The early years
Charles Worth was born in England, at Wake House, North Street, in the
small market town of Bourne in south Lincolnshire, on 13 October 1825. He
came from a family of solicitors with no connections to dressmaking. He was
the last child of five children, three of whom died in infancy, leaving his
parents with Charles and an elder brother. His father had a respectable legal
career and Worth lived in comfort during his early years in the social-class-
conscious society. He expected his life to follow the tradition of the family in
the legal profession just like his grandfather, father and brother. However,
drastic events changed his destiny.
In 1836, when Worth was ten years old, his father became bankrupt as a
result of heavy gambling, drinking and bad business decisions. He deserted
his family and his town and was not to return for thirty years. His bankruptcy
humiliated the family and Charles Worth never forgave his father, refusing to
have any contact with him even after he became successful.
Worth’s mother, Mary, fled the village with him out of shame as luckily her
elder son and Worth’s brother had already left home to begin his legal train-
ing. This period marked the start of Worth’s struggle in life. At the age of 11,
he began his life of menial jobs as a cleaner in a printer’s shop but was
extremely dissatisfied with it. His desire was to become an apprentice in a
textiles and clothing shop, but this ambition proved difficult to fulfil as during
this period dressmaking was considered mostly as women’s domain in
England. However, he felt that he could accomplish his dream in London but
since he had no money to travel to London he began making ladies’ Easter
bonnets for sale to raise money. Eventually, in 1838, he and his mother
managed to raise enough money for his train fare to London.
In 1838, at the age of 12, Worth started his apprenticeship with textile
merchants Swan & Edgar of Regent Street, London. He worked there for
seven years until the age of 19. During his apprenticeship, he diligently stud-
ied the different types of materials, their characteristics and functions. His
role also entailed courteously welcoming customers at the store’s entrance
and attending to special requests, which is an equivalent of the present-day
Customer Services. He was completely immersed in the world of textiles as
he worked 12 hours per day and six days a week. He also lived in the store
and slept under the counters at night. All he lived and breathed for seven years
was fashion. This period laid the foundation that would eventually lead him
to haute couturein Paris.
Charles Worth was continuously fascinated by the high level of knowledge
and cultural exposure of his superiors and colleagues at Swan & Edgar. The
tales of their extensive travels captivated him and he constantly listened and
learned. He was determined to overcome the social downfall of his father and
secretly longed to improve his education, which had been cut short at 11
years. He began reading literary books and visiting galleries frequently to
chapter 2 49the history of luxury fashion branding