Paper clothing
Encyclopedia
Paper clothing, in the form of women's dress
es and other clothes made from disposable cellulose
fabric, was a short-lived fashion
novelty
item in the 1960s United States.
Individual paper
and papier-mâché
clothes and accessories (especially masquerade
costumes) were used as early as the 19th century. But mass-produced paper fashion was invented by the American Scott Paper Company
in 1966 as a marketing stunt. Customers could send in a coupon and $1.25 to receive a dress made of "Dura-Weve", a cellulose material patented in 1958.
These "Paper Caper" dresses, which featured a red bandanna print or a black and white op art
pattern, kicked off a fashion craze. 500,000 of them were produced, and other manufacturers soon followed suit. By 1967, paper dresses were sold in major department stores for about $8 apiece, and entire paper clothing boutiques were set up by companies such as Abraham & Straus
and I. Magnin
. At the height of demand, Mars Hosiery made 100,000 dresses a week. Other items made of paper included underwear, men's vests, bridal gowns (expensive at $15), children's pinafore
s ("just the thing for ever-sprouting sprouts") and even rain coats and bikinis ("good for two to three wearings"). Among the novel materials used for such clothes were "Kaycel" by Kimberly-Stevens (93% cellulose and 7% nylon
, "fire resistant unless washed"), "Ree-may" by Du Pont (a "spunbonded" polyester
) and "Webril" by Kendall
(a nonwoven rayon
).
The paper dress captured the vibrant, youthful, optimistic and consumerist zeitgeist
of 1960s America so precisely that the fashion press speculated about paper garments taking over the entire clothes market. The dresses were whimsical, often featuring eye-catching pop art
-like patterns, shapes for the customer to crayon in or advertisements (such as the "Souper Dress" featuring Andy Warhol
's "Campbell's Soup Cans
"). And they were just one of many newly disposable items – like cutlery, plates, pens, lighters and razors – embraced by consumers; the "Paper Caper" sales pitch ran: "Won't last forever…who cares? Wear it for kicks—then give it the air."
But as the novelty appeal of paper clothes wore off, their downsides became more apparent: they were generally ill-fitting and uncomfortable to wear, their garish colors could rub off, they were often flammable and of course they very soon ended up as waste. By 1968, paper clothing had disappeared from the market.
While no longer used in mass-market fashion, the cellulose fabrics used to make paper clothes are still used to make disposable garments for use in work environments, such as hospital gown
s, scrubs
and coveralls. The paper dresses of the 1960s also still inspire contemporary fashion designers, including Yeohlee
and Vivienne Tam
, who have on occasion incorporated paper into their designs.
Dress
A dress is a garment consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice or with a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment.Dress may also refer to:*Clothing in general*Costume, fancy dress...
es and other clothes made from disposable cellulose
Cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β linked D-glucose units....
fabric, was a short-lived fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
novelty
Novelty
Novelty is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual. Although it may be said to have an objective dimension Novelty (derived from Latin word novus for "new") is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual....
item in the 1960s United States.
Individual paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
and papier-mâché
Papier-mâché
Papier-mâché , alternatively, paper-mache, is a composite material consisting of paper pieces or pulp, sometimes reinforced with textiles, bound with an adhesive, such as glue, starch, or wallpaper paste....
clothes and accessories (especially masquerade
Masquerade ball
A masquerade ball is an event which the participants attend in costume wearing a mask. - History :...
costumes) were used as early as the 19th century. But mass-produced paper fashion was invented by the American Scott Paper Company
Scott Paper Company
The Scott Paper Company is a USA-based corporation which manufactures mostly paper based consumer products.Scott Paper was founded in 1879 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by brothers E. Irvin and Clarence Scott, and is often credited as being the first to market toilet paper sold on a roll...
in 1966 as a marketing stunt. Customers could send in a coupon and $1.25 to receive a dress made of "Dura-Weve", a cellulose material patented in 1958.
These "Paper Caper" dresses, which featured a red bandanna print or a black and white op art
Op art
Op art, also known as optical art, is a style of visual art that makes use of optical illusions."Optical art is a method of painting concerning the interaction between illusion and picture plane, between understanding and seeing." Op art works are abstract, with many of the better known pieces made...
pattern, kicked off a fashion craze. 500,000 of them were produced, and other manufacturers soon followed suit. By 1967, paper dresses were sold in major department stores for about $8 apiece, and entire paper clothing boutiques were set up by companies such as Abraham & Straus
Abraham & Straus
Abraham & Straus was a major New York City department store, based in Brooklyn. Founded in 1865, in 1929 it became part of Federated Department Stores, which eliminated the A&S brand shortly after its 1994 acquisition of R.H. Macy & Company...
and I. Magnin
I. Magnin
I. Magnin & Company was a San Francisco, California-based high fashion and specialty goods luxury department store. Over the course of its existence, it expanded across the West into Southern California and the adjoining states of Arizona, Oregon, and Washington...
. At the height of demand, Mars Hosiery made 100,000 dresses a week. Other items made of paper included underwear, men's vests, bridal gowns (expensive at $15), children's pinafore
Pinafore
A pinafore is a sleeveless garment worn as an apron.Pinafores may be worn by girls as a decorative garment and by both girls and women as a protective apron. A related term is pinafore dress, which is British English for what in American English is known as a jumper dress, i.e...
s ("just the thing for ever-sprouting sprouts") and even rain coats and bikinis ("good for two to three wearings"). Among the novel materials used for such clothes were "Kaycel" by Kimberly-Stevens (93% cellulose and 7% nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
, "fire resistant unless washed"), "Ree-may" by Du Pont (a "spunbonded" polyester
Polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
) and "Webril" by Kendall
Kendall
- Places :Australia* Kendall, New South WalesUnited States* - Places :Australia* [[Kendall, New South Wales]]United States* - Places :Australia* [[Kendall, New South Wales]]United States* [[Kendall, Elliott* AUTHER [[Kendall, Kansas]]...
(a nonwoven rayon
Rayon
Rayon is a manufactured regenerated cellulose fiber. Because it is produced from naturally occurring polymers, it is neither a truly synthetic fiber nor a natural fiber; it is a semi-synthetic or artificial fiber. Rayon is known by the names viscose rayon and art silk in the textile industry...
).
The paper dress captured the vibrant, youthful, optimistic and consumerist zeitgeist
Zeitgeist
Zeitgeist is "the spirit of the times" or "the spirit of the age."Zeitgeist is the general cultural, intellectual, ethical, spiritual or political climate within a nation or even specific groups, along with the general ambiance, morals, sociocultural direction, and mood associated with an era.The...
of 1960s America so precisely that the fashion press speculated about paper garments taking over the entire clothes market. The dresses were whimsical, often featuring eye-catching pop art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
-like patterns, shapes for the customer to crayon in or advertisements (such as the "Souper Dress" featuring Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
's "Campbell's Soup Cans
Campbell's Soup Cans
Campbell's Soup Cans, which is sometimes referred to as 32 Campbell's Soup Cans, is a work of art produced in 1962 by Andy Warhol. It consists of thirty-two canvases, each measuring in height × in width and each consisting of a painting of a Campbell's Soup can—one of each of the canned soup...
"). And they were just one of many newly disposable items – like cutlery, plates, pens, lighters and razors – embraced by consumers; the "Paper Caper" sales pitch ran: "Won't last forever…who cares? Wear it for kicks—then give it the air."
But as the novelty appeal of paper clothes wore off, their downsides became more apparent: they were generally ill-fitting and uncomfortable to wear, their garish colors could rub off, they were often flammable and of course they very soon ended up as waste. By 1968, paper clothing had disappeared from the market.
While no longer used in mass-market fashion, the cellulose fabrics used to make paper clothes are still used to make disposable garments for use in work environments, such as hospital gown
Hospital gown
A hospital gown, also known as a patient gown, exam gown, johnny shirt or johnny gown, is a short-sleeved, thigh-length garment worn by patients in hospitals and other medical facilities.-Utility:...
s, scrubs
Scrubs (clothing)
Scrubs are the shirts and trousers or gowns worn by nurses , surgeons, and other operating room personnel when "scrubbing in" for surgery. In the United Kingdom, they are sometimes known as Theatre Blues. They are designed to be simple with minimal places for dirt to hide, easy to launder, and...
and coveralls. The paper dresses of the 1960s also still inspire contemporary fashion designers, including Yeohlee
Yeohlee
Yeohlee Teng is an American fashion designer originally from Malaysia and of Chinese heritage. She received the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for fashion design in 2004. Her fashion work has been displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and Victoria & Albert,...
and Vivienne Tam
Vivienne Tam
Vivienne Tam is a fashion designer based in New York City. She was born in Guangzhou, China and moved to Hong Kong at the age of three. She attended Hong Kong Polytechnic University....
, who have on occasion incorporated paper into their designs.
Further reading
- Cunningham, P. A. & Lab, S. V (Ed.). Dress and popular culture (Popular Press, 1991) pp. 85-105.
External links
- Paper Dresses of the 1960s from Collector's Guide To Vintage Fashions: the 1950s & 60s
- 1960s Paper Dress at the Wisconsin Historical MuseumWisconsin Historical MuseumThe Wisconsin Historical Museum is a museum located on the Capitol Square in Madison, Wisconsin. The museum, which features information about the history of Wisconsin, is operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society...
- The "Souper Dress"