Description: This cream silk bodice by the House of Worth is warp-printed with roses and trimmed with pale blue satin facings, cream chiffon, and lace. It was worn by Mary Chamberlain, wife of Birmingham’s mayor and MP Joseph Chamberlain, in the 1890s.
At this date the House of Worth was being run by Jean-Philippe and Gaston Worth. They were the sons of Charles Frederick Worth, who founded the house in the 1860s and has often been called the first fashion designer.