Paper Dresses of the 1960s

Coordinated paper party goods are such big sellers (try telling iParty there's a "green" revolution going on...), I'm surprised that dresses-to-match haven't been revived...

That green sari is too gorgeous...

And, looking at the pic of Issey Miyake's jacket again (I have your book, too; just pulled it out for another look!), I just realized that I sold a 50s/60s purse last year that was covered in oiled paper squares (I sold it as "sueded cloth", not knowing any better!)

thanks so much for presenting this to us, Jonathan!

 

Okay Sara stop thinking about food! The pink stripes represent the thickness of something other than food...(now get your mind out of the gutter...)

 

I had to peek into my book as I could NOT guess the PINK stripe one. Got the leaves....

I live about 20 miles from Asheville, and in all the years I've been buying vintage clothes (about 25) I've found one Mars of Asheville dress. It's a bit different and I'll post pictures of it this evening.

 

This is probably waaaaay off but my first thought on the pink striped dress was that it was for Kotex or something similar. I don't have a clue on the leaves one.

 

LOL..that obvious huh!? well l was gonna ask you about paper knickers (As in underwear) ... as l'm already that far down there!! but perhaps l shouldnt as l realise we are:restlessvillagers: in a public forum...

l can only think of sliced bread more food l'm afraid!! LOL

 

Don't fret Carrie ... I was thinking Tampax!

Some kind of upholstery?

 

Another clue: The pink one isn't for anything you eat, wear or personally use. It is used to advertise a product you don't even see once it is in use!
THe green one is for a food product...

 

Insulation and mint jelly. Heck - I don't know.

 

Apparently you do know... at least half of your answer is correct!

 

I haven't seen this type before. It has a different label and typeface from the paper Mars dresses as well. Has the metal oxidized do you think? Was it shiny silver when new?

 

It's actually a bit shinier than my photos show, but it is possible that it has oxidized. I really can't say.

 

It looks to me like a higher end product line that they may have been experimenting with and not from their 'disposable' collection of paper dresses. It uses a knitted fabric its just the fibre is part paper. Very interesting. This is like a paper camisole in the Berlin Museum from 1916 that I didn't post here because it wasn't made from pressed paper, but rather made from a textile of woven paper fibres.

 

I work for a surgeon, and disposable paper caps and gowns are mandatory in the operating room. Too bad they're not as colorful and fashionable as Jonathan's examples!

 

The paper used in making these dresses was originally designed for use in commerical and industrial settings, like hospitals, nuclear power plants etc. Nobody thought they would be printed in wild patterns and become a hot trend!

Well, I think AmandainVermont wins the book... its as close as we are going to get! THe pink striped dress does indeed advertise the newly available (in 1967) pink fibreglass insulation that came in 3 and 6 inch thicknesses for insulating homes.

The green leaf dress is to -- Ho! Ho! Ho! -- advertise Green Giant frozen vegetables!

 

yeah ! amanda in vermonT!!!!!

 

- Do you have ANY idea how happy that makes me Jonathan? I am having the most dreadful day here - trying to figure out which bills I can set aside for the longest... and wondering how I will ever get everything done in the greenhouses. Disgusting house and broken vacuum cleaner. I keep telling myself I could be living in Haiti and to be quiet....

Woo Hoo. I thought Susan's guess of Tetley Tea (tiny little tea leaves) was perfect for that other dress.

Now of course I am going to be looking left and right for all things paper. I somehow missed this whole trend, so it will be fun to keep my eyes peeled.

Ya Hoo! This did make my day. Jonathan ... I will U2U my address and thank you for putting on a wonderful workshop. Hoo Boy...

 

COngratulations Amanda! Glad to see your day was made a little better! Although I think its probalby time to officially close the workshop, please feel free to post further questions if you have any. I will be happy to answer whatever I can!

THanks everyone for checking out the paper dress workshop and don't forget, if you need a copy of my book, click into my eBay listings this week!

Jonathan

 

Thank you, Jonathan, for a wonderful workshop! We appreciate it so much and congratulations to Amanda!

 

I think anyone here who has not purchased his book yet should do so RIGHT NOW!:dogs:

This was a lot of work (that's why they call it a WORKshop) as was the amount of time it took to write that FABULOUS book. Thank you so much, Jonathan! :excited:

Janine