This Bodice, c.1885, was presented to the National Gallery of Victoria by Miss Bostock in 1963 and attributed to Worth by virtue of an incomplete label attached to the inner waistband. Today, however, suspicions about this attribution have arisen on the basis of its make, multiple alterations that are a result of restyling and refitting between c.1860 and c.1885, and our knowledge of counterfeiting practices in the nineteenth century.

Knowing whether or not something is a forgery changes the way we look at it forever. In this investigation, detailed object-based analysis by the NGV conservation team followed several key threads. The first was to resolve the date of make and likelihood of the bodice’s couture pedigree, and the second aimed to establish the authenticity of the label.

The label reads, ‘Worth and Bobergh, Paris, 7 Rue de la Paix Au Premiere’, in a manner that is consistent with labels of that partnership and its likely construction date. After the Empress Eugenie became a client in 1862, Worth added a centrally located coat of arms. To date, no other label matching this has been sighted. Reason suggests that it is a fake, or very rare, used by Worth during his first two years of operation. Whether the label was attached to the bodice at this time remains a bigger mystery.