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Another Pompeii to Paris talk

Published by The Dreamstress

As I have mentioned (numerous times) I had another go at the Pompeii to Paris talk on Thursday.

It was a crazy day: sewing and dressing and transporting things across town and organising, and then, at the end of it, getting in invite to be a last minute guest speaker for another event.

But that’s another story.  So here is Thursday’s story, in pictures.

The dressing room was tiny, so the dressed models waited in the theater before the audience arrived:

The models dressed and waiting to go, trying not to crush their dresses

They chatted, and compared dresses, and posed for pictures, and goofed off, and did lots of fun stuff, all of which I missed, because I was busy being…busy.

A little bit of pre-program posing

Joie de Vivre looks so fantastic in Poiret!

I adore her hair in the turban - it's so perfect!

How could you not practice your opera moves in dresses like these?

We're so pretty!

And we're so prim and sweet

Watching the opera singers

Paniers make great arm rests

Claire looking fantastic in the laurel dress, with an anachronistic camera

When I see models look this good, it really makes all the effort worth it!

I was the last person dressed and made up, so missed all the fun.  I ran out just in time for the talk, but at least I got to admire all the beautiful models in their dresses as I talked.

The models came out in chronological order.

The 18th century ladies looking stunning

Robes to chemises to Regency

This time I had a power point to go with the talk, so it was wonderful to be able to compare the models dresses with my inspiration.

I love how much Elisabeth is looking like Madame Recamier in these shots!

Describing the Greek fret motif in fashion

One of the things I really love about getting photos from the audience during the talk is that I can see that the models are paying attention to what I say too.

Chiara and Madame Ornata, listening intently, and posing beautifully

The 19th century beauties join the 18th century belles

I wave my arms around a lot as I talk.  My hair ribbon kept falling out.  The movement does make for great pictures though.

Centuries and layers of fashion and meaning.

I love how all the models look, and how much I look like a Roman mural with my stola flowing around me.

The models all looked so stunning in the gowns, and as a group.

I found some really fantastic counterpoint images for the power point presentation, and love how they interact with the dresses.

Aren't those images fabulous? It's Gloria Swanson and Carole Lombard

Who will get hit with the arrow?

After posing around the screen throughout the talk, the models all came forward at the end.

The end of the talk

Pretty pretty pretty!

And then, of course, the audience got to meet the models, and then we took photographs.

Group shot (minus a few models who had to run off right away)

Me and a friend capturing the glory of the Juno dress

Anachronistic, but still a beautiful image of the stola in action

I love how you can see the picture I am taking in my screen.

And then we took everything off and I went home and had a rest and it was wonderful.

Early Worth gowns

Published by The Dreamstress

I know everyone wants to hear about the talk and see pictures, but that won’t happen yet for three reasons 1) I’m exhausted,  2) I hardly took any, so have to wait to get them from other people and 3) I’ve been asked to do a last minute talk on Sat and it gives me an excuse to pull out a few dresses I haven’t shown in a long time, so I’m frantic with that.

So, in lieu of a Pompeii to Paris post, here is a pretty eye candy post in response to a readers question about early Worth gowns.

There aren’t a lot of extent Worth gowns from before 1870 around, but the ones that are are fascinating glimpses into his aesthetic development, as he became more adventurous with colours and trim.

Here are the early Worth gowns I can find images of:

From the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

Ensemble, Worth and Bobergh , 1862—65, French, silk, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ensemble, Worth and Bobergh , 1862—65, French, silk, Metropolitan Museum of Art

From the Chicago History Museum

Wedding gown or evening ensemble, Worth and Bobergh, 1861, Chicago History Museum

From the Museo de la Moda:

Worth & Bobergh, 1867-1870, France, Museo de la Moda, Santiago, Chile

Back view, Worth & Bobergh, 1867-1870, France, Museo de la Moda, Santiago, Chile

From the FIDM Museum:

Worth & Bobergh Day Dress c. 1865 Silk Satin Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection

From the Royal Ontario Museum:

Girl’s formal evening dress, with, sash, Charles Frederick Worth, Silk taffeta, 1867, Royal Ontario Museum

Girl’s formal evening dress, with, sash, Charles Frederick Worth, Silk taffeta, 1867, Royal Ontario Museum

More dresses were on display at  the ‘Sous l’Empire des Crinolines‘ exhibition at the Musee Galliera in Paris.

Day dress, Worth & Bobergh, circa 1869, Silk faille, Gallerie

Some of the gowns in ‘Sous l’Empire des Crinolines‘  were borrowed from the  Philadelphia Museum of Art, not surprising as they have what may be the largest collection of early Worth gowns,  including a beautiful golden ivory example, and a luscious apple green frock, and a sweet taupe & rose  ensemble.

1865-1870 Charles Frederick Worth Ballgown

The poofs on the front remind me of my Jeanne Samary dress

Worth & Bobergh, Green Silk Dress. Paris, 1866-1867, Philadelphia Museum of Art

Charles Frederick Worth, Taupe Silk Evening Dress with Rose Silk Trimmings. Paris, 1867-1870, PMA

From Beverly Birks Vintage Haute Couture Collection:

Worth afternoon dress, 1869-70

And from the Museum of the City of New York come four fabulous early Worth frocks, including what may be the earliest identified Worth gown and a stunning extent wedding dress with two bodices.

Ball gown, 1860, Worth, MCNY

 

Dress with day and evening bodices, 1864-67, Worth, MCNY

Evening dress, 1866-67, House of Worth, MCNY

Charles Frederick Worth, Evening Gown of Pale Blue Silk Taffeta. Paris, 1860s

Wedding dress with two bodices (evening bodice), 1869, House of Worth MCNY

Wedding dress with two bodices (day bodice), 1869, House of Worth MCNY

From paintings:

Elizabeth of Austria by Winterhalter, 1865

The empress Eugenie surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting, Franz Xavier Winterhalter, 1855.

There are also a couple of (well done) remakes of some of Empress Elisabeth of Austria’s most famous Worth dresses of the 1860s.  Unfortunately, I have yet to identify who made them!

Also check out this Flickr set of scans from a 1920s book of Worth fashions – it features a couple of early, and rare, photographs of the women in Worth ballgowns of the 1860s.