This design was created by Jules Marre, possibly for Charles Frederick Worth. It depicts an eighteenth-century flower-seller, dressed picturesquely in an idealised costume of red-flowered white gown with a sack back and skirt looped up in the polonaise manner. This style of costume pre-dates the eighteenth century revival styles that became briefly fashionable from 1869 to about 1874, and which were called "Dolly Varden" after the heroine of Charles Dickens' historical novel (set in 1780), Barnaby Rudge.

During the 1860s, Empress Eugenie of France threw a number of extravagant masquerade balls which required the guests to wear elaborate and inventive costumes that were made up by Worth and other Paris dressmakers. Worth, a relative newcomer, became the Empress's favoured couturier at the end of the 1850s. This made him extremely fashionable, and the rest of the ladies of Eugenie's court also bought gowns from him - and so too did their husbands' mistresses, and anyone wealthy enough to afford Worth's very high prices. As a result, Worth was under great pressure to produce vast numbers of unique, one of a kind costumes and gowns, often at very short notice. This is one of a large number of similar designs and sketches that were given to the V&A as part of the archive and reference collection of the House of Worth, making it extremely likely that it was originally designed for a guest to wear to one of the Empress's magnificent balls.