who was Charles Frederick worth [Music] noted
for creating one of the foremost fashion houses of the 19th and early 20th centuries as well as
being the father of oat Couture one cannot study fashion history in the 19th century without
knowing the legacy of this extraordinary man he was born October 13th in 1825 and the
Lincolnshire Market town of Bourne to William and Ann worth some sources believe he was their
Fifth and final child While others believe he was the family's third child it is understood though
that he was the only child other than his brother William worth III to survive to maturity after
ruining their family financially their father left them leaving their mother impoverished
without financial support at the age of 11 Charles was quickly sent to work at a printer's
shop and in a year he moved to London to become an apprentice at the department store of Swan
and Edgar in Piccadilly it would be seven years later Lewis and Allenby another leading
British textile store employed at Mr worth in 1846 Charles moved to Paris he arrived there
speaking no French with only five pounds in his pocket his mother Ann worth died in Highgate
London in 1852 during this time worth was a sales assistant at gallon Ops and C A prestigious
Parisian firm that sold silk fabrics and textiles to the Court's dressmakers also supplying cashmere
shawls and ready-made mantels it was during this time that he met the woman he would marry
in 1851 Marie vernay at the shop worth began sewing dresses to complement the shawls at
first they were simple designs but his expert tailoring caught the eye of the store's clients
eventually gallon granted worth the permission to open a dress Department this being his first
official entrance into the world of dressmaking he helped to build the company's International
reputation by exhibiting prize-winning designs to both the great exposition of 1851 in
London and the exposition at Universal in Paris four years later now having two sons
he was eager to establish himself and by this stage in his life he was a known name he
soon acquired a young Swedish business partner Otto Gustav Boberg and in 1858 they set up
a business at seven Rue de la pay naming the establishment worth and Boberg it was Worth's
wife who played a key role from the beginning of their Venture helping to sell the clothes by
introducing many new customers to their business from this point forward success came quickly
when in 1860 he designed a ball dress for the Princess D matternick which was admired by Empress
Eugenie who demanded the name of the dressmaker and to see him the very next day in the Memoirs of
princess matternick she had written and so worth was made and I was lost for from that moment
there were no more dresses at 300 francs each quickly worth became the favorite designer
and dressmaker of the empress worth offered a new approach to the creation of Couture gowns
offering a plethora of fabrics and an expertise in tailoring by the 1870s his designs were recognized
around the world and in high demand by those in High Society during this time as well his name
and Designs were appearing in fashion magazines being read by a wider audience he was the first to
replace the fashion dolls which had been popular to show off the clothes with live models in order
to promote his garments to clients his wife was an early model in the 1850s leading some to describe
vernay as the world's first professional model worth was also noted perhaps the first
to sew branded labels into his clothing he also changed the dynamic of the relationship
between customer and clothing maker where previously the dressmaker would attend the
client's home for a one-on-one consultation clients generally would attend Worth's Salon
in Rue de la pay for a consultation meeting here allowed for societal figures
to show up in a social meeting point his fashion house had begun with a staff of 50 but
soon swelled to over 1200. the creation of these dresses required a painstaking attention to the
detail and craftsmanship a bodice might have up to 17 pieces of material to ensure a good fit on its
wearer the seamstresses were assigned different workshops where they specialized in for instance
making sleeves making skirts or stitching hems most of the sewing was done by hand although with
the Advent of the new and early sewing machines this meant that some main seams could be stitched
mechanically wealthy and socially ambitious women were drawn to Worth's showpiece creations and
soon over time this included American clients the great Mrs Astor being one of them but truly
if you were anybody in high society America you had worth gowns worth had stated that he loved
working with his American clients because his French language skills never reached fluency and
as he put it American women have faith figures and franks Faith to believe in me figures that
I can put into shape and franks to pay my bills while some Americans bought their worth gowns
in New York at the shop of Catherine Donovan on Madison Avenue most wealthy Americans traveled to
Paris to have their entire wardrobe made by worth encompassing everything from morning afternoon
evening and tea gowns as well as underdress items such as nightgowns he would even create
special occasion garments such as wedding dresses when worth became Empress eugenie's official
dressmaker she had him on call constantly to create dresses for various events she attended
needing masquerade costumes Court dresses and evening wear for example for the opening of
Suez Canal in 1869 she had decided she needed more than 250 worth dresses for that event alone
the prices were staggering for the Time Princess D matternick had commented about the end of
the 300 Franc dress which she had ordered and once worth had acquired Royal patronage that
same dress ended up costing her 2200 Francs by the late 1880s worth had established the
characteristics of a modern Couture house one biographer had noted he also successfully
fostered the myth of a male style dictator worth Sons ended up joining the business in 1874
to help with management finance and design they soon became increasingly active leaving Worth to
take more time off in his later years especially as his health declined on March 10 1895 at Charles
Frederick worth died of a pneumonia at the age of 69. his funeral was held at a Protestant church
and his wife would be buried next to him just three years later worth was a keen collector
of artistic treasures and Curiosities and it seemed little doubt that worth had amassed a large
fortune in 1874 a visitor to his Villa described an abundance of rare China a conservatory full of
exotic plants stables full of immaculately kept horses and his Gardens contained statuaries
and Stones retrieved it from tularis Palace the house of Worth's most successful gears
were those flanking the 1900s during this span of time women were ordering 20 to 30 gowns
at a time and by 1897 clients could now order a garment by phone mail or by visiting one of
the many Branch stores they also displayed their garments at the 1900 Exposition Universal
in Paris it was at this time that the company's annual turnover was placed at around 5
million francs at the turn of the century truly the father of Oak Couture
Charles Frederick Wertz memory and Legacy lives on today thank you for
watching cultured Elegance with faith please let me know your favorite fact
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