New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-03-12

NJ
al. T., Partisan life ever since 1886; that Is, during
rearlv half century. lie lived 20 witness the over
,hrow q, both kingdom and empire. TO see |
80 eowinr Ike water in the streets OF the French
metropolis not once W numerous occasions; TO
count Presidents of the Republic following one an |
other IN quick succession. and Cabinets whitening |
as speedily as lilies touched by frost
Yet throughout all these manifold changes his |
sunrenacv alone remained uncontested and unm- |
ra,red True rivals spTang UP. many of them hav- |
Ing learned their trade under his auspices; but al
though they may have robbed him of some or MS |
patrons and may have turned out more artistic
work row and again. yet Of them ever attained
b,s aroinenca nor his worldwide fame, and he re-
,,o,o5 IN the end master of his art. universally
reco-nIzei as lie Matre alike by his competitors
and by the fair Ii is &c him more than any one
e,se-at any rate in his particular trade-to whom
Paris Is Indebted for its acknowledged position as
the very centre Of feminine fashion: and his great
establishment in the Rue de la PaiX where some
90 dressnakers are employed may be regarded as
the very Mecca of la Mode women OF every class
from expresses to actresses. making pilgrimages
thlther often from the other end OF the world
During the last halfcenury Of his career NJ
Worth had an immense number OF American names
m tho list Of his customers. and | have known a
ball of 800 people given in New-York where over
eighty Of the women present wore dresses when
Worth had designed and made for the occasion.
Nothing was more curious than his showrooms,
mt so
70 the queer medley of people who were assembled
there You could celebrated actresses and prime
donne wives OF American railroad kings OF coal
barons and of oil magnates. the spouses OF wealth.!
Ievantne bankers from ConstantinOple and Alex
andria English duchesses Spanish grandesses' RUS
sian princesses Italian marquses and ladies' OF 'he
Scandinavian Belgian. Austrian and portuguese
arstocraCv dark-eyed anl dark-haired beauties
from South America, fair Australians and even
dusky Indian begums and japanese DANES all nut
tering about with that air Of satisfaction, dehgh'
and ecstasy which women unconsciously assume
when revealing In such questions as the fapric ana
fashion of dress; and stalking among them with
the air Of pacAa among his women-ioiK the pre-
siding genius-nay. might almost say the dVih''y
of the establishment presenting an extraordinary
resemblance 10 the portraits which remain 10 us
OF the great painter Hogarth. Perhaps uncon-
s,ous,v but more probably. with intention Worth
managed 10 Increase this resemblance by anecting
the same peculiar style Of dress. the same oda-
shaped cap and the species or haIfJacKet nan
mantle tina. hung abou, him like robe OF course
.here was a good deal of pose and ahectaton IN MS
set-un and in his bearing. But after all II was IN
keep!ng with his reputation and win his establish
ment: and Il seemed infinitely less ncongruous IMAM
would have appeared a Worth arrayed IN Inc con-
ventional and ordinary attire of an EnGhsn or
American shopkeeper.
while Z, woulo be idle 70 credit Worth with per
lection as regards taste. even TO allege that
fashion owes everything 10 him. yet there Is 10
doubt that he contributed more than any one else
70 transform the Parisienne. and In due conse-
ouence the women of the rest OF the CIVILIZED world
from the chrysals OK the '30s and i0s 70 the
raw butterfly Of the last decades OF the present
century After the fall OF the First Umpire an
epoch characterized by the most extravagant spch-
dor and luxury, alike In existence ana IN raliheh'
there was a strong reaction, and up 10 the ac-
cession 10 the throne OF Napoleon III, elegance IN
feminine dress was frowned Lpon just In the
same way that cant. stilted conventionality ard
excessive prudery reigned supreme 1t Was ~
Worth who helped 10 change all this. ana ne was
ably assisted by two great ladies. who may be said
TO have placed him upon the high pedestal where
during the rest OF his life he remained They were
the ever-lovely Comtesse de POurtales and the
ever-ugly. but equally chic, charming and capt.
waiting Princess Metternich. Nine. de Pourtaes
was one OF his first customers. fact which It
OF the great world at Paris Cshe goes by the name
opera as blond. fair, fresh, and as
Mime. de Pourtales introduced Worth TO Empress
Eugene. and from that time forth his fortune may
be said 70 have been made II was he who; at the
Empress suggestion, invented the crinoline. OF
which he became toward the latter part OF his LIE
of the most inveerate foes. and 10 give an idea
OF the enormous volume Of this sort OF basket
Authority Of NJ Worth himself that he occasionally
used as much as ~ YARDS OF material Tor single
and furnished mos. Of the dinner and state dresses
but also many of her fancy dress cos umes. being
on severa! occasions inirusted with crown jewels
to the value OF many million dollars to be worked
up into the costume.
i not until 1853 that he became acquainted
with Princess Metternich, and from that time
forth she OF his most constant customers
and helpful riends. assisting him 10 design and
launch many new mode which. even with his
prestige, he would have been utterly incapable OF
accomplishing without her support He always
Princess Pauline Metternch. For they. unlike the
majority major Of the women wno visited MS establish
mem Knew what suited them and what di1 not.
Most Iaoles nave no sense OF fitness whatsoever
ia hat
an irritation which gave him reputation for
rudeness; Yet what more exasperating TO a man
possessed OF any artistic than 10 find a
green; woman with highly infa!ned co1nienance
who is convinced that scarlet Is becoming
declines 10 have her dresses made OF any,binp
save of girlish white and pink ' 's
VI Worth used often 10 allege that two.tbirds y,
the women VINO came to him had to be talked and
argued into accepting dresses suited TO their ap-
pearance. and that considerable portion OF hIs
own time and that OF his employees was expended
Dress wc WAS ncns s"T ecctd uDon for h
rood name and reputation OF the house Yet the
taste OF NJ Worth cannot be said have been
absolutely perfect. when II had been toned and
modified by the delicate hard OF Nine de Pourtales
and OF the other great Partisan nondaines OF like
ilk Unlike his foreign customers. many OF whom
would leave everything. even 10 the color and ma
leaders would suggest an alteration here noduia.
aon there. with the final result that the dress
when worn possessed an individuality OF its own.
wearer
M Worth born at Bourne. in Lincolnshire. IN
isS. and may be said to have been graduated from
mo great drygoods establishment Of Swan & Edgar,
In London. where he remained tin his twenty-Ars,
year, when he migrated to Paris There he en-
Tered the establishment of Gageln. the great
mat time no house in Paris which sold material
two made II up as veil and tie combining Of the
EShbition Of 1856 and achieved so much success
able IN tho Rse s 3. "a a nc Sscs ns