.. promotion.. built his design house into a huge business until his death from pneumonia in 1895.  He had been married to his wife over 30 years, and had one of the most profitable businesses in the world. (Portrait: Height of fashion, Charles designed a presentation gown to Queen Victoria …

… designer made a shockingly short walking skirt which was – dare we say?  Ankle length.  Another key design was the princess gown that had no waist.  It hung simply and straight in the front while draping with pleats in the back. (Photo: 1913 Worth short walking suit with long …

…in the way clothing was designed & constructed.  He would mass produce parts of a piece of clothing, and then put them together in a different way; e.g. a sleeve would be produced in bulk quantity, but used in different dresses in different ways to get a different look.  This …

.. hold a large number of surviving Worth garments and collections such as at The Costume Institute.  This is a testimony as to how very popular this English born, French “Haute Couture” designer was in America, as well as with European royalty and nobles. American clients traveled to Paris to …

.. was the Art Nouveau movement that swept the world around 1900 until 1909. (Photos: Worth gowns left; 1858 scrolling velvet design is like the wrought iron and scrollwork of the Art Nouveau architectural movement; right 1908 gown for Queen Maud of Norway one of his last projects shows the …

…is the asymmetry of the skirt drapery.  This was extremely difficult to implement, and showed exquisite craftsmanship.  Worth had a fascination of eastern and Asian cultures, and he in particularly was attracted to Japanese influence. There had been a renewed interest in Japan in at the end of the 19th …

.. and silhouettes, Worth would provide entire wardrobes, including morning, afternoon, and evening dresses, nightgowns, wedding gowns, gowns for masquerade balls, and costumes for special events. (Photo:  1865 unique Worth ballgown for a specific customer.. although we can’t imagine whom..)

… also made collections which were displayed on live models.  Less wealthy clients could order in their own size, and they were somewhat “mass produced”, although by hand by his designers using the highest quality techniques and materials.  They just weren’t “custom costumes”. (Worth sketch: basic design for travel in …

.. historic dress, and the influence of what he studied can be seen in his later designs.  In the 1890’s, there was a popular trend to go back to the “good old days” – of the Colonial Era.  Worth designed gowns in this revivalist spirit of the 18th century which …

.. and trims which made up his beautiful (and expensive) garments.  These often drew from historic influences such as the “Shepherdess look”, or “La Polonnaise” which he claims to have invented, even though it had been high fashion in Marie Antoinette’s era a century earlier. (Photos: left, 1890’s Worth “Polonnaise” …