1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: show that proves there's more than one way to make history. 4 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:19,080 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Bluesier, and in this episode we're talking about 5 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:22,800 Speaker 1: the time when a paper towel company accidentally launched one 6 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: of the hottest fashion trends of the late nineteen sixties. 7 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:38,240 Speaker 1: The day was March eighteenth, nineteen sixty six. The Scott 8 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:43,199 Speaker 1: Paper Company launched a promotion for disposable paper dresses. The 9 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:46,520 Speaker 1: campaign was intended to hype up the company's new line 10 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 1: of colorful paper towels and napkins, but the gimmicky paper dresses, 11 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: which Scott called paper capers, proved a much bigger hit 12 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: with the public. With just two proofs of purchase and 13 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: a dollar twenty five for shipping, customers could send away 14 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:06,200 Speaker 1: for a paper dress, available in either a red Paisley 15 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:10,040 Speaker 1: bandana pattern or a black and white op art print. 16 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: The paper capers weren't actually made of simple paper, but 17 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 1: of a cellulose material called dua weave. It wasn't as 18 00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:22,559 Speaker 1: tough or as flexible as regular fabric, but it could 19 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,440 Speaker 1: stand up to a handful of wearings before having to 20 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:29,920 Speaker 1: be thrown away. The disposable dresses were designed as a 21 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: marketing tool and were never meant to be taken seriously 22 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,480 Speaker 1: as their own product. The company figured that'd get a 23 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 1: few thousand orders, which they would send out along with 24 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: some coupons, and that would pretty much be it. But 25 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: the demand for the paper dresses was much greater than expected. 26 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: Half a million orders poured in by the end of 27 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: the year, catching the company off guard and prompting executives 28 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,440 Speaker 1: to end the promotion early because they quote didn't want 29 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 1: to turn into dress manufacturers. The paper dresses were indeed 30 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: a distraction from Scott Paper's actual products. The disposable tablewear 31 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:12,360 Speaker 1: line they were meant to promote was quickly discontinued and forgotten, 32 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:16,800 Speaker 1: but the paper fashion trend they started lived on. The 33 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: Scott Company may not have wanted to get into the 34 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:23,080 Speaker 1: paper dress business, but after seeing how popular the style was, 35 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 1: plenty of other manufacturers did. One of the biggest players 36 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 1: in this new niche market was Mars of Ashville, a 37 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: hosary company based in North Carolina. Just three months after 38 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:40,959 Speaker 1: the start of Scott's promotion, Mars launched a wide range 39 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:46,240 Speaker 1: of paper dresses under the label Wastebasket Boutique. In addition 40 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,720 Speaker 1: to a basic a line style available in a variety 41 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 1: of colorful prints, it also included everything from a paper 42 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 1: evening dress to a paper wedding gown, with no dress 43 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:01,639 Speaker 1: costing more than twenty dollars. The success of the dress 44 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: line led Mars to expand the collection to include other 45 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 1: paper garments aimed at men and children, such as a 46 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: paper bell bottom jumpsuit. Then, in September of nineteen sixty six, 47 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: Mars introduced its wildest concept yet, a plain white paper 48 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: dress that came with a watercolor paint set and paintbrush 49 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 1: so you could customize your look. The company held a 50 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 1: high profile launch event for the Paint your Own paper 51 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:34,079 Speaker 1: dress in New York City. Pop artist Andy Warhol attended 52 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:36,400 Speaker 1: the event and even crafted a dress of his own 53 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: to help promote the line. It had the word fragile 54 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 1: silk screened all over it, and the artist jokingly signed 55 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: it Dolly. The pr stunt was a huge success and 56 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: helped make Mars of Ashville the leading manufacturer of paper fashion. 57 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 1: At the peak of the trend, the company produced more 58 00:03:55,040 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: than eighty thousand paper outfits each week countless other paper 59 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: dresses were designed as wearable advertisement and were offered by 60 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: companies through mail away coupons, similar to what Scott Paper 61 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: had done. The approach to the designs varied. Some dresses 62 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: were emblazoned with the brand's logo or product, while others 63 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: were more generic, sporting floral prints or geometric patterns. Some 64 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 1: of the many brands to hop on the paper dress 65 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 1: bandwagon include Green Giant Vegetables, Butterfinger, Candy Bars, KFC Fast Food, 66 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 1: Campbell Soup, Universal Studios, The Yellow Pages, and Seagrum's Crown Whiskey. 67 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:42,480 Speaker 1: Other companies leaned even harder into the disposable fashion trend. 68 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:46,400 Speaker 1: Clothing stores such as J. C. Penny, Sachs, Fifth Avenue, 69 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: and Lord and Taylor opened up dedicated paper departments, and 70 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 1: Hallmark introduced a line of so called hostess dresses. They 71 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: were made to match different sets of paper napkins and tablecloths, 72 00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:01,279 Speaker 1: all of which would be thrown away when the party 73 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 1: was over. Paper dresses proved to have longer legs than 74 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,960 Speaker 1: anyone would have guessed, and over the next several years 75 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: they continued to pop up in some pretty unexpected places. 76 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 1: At beaches, for instance, You might have seen a swimmer 77 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:18,839 Speaker 1: daring enough to wear a pair of paper swim trunks 78 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:22,039 Speaker 1: or a paper bikini, and while out and about you 79 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:25,640 Speaker 1: might have crossed paths with someone sprouting flowers and herbs 80 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 1: from a paper dress lined with pouches of soil and seeds. 81 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:33,640 Speaker 1: But perhaps the strangest place that paper dresses turned up 82 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,800 Speaker 1: in was the realm of politics. During the nineteen sixty 83 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:42,240 Speaker 1: eight presidential election in the US, several campaigns produced paper 84 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: dresses to go along with the usual assortment of buttons, stickers, 85 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:50,720 Speaker 1: and signs. The logo adorned dresses were worn by young 86 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:54,279 Speaker 1: supporters at rallies for candidates on both sides of the aisle, 87 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:58,560 Speaker 1: including Democrats Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy, as well as 88 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: Republicans Nelson rocket Feller, George Romney, and the eventual winner, 89 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 1: Richard Nixon. That same year, the paper dress even made 90 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:12,240 Speaker 1: its way north into Canadian politics, as Pierre Trudeau printed 91 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,039 Speaker 1: his own photograph on a paper dress as part of 92 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: his successful run for prime minister. Part of the appeal 93 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:24,280 Speaker 1: of paper clothing was its convenience and affordability. Customers could 94 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: throw out a garment after a single use or wear 95 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:29,719 Speaker 1: it up to a dozen times if they were careful. 96 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: They could also make alterations or repairs with just a 97 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: pair of scissors and some scotch tape. And since most 98 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:39,719 Speaker 1: of the dresses cost just a few dollars, women could 99 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:42,040 Speaker 1: afford to keep their wardrobes up to date with the 100 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:46,479 Speaker 1: latest trends. Viewed through that lens, it makes sense why 101 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 1: paper apparel caught on as big as it did. But 102 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 1: nothing lasts forever, especially paper clothing, and by the early 103 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: nineteen seventies the fashion trend had run its course. Ironically, 104 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:02,440 Speaker 1: the main draw of the paper it's ephemeral nature was 105 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 1: the very reason it fell out of favor. The emerging 106 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:10,080 Speaker 1: hippie movement rejected paper clothing is wasteful, and from then 107 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 1: on it was viewed as a symbol of empty consumerism, 108 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: disposable clothing for a disposable culture. And to be sure, 109 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 1: the paper dresses of the nineteen sixties were wasteful, with 110 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: no thought whatsoever given to recycling them. It's for the 111 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 1: best that the craze died out when it did, but 112 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 1: it sure seemed like a good time while it lasted. 113 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 1: I'm gay blues yay, and hopefully you now know a 114 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:42,840 Speaker 1: little more about history today than you did yesterday. If 115 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:44,600 Speaker 1: you'd like to keep up with the show, you can 116 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:49,840 Speaker 1: follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show, 117 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:53,000 Speaker 1: and if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free 118 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 1: to send them my way by writing to This Day 119 00:07:55,760 --> 00:08:00,520 Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Kasby Bias for producing 120 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: the show, and thanks to you for listening. I'll see 121 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another day in History class.