The German Willy Schüler (1865-1939) and his Dutch wife Selma Wittgenstein (1865-1946) opened the doors of their fashion house Schüler & Cie in The Hague in 1884. Wittgenstein was born into a family with close fashion connections: her sister was married to Josef Cohen, the founder of Maison de Bonneterie and her cousin Sally Berg was the founder of the stylish fashion house, Hirsch & Cie. The exclusive Schüler & Cie gave 6-monthly presentations of the newest haute couture from Paris fashion houses such as Paul Poiret, Maison Worth and Jeanne Lanvin. As was popular at the time, Schüler & Cie tried to emanate the chic Parisian image, even to the extent of expecting their personnel to speak French. Schüler also made demands as to how personnel should deal with customers, as is evident in a job vacancy printed in the newspaper Algemeen Dagblad in 1912 for a "capable saleswoman able to deal with dignified clientele." This clientele included Queen Wilhelmina. Mrs Boon Hartsinck de Brauw, the donator of this exceptional moire-silk dress, also came from a noble family. In addition to this low-cut bodice, meant for evening wear, the dress has a second, high-necked bodice for day wear.