February 10, 2010
He is regarded as the "Father of Haute Couture" or "the first couturier"... English born but became a household name in France. Charles Frederick Worth was prominent fashion designer in the later part of the 19th century.

He drew some of his design inspirations from historic portraits and used very lavish fabrics and trimmings on his clothing. Nearly all of his designs were one-of-a-kind and made specifically for a certain client.

I really love all the pale and muted colors he uses. I imagine many of his inspirations came from portraits painted by Thomas Gainsborough.


Evening/Reception
Gown by Charles Frederick Worth c. 1890


Paris, France Pale pink and cream satin, machine-made lace, c. 1880



And here are a few Thomas Gainsborough paintings from the late 18th century... lovely similarities, hm?



Image Credits: 1.} Mint Musuem 2.} Victoria and Albert Musuem 3.} Met Museum 4.} Met Museum 5.} Penwith.co.uk 6.} Guardian.co.uk 7.} Olga's Gallery

9 comments:

  1. Wooowww awesome and lovely!!
    I love your blog, it gives me lots of inspiration.
    Thanks ^_^

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  2. Sigh...Women had REAL dresses back then. I would love that Yellow one for that imaginary ball that I wish I had to go to!

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  3. I love this fashion era!! Great post, beautiful pieces!

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  4. I was born in the wrong era, I think. Aside from women's lib and all that mumbo jumbo ;)

    I love how fans were a part of a lady's whole outfit back then!

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  5. Sigh, such beautiful works of art! I can't imagine what it must of been like to wear clothing like this on a regular basis.

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  6. So beautiful, love the muted tones like you said also love your music!

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  7. great post. i stil like the rump design. its modern take is still really appealing to me.

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  8. Gorgeous !!!! Love the first one. What a great era. So many inspiration.
    -lilian-

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  9. Rodellee, sometimes gems get lost in the Twitter noise. I am so glad you stopped by my site so I could take a peek at yours. One of the most beautiful and inviting collections of vintage things I've ever seen. You have superb taste. And your blog? Eye candy :)

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Thank you for taking the time to leave me a little comment, I do try to respond back as often as I can. Have a lovely day! xoxo - Rodellee