THE GREAT DRESSMAKER.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1948, 26 September 1889, Page 1

THE GREAT DRESSMAKER.

Charles Frederick Worth was born in the town of Bourne, in Lincolnshire, England. ;His parents were English, and little dreamed that their name Twould ever / become almost synonymous with the centre ®f the fashionable world. It Was their ambition that Charles should learn a | trade, and with this , end in view apprenticed him at the age of thirteen to a printer. But the boy was‘ so fastidious that he disdained to soil his fingers even, and evinced a strong hostility to handling type/ Against the kind remonstrances of his parents, he abandoned the printing office*when he had been there but seven months, and, as the saying is, “went up to London.” - : v ! The boy had previously written to a friend living in the capital asking^'for assistance in securing a position 1 in a paper’s -shop., , His friend proved true, and after some difficulty procured for YOUNG WORTH A SITUATION in the house of Swan and Edgar. The lad evidently was a ; favorite at the start, and for more than six years continued to grow in the firm’s favor. | One naturally, asks, “ How did Worth come to be a dressmaker ? ” Those familiar with ;his past say that he first cenceived the idea of beeom-; ing a designer of fashions while talking with buyers for the .firm, j Moreover, no frequently, made sug-« gastions which the heads of th® departments were not slow to see in a favourable light. The more he, talked with the buyers the more he resolved to go to Paris, and soon began the study bf French. At length, unable to secure a positive engagement, he to the gay capital, and, almost at once got a position with Gagelin and Co. I think Worth was about twenty-two years,old. In a few years he was at | THE HEAD OF A DEPARTMENT, and strove to introduce several new [departures. Failing to see his suggestions utilised, he established, the firm of Worth and Bobergh, In 1870 he founded; the new famous house of Worth. : Meanwhile the enterprising Englishman had found favour at the Imperial iConrt, Eugenie herself being an ardent admirer of his , skill. Of, the many elegant dresses made for the. Empress, the following may be mentioned —A fancy costume designed from a portrait of the famous Marie de Medicis, which the Emperor said was too funereal, and which Worth replaced by a, reproduction of. Marie Antoinette’s costumes, as seen, in a famous portrait; a Juno costume, also a dress designed from a portrait of a wife of a Doge of Venice, a dress xa black tulle and marabout feathers, representing night; a Diana costume, in which she wore a silver quiver and numerous diamonds ; a gray walking costume, trimmed with velvet ribbons, the skirt and pocket matching, and i a morning dress in moire antique. All these added to the already established ; reputation of Worth, While in the employ of Gagelin and and Co., Worth received medals for displays at the international exhibition in London, and lazier , at the Paris Exposition. “ How and when did woman’s dress become so important in an artistic sense f ” Worth was asked not long since by an intimate friend. ‘‘A.t the begitfriing of the reign of Napoleon III.”, was iho famous dressmaker’s reply, “ feminine apparel began to assume great importance from an artistic standpoint. Crinolines had , just coine into use. There was a, craze for fancy-dress balls, and the Empress was a beautiful woman. Eelafcives ©f f, the Emperor first gave balls in honor of the Empress, who reciprocated by giving a grand affair, at which 1 she appeared as Diana in a costume especially designed for her by me.”