress made to look as if were ironwork was what I used as my source
material. Here was a guy (Worth) who lived a hundred years ago and
he too had been looking at ironwork and had actually gone ahead and made
this ball gown of black velvet as the ironwork . I started out with a few
ink and acrylic sketches and six months later did the series of Worth dress
paintings on canvas.
- by C.S.
- A related magazine - '
Connoisseur', (January 1988, volume 218, Number 912,
on page 53) ; an article by Anne Hollander, "Old masters
of Fashion"
- A related book
-
The Opulent Era, Fashions of Worth, Doucet and Pingat'. by Elizabeth
Ann Coleman
- Publisher- Thames and Hudson and The Brooklyn Museum I989
ISBN 0-500-01476-0 Clothbound- A related book
-
'Seeing Through Clothes',by Anne Hollander, this book, on
page 356, has a photographic comparision of Charles Frederick Worth c.
1880, composer Wagner,circa 1870, and painting self-portrait by Rembrandt
van Rijn, 1640. The illustration shown is an engraving made from a photograph
by Nadar of Charles Frederick Work, (from the collection of the London
Radio Times Hulton Picture Library, London, England ); sporting his artist
beret and furred robe.
- Avon Press,1975,
- ISBN 0-380-48777-2 paperbound
- another related
or internet site -Beverley Birks Couture
Collection-by Camrax Inc., has a French page, Vionnet, Pignat, Worth, Patou, Callot Soeurs, Augustabernard,
etc., many lovely images and links to other countries fashion image
only,not much infomation.
- at - http://www.camrax.com/pages/birks13c.htm
- Not available now -Yvonne's Place for Crossdressers
This unique
site has a page that shows front and verso views of gown by Emile
Pingat (1860-1896), 1867. Quote from Yvonne's web site:"This striking
ball gown was made in Paris in 1867 by Emile Pingat, who worked from 1860-1896.
The fabrics are silk faille and silk tolle. The collar and the back are
accented with seed pearls."
at:http://www.yvonnesplace.net/fashion/aiha12.htm A
afternoon dress by Charles Frederick Worth (1825-1895),date 1873. Quote
from Yvonne's web page listed below plus photo of mauve
Worth Dress { Mauve -A color the 19th
Century was crazy about. SEE Four MAUVE BOOKS listed below:}
: "This afternoon dress was the favorite of the exhibit.
It was made by Charles Fredrick Worth (1825-1895) in Paris around 1873
and was owned by Mary Augusta Green de Camp Corning, who wore it on her
honeymoon with Edwin Weld Corning, the youngest son of Erastus I. The couple
lived in Saratoga, New York.
- According to the Metroland article, "Worth is considered to be the 'founder' of French haute couture" and notes that Worth "claims the dubious distinctions of being the first to show seasonal collections and to put labels in his clothing". Emile Pingat, who made the red gown shown on the previous page, was a rival of Worth's at the time."
- was: - http://www.yvonnesplace.net/fashion/aiha14.htm
- 4 related books 
46: Thomas Beer: Chapter 3- "The World's Fair definitely
set afire the suffragists. Without doubt and in spite of some ferocious
squabbles, Mrs. Potter Palmer and the Board of Lady Managers had shown
great competence. At receptions of the Woman's Club in Chicago there had
been a parade of quietly effective professional women -- Jane Addams, Florence
Hunt, Jane Logan and the rest. Suffrage now woke with a roar. Bills to
enfranchise women were offered in New York and in other eastern States.
"
restaurant of Twenty-third Street. It was known that on Saturday
nights Wrinkles, Grief, and Pennoyer frequently quarrelled *with him. {* as is spelled in book}
Mother: Mary Helen PECK {Crane};born: 10
APR 1827, Wilkes Barre, Luzerne, Pa and died:7 DEC 1891, Patterson, Passaic
Co, New Jersey; the daughter of : Father: Rev.George PECK
born: 8 AUG 1797 in Middlefield, Otsego, NY and died: Death: 20
MAY 1876 in Scranton, PA; and her Mother: Mary MYERS,daughter of Esq. Philip Myers of Kingston,
Pennsylvania ; Married:
18 JAN 1847 in Pennington/Hopewell, Mercer, NJ to Jonathan Townley, D.D.
CRANE.
somewhat 2012
