Tea gown

This is a nice example of the teagown made by the House of Worth. This shows the luxurious lifestyle indicative of prominent women of the time. The teagown could be worn without a corset and was therefore a more comfortable form of dress in which one could greet guests at home. Teagowns were a particular vehicle for historicism and fantasy as evidences here with its deliberate interpretation of the 18th-century robe and petticoat form.

Jean-Philippe Worth began as an assistant to his father, Charles Frederick Worth, in 1875. Gradually he was allowed to create his own designs and when his father died in 1895, he became the lead designer for the house. He was praised for making elaborate artistic gowns with intricate trimmings on unique textiles, much like his father had before him. Although the House of Worth was still favored by royalty and celebrities through the turn of the century, their styles were no longer the forefront of French fashion after 1900. Around 1910 Jean-Philippe limited his design work to important orders and hired his nephew, Jean-Charles Worth, as the new lead designer before leaving the company entirely after World War I.