Background
Charles Frederick Worth was born on October 13, 1825 Bourne, Lincolnshire, England; the son of William Worth, a solicitor, and Ann Worth. William Worth left the family without any financial support in 1836.
House of Worth at 7 Rue de la Paix, Paris in 1894
Empress Eugénie wearing a gown designed by Worth
Charles Frederick Worth was born on October 13, 1825 Bourne, Lincolnshire, England; the son of William Worth, a solicitor, and Ann Worth. William Worth left the family without any financial support in 1836.
About 1845 – 1846 Worth left London, where he had worked as an apprentice at the department store of Swan & Edgar in Piccadilly and seven years later – in Lewis & Allenby, and settled in Paris.
In 1852 Worth became a sales person at a prestigious Parisian firm, Gagelin-Opigez & Cie. It was there that he began sewing dresses to complement the shawls. Though simple in design, the dresses attracted customers’ attention and Worth was permitted to open a dress department at Gagelin. Later, Charles became a participant of The Great Exhibition of 1851 in London and the Exposition Universelle of 1855 in Paris, thus building Gagelin’s international reputation.
In 1858 Worth together with a business partner, Otto Gustaf Bobergh, set up ladies’ tailor shop at 7 rue de la Paix. Through Princess Metternich, wife of the Austrian ambassador to France, he gained the patronage of the fashionable empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III of France. Success came fast from this point on. The street in front of 7 rue de la Paix was lined with carriages from morning to night, and the shop itself buzzed with the gossip of fashionable women from around the world.
After the fall of the Second French Empire, Worth lost his patroness, as Empress Eugenie was exiled in England. The shop was transformed into a hospital for injured French soldiers. After the French government had been restored, the doors to luxurious Parisian shops bearing such names as Worth and Cartier once again opened their doors. Business flourished and by 1871 Worth had 1,200 people in his employ.
While his works continued to be featured in Harper's Bazaar, by the 1890s Worth had lost his monopoly on French fashion. Upon his death in Paris on March 10, 1895, Worth's shop was turned over to his sons.
Physical Characteristics: Worth was of medium height, strongly but not stoutly built with a dark moustache and had the appearance of a man who lived temperately.
While working at Gagelin, Worth fell in love with one of the models, Marie Vernet, and the two were eventually married. They would go on to have two sons, Gaston and Jean-Philippe. His wife was a constant source of support and played a major role in helping him establish his successful business.