Worth acquired a knowledge of fabrics and trimmings, developed a flair for salesmanship, and studied the rules of bookkeeping in London. At age twenty, Worth left London for Paris, where within a year he obtained employment at the fashionable drapery house of Gagelin and Opigez. When he bagan his career, ladies' gowns were produced by numerous dressmakers who did not typically design the gowns, but instead constructed gowns to the client's specifications, perhaps using material bought by the client in fabric shops with styles chosen from illustrations and fashion journals. The responsibility for being elegantly attired was primarily the client's. Worth revolutionized this system by designing gowns and becoming famous and fashionable in Paris, dressing the noble and the merchant classes.
