Evening Dress thumbnail 1
Evening Dress thumbnail 2
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Evening Dress

ca. 1955 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The House of Worth, established in Paris in 1858 by Charles Frederick Worth (1826-95), was the original and founding couture house. Worth London was an offshoot of the original. It created refined, well-mannered garments for a mainly English clientele for the London social season.

Mrs Roy Hudson was a friend of Miss Whistler, Worth's head vendeuse (personal saleswoman). She purchased Worth gowns between 1947 and 1962. This dress dates from about 1955, when Owen Hyde-Clark was the chief designer. Worth was known for delicately embroidered dresses in shades of champagne and rose, and this dress is typical of the house's style.

The skirt is cut as a complete circle. It needed many layers of petticoats to fill the skirt and show the embroidery to its best advantage.

Worth (London) Ltd closed in 1967.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Belt
  • Evening Dress
Materials and techniques
Silk dupion with embroidery of sequins, pastes and crystal beads, lined with taffeta and faced with net
Brief description
Evening dress of embroidered silk dupion, and matching belt, designed by Owen Hyde Clark for Worth London, England, ca. 1955.
Physical description
Evening dress of rose pink silk dupion with large scale embroidery of white sequins, pastes and crystal beads on the bodice and skirt. The bodice is boned and lined with white taffeta, fastening at the side with a zip. The skirt is faced with nylon net. It has a matching belt.

A is the matching belt.
Production typeHaute couture
Gallery label
Evening dress Worth London (established 1911, closed 1967) 1955 Worth, established in Paris in 1858 by Charles Frederick Worth, was the original and founding couture house. Worth London was an offshoot of the original. It created refined, well mannered garments for a mainly English clientele. Dupion silk embroidered with sequins and beads Given by Mrs Roy Hudson V&A: T.214&A-1973(22/09/2007-06/01/2008)
Credit line
Given by Mrs Roy Hudson
Summary
The House of Worth, established in Paris in 1858 by Charles Frederick Worth (1826-95), was the original and founding couture house. Worth London was an offshoot of the original. It created refined, well-mannered garments for a mainly English clientele for the London social season.

Mrs Roy Hudson was a friend of Miss Whistler, Worth's head vendeuse (personal saleswoman). She purchased Worth gowns between 1947 and 1962. This dress dates from about 1955, when Owen Hyde-Clark was the chief designer. Worth was known for delicately embroidered dresses in shades of champagne and rose, and this dress is typical of the house's style.

The skirt is cut as a complete circle. It needed many layers of petticoats to fill the skirt and show the embroidery to its best advantage.

Worth (London) Ltd closed in 1967.
Bibliographic reference
de la Haye, A., 'Material Evidence' in Wilcox, C., ed., The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947-57 (V&A Publications, 2007), p.101 and pl.4.10
Collection
Accession number
T.214&A-1973

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Record createdFebruary 3, 2006
Record URL
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