The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1869-06-12
An Autocrat OF Fashion and his Aristo.
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An Autocrat OF Fashion and his Aristo.
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The, correspondent of, the New York
Times, writing from Paris, gives the FOL.
lowing gossiping sketch of Worth. the
famous autocrat of fashion, and OF some
of his ,peculiarities:
1t would not be right to soy ANYTHING
against Mr.. Worth, the man milliner Of
the Rue de Ia Paix, for he is the prince
OF industrials in his way. His establish.
ment is curiosity; at least that is what
people. generally say. There is certainly
none other like it. It is curious, the
evening of fancy dress ball at the Tuil-
cries, to see the jam of crested carriages
before his door, It il curious to see
ladies, as deeply crested as their car.
rlages, take tickets at the door 80 as TO
be admitted In turn to the presence of
the great man inside. It is curious to
witness their assault on the lunch set out
for them in The waiting room, and which
suggests that perhaps they do not all
penetrate further into the temple of fash
ion. Once inside, it is something more
than curious to witness what takes place.
The artist, o good-looking man of forty,
with black hair and pale face, dressed
loosely in black dress suit, and with
white cravat--a man who speaks all lam
guages, and does not know what country
he belongs to, although he sometimes
forgets himself, and says he is an En-
glishman-stands in the middle of the
floor, with his eyes on the lady customers
examines her as he would horse he was
going to buy. He makes female assist
ant turn her around, trot her up and
down, cit down, stand up, and finally he
issues his fat, from which there is n ap-
peal, and the customer must take the
dress, the cut, and the price he dictates.
That or nothing, madam, in anything
else both you and would be ruinedI''
Then, when the costume is finished. thew
must return with it on, to see whether Il
does not need touch here and there be-
fore its advent in the world. Mr.. Worth
goes through all this process with such
deoorum, and with such an evident eve
to art, that the fashionable world, from
the Empress down, declares that in fash
lon' there is but one god, and Worth is
his prophet. -,
But there is good side to Worth that
the world in general does not know of.
Worth is liberal to the trade: he does not
charge fifty francs to smaller tradesman
for O pattern; he gives il to him. It NAV
be that he considers his position SO eS-
alted that he need not fear rivalry: but.
at any rate, he encourages poorer work
people by, giving them his inventions,
and nobody else does that. Moreover,
he invents bonnets and boots, and hoop
skirts and collars, and gives them to the
people engaged in the manufacture of
these several articles, and charges them
nothing for them. He has thus been
the fortune of crowd of poor people,
who look upon him as sort of benefac-
tor. He is alone the inventor of the
greater part Of the fashions which fash.
ionable ladies wear in all parts of the
world. he shapes the forms of woman
kind the wide world over. Was ever NOR
tai go omniscient before2
Does he get rich? No, for he is an ar
tist, a Bohemian, spendthrift He
keeps open house at his country place, at
Suresnes, the year round, and the cham
pagne flows in rivers. the pate de toie qras
melts by the ton. But his partner and
business imam takes care Of his money
and is rich, and that shows what kind OF
fashion. =