A History of the Paper Pattern Industry by Joy Spanabel Emery

Author:Joy Spanabel Emery
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472577467
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2019-11-23T00:00:00+00:00

FIGURE 98 Men’s Bathrobe and Smoking Jacket. Simplicity 1331, NRA symbol, 1933.15.JSE. Commercial Pattern Archive.

Finding the Market

Although a few $0.10 and $0.15 patterns were available in 1930, the average price range was $0.30 to $0.50 and chic Vogue patterns were $0.50 to $1.00 (equivalent to $16.11 in 2011). At a time when a loaf of bread cost $0.05, the price of a pattern represented serious money. Unlike the loaf of bread, however, a pattern could be used many times, shared with others, and copied, often on old newspapers. Singer’s winter issue of Smart Clothes for Fall and Winter, 1934–1935 did a cost comparison of a ready-made suit with a total cost of $29.75 to a “make-it-yourself” suit from McCall pattern 7939 for a cost of $12.41 or $4.46 with less expensive materials (Smart Clothes for Fall and Winter 1934: 8) (see Figure 99).

Women were sewing more, but they were buying fewer patterns and using them to the fullest extent. An alternative to a new dress was to “freshen” it with a new look by changing the sleeves or adding new collars, cuffs, or other accessories. Most of the pattern companies offered patterns with a number of sleeve styles and others with a variety of collars and cuffs (see Figures 100 and 101).

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