Paper Dresses Fad

originally January 17, 2022

You read that right, paper dresses. being a 90’s baby I had never heard of this short lived but interesting trend from the 1960’s before about a week ago. One of my favorite podcasts, Stuff You Should Know, did a short episode on the topic a few months ago that I just came across. Here’s some of what I’ve been able to gather on them so far, but I would recommend finding the episode if you want more information on the topic following this.

It was 1966 when paper dresses first came out. The Scott Paper Company first introduced them to the market and the style quickly became a viral sensation. The company put coupons for these dresses into the rest of their products so that they would gain some popularity, but this proved to be very unnecessary as the company was quickly overwhelmed by the influx of sales and found themselves unprepared. Only 6 months in to offering paper dresses, the company had sold over half a million. Other manufacturers hopped in to this trend and, soon, paper garments were rampant with sales topping $3.5 million at the close of the first year.

The late sixties were big on pop culture and consumerism with artists like Andy Warhol gaining popularity. Designs like his Campbells chicken noodle soup, oversized candy bars and soft drinks labels added to the novelty of the dresses and continued to add to their commercialistic appeal and a significant benefit to the ease of designing these printed styles. The printability of these styles also added the benefit of customization to these dresses being much more accessible than were previously and made the consumers own designs and otherwise unseen patterns possible and wearable. As an artist, what better way to advertise your work than to wear it? (Reminds me of Coco Chanel and other designers getting started wearing their own clothes and accessories. For insight into Coco’s full story click HERE.) Talk about a great guerrilla marketing opportunity.

The paper dresses were available in a variety of styles. They primarily started out as in the mod mini dress style that was first introduced in London and seen on many of the icons of the 60’s. Their A-shaped mini skirt was the perfect platform for these dresses to gain viral popularity. This was the most opportune time for this trend of temporary fashion as the generation of the sixties was embracing modernism and was the first true plastic generation with a throw away mindset. Paper dresses were the paper plates of fashion. Similar to the plates, the dresses were less flimsy than what you would typically think of as paper. The were made with a product called Dura-Weave. The result was a fabric similar to the one you can find in the oversized bibs at the dentist’s office today, and were somewhat fire and water resistant. Although it didn’t stand up well to an excess of precipitation, the wearer could wear the dress without much issue then dispose of the dress and move on to one newer and better. They boasted “Won’t last forever…who cares? Wear it for the kicks – then give it to the air.” (The air being possibly what the average person growing up at this time though happened to things after you dispose of them. They evaporated (?). I hope that this is cringeworthy to most- given the current push towards sustainability being such a primary focus for the industry today. It was a different time, but we have grown.)

The one time use did come with some benefits, however. It wasn’t long until the craze was picked up by designers of more one time use occasions like prom and wedding wear and was perfect for these occasions as the buyers typically only wore the dress for the one occasion and was able to save a significant amount on the dress by purchasing paper. Paper prom dresses were huge at this time, even though the teen only lasted a couple of seasons. The difference in the environmental impact for these one occasion dresses was actually in comparison significantly less than the making of a non-temporary dress for the occasion. As they gained in popularity, manufacturers expanded even further and began making paper clothes for men and children too. It wasn’t uncommon at the time for fashion forward travelers to bring a completely disposable suitcase for vacation rather than packing their own typical clothes. This must have been incredible for travel as it would alleviate the stress of lost luggage as well as leave you with plenty of room to bring gifts and souvenirs back from your destination. Not an awful game plan as long as you are headed somewhere dry.

Like most viral sensations, the paper dress fad was short lived. With the coming of the 1970’s, the mod mini dress style that it was so widely used for went out. On top of that, the 70’s brought on a new sense of environmental awareness that the 60’s lacked and there was a new distaste for disposable items, like paper dresses. Paper dresses were short-lived, but an innovative and interesting addition to the late 1960’s that really caught the culture of the time. Its a wonderful novelty to be able to look back on for us. That's at least my thoughts on it. You're of course entitled to your own opinion. I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to read mine. Talk to you later.

XOXO,

Amy