the House of Worth's Glass Escalator : Sexism in fashion history and haute couture

We've all seen Worth gowns, right? Charles Frederick Worth and the House of Worth dresses are the darlings of fashion history and historical costuming, and Worth is often called the father of haute couture. I'm not sure that's a good thing! Unfortunately, gender bias and sexism in fashion is a part of dress history too, and Victorian fashion was not free from what we now know as the glass escalator. So, who was Charles Frederick Worth? Worth was a Victorian fashion designer who was able to rapidly build a successful couture dressmaking business in Paris. His clients included Empress Eugenie, the Princess Metternich, and Empress Elisabeth of Austria. He's credited with everything from inventing fashion modeling, normalizing the idea of a designer label, creating seasonal design collections for clients to choose from, and changing the relationship between a designer or dressmaker and their client. He's something of an idol in the dress history field, with historical costumers often choosing his designs for fashion analysis or to recreate, and fashion museums prominently exhibiting his pieces. However, I think gender bias in fashion did and still does paly a huge role in his popularity, and the 'glass escalator' explains why. We've heard of the glass ceiling, yes? The 'glass escalator' is a related phenomenon where men in women dominated fields receive greater credit, opportunities, and promotions than their female colleagues. Sexism and gender bias teach that men are more sui