Evening dress

Design House House of Worth French
Designer Charles Frederick Worth French, born England

Not on view

Severe corsetting falling at the natural waist, a flaring skirt, and the return of gigot sleeves constituted a fin-de-siècle extremism. The engorgement of sleeves and skirt made this extreme constriction seem even more exaggerated in the context of the bulbous shapes surrounding the ideal, hard, narrow waist. The style was maintained well into the twentieth century as a flattering stage effect by actresses such as Sarah Bernhardt.

Evening dress, House of Worth (French, 1858–1956), silk, French

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