Paper Dolls: the vintage paper dress

OK. I go through these little phases of obsession. For a while it was collecting vintage choker necklaces that had little flowers with a rhinestone center. Then it was 70s 8-track tape players. The list is endless, I won't bore you (today anyway. heh). S0 a while back I was fascinated with paper dresses. I tried to buy one on eBay but some crazy Greek bidder was literally buying EVERY SINGLE ONE. It became a "thing". I would find 5 or 6 of them on there....and Greek Paper Dress Magnate would inevitable outbid me and win ALL of them. I kept a mental tally and I swear this person accumulated about 45 of 'em in a short period. It drove me completely crazy and, of course, made me want one even more!! I was watching Project Runway last week and they had a paper dress challenge which reminded me of my old obsession.

The paper dress was actually the genius of the Scott Paper Company (yep, the same peeps who made paper towels and "facial tissue"). In 1966 they marketed the "disposable dress" and sold them for $1.25 in grocery stores to promote their new colored tissues. You also got a little stash of coupons for paper towel, along with your sassy A-line dressie. Scott didn't really mean for them to be taken seriously but ladies knew what was up and ordered them in droves. I mean how fun to "hem" your new dress with a pair of scissors??

Scott advertisers described the paper dress as "created to make you the conversation piece at parties. Smashingly different at dances or perfectly packaged at picnics. Wear it anytime...anywhere. Won't last forever...who cares? Wear it for kicks — then give it the air!"








How cute are the "sizes" in that above dress? "Eeny" "Meeny" and "Miney". Loves it!!

Scott stopped producing them after the first run (I think all the suits were a little freaked out by the success and declared they weren't in the "garment business"). No worries, lots of others companies jumped on the band wagon. Andy Warhol joined in with his famous Campbell's Soup Dress (the "Souper Dress") and even Richard Nixon created a paper dress for female supporters.






According to a Time Magazine article from 1967, "Sterling Paper believes in paper resort wear, the idea being that vacationers could buy paper clothes at the hotel when they arrive, throw them away when they depart, thus eliminating packing and carrying heavy luggage." Amazing! The rage lasted for several years longer with designers upping the ante creating full length gowns and mock paper "fur" coats. Fashionable "ready to tear" paper clothing died out as suddenly as it had appeared but remains a testament to the innovations of the 60s.

I'm still dying to know what that crazy Greek man was going to do with all those dresses though. Hmph.