1910 c Beaded Worth Evening Coat
"She glided through the night, in front of the scrollwork gates of Sydington Park. Her depths as impenetrable and remote to any outsider as the great estate itself."
Label: Worth
Origin: French
Materials: silk, jet beads
Origin: French
Materials: silk, jet beads
Provenance: England
Description: This spectacular evening coat hails from the halls of the famous and iconic House of Worth. charles Frederick Worth founded the house in the 19th century, setting the fashion world and the world of royalty and aristocracy on fire with his revolutionary fashions and love of naturalistic, sinuous forms. He made France's Empress Eugenie a fashion icon and his house continued to be a fashion leader well into the 20th century. His atelier was taken over by his sons, Jean-Phillipe and Gaston, after the elder's death in 1895, and under his sons' leadership the sumptuous and meticulous nature of the fashions continued to flourish. Gaston became the first president of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute couture Francaise, the organization that literally defines haute couture to this day. In 1910, Gaston's son, Jean-charles Worth, takes over as the creative director of the House of Worth.
The sheer elegance and luxe of this unforgettable evening coat is synonymous with the House of Worth style. It's all in the details, meticulous craftsmanship, and rich materials. Anyone who has spent any amount of time sewing can appreciate the amount of time and effort and concentration it took to create this magnificent piece. The cut-out nature of the "scrollwork" is especially difficult to do, and I can only imagine the eyestrain and dedication it took to sew all those tiny beads along every curving edge. This wonderful, intricate detail spans the shoulders and upper-half of the coat, as well as running all around the hem. Lavishly done.
Another hallmark of the House of Worth is the propensity to use natural forms and motifs. Here you can clearly see foliate patterns, winding here and there, suggesting tendrils and leaves backlit against a bright moon -- truly an inspired design for an evening coat.
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Condition: Good
The condition is good overall, and would have rated a very good but for a couple of issues. The netting that supports the scrollwork is broken in places, there's some shattering of the silk in the lining at the neck near the label, and there's a bit of silk fraying and deterioration of the right silk cuff.
Overall, a very impressive piece, and museum-worthy. Original Worth designs are harder to find now than hens' teeth, outside museums. This one will only increase in value.