1896 court gown by Worth

It was made for a Mrs. Roebling, wife of Washington Roebling who was senior Engineer for the Brooklyn Bridge project. Mrs. Roebling finished construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, the first of many bridges across New York's East River when her husband was bedridden (I recall by caisson disease or "the bends" from going down into the pressurized caissons used to keep water out of the bridge pier construction on the bottom of the East River). The bridge opened in 1883 and she drove across it in a carriage while carrying a rooster as a victory symbol before it opened to the public.

Mrs. Roebling functioned in a different world. Today's "entrepreneurs" would have soaked the public, cancelled the bridge and left the piers to block shipping in the East River, had Congress cancel OSHA constructions safety regulations, blamed her for the fiasco, and gone home to crow about their feats of innovative financing in the privacy of their Gulfstream V jets as they flew to their vacation palaces at Cabo San Lucas.

1896 court gown by Worth for Mrs. Robeling

Worth made a well-designed and well-engineered dress for Mrs. Roebling with a sweetheart neckline complemented by a vee waistline.

Keywords:  1896, Worth, feathered headdress, veil, sweetheart neckline, elbow length upper puffed sleeves, bows, engageantes, lace, stomacher, vee waistline, A-line skirt, under-skirt, train, floral bodice ornament


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