From the 1950s, made-to-measure clothing in Western-influenced styles grew increasingly popular, leading to a rising demand for sewing, tailoring and dressmaking classes. Teenagers and young women who wanted to have the latest fashions often turned to magazines that published dress patterns or bought patterns printed on paper such as this Simplicity “How to Sew” pattern to sew their own dresses in the designs that they wanted. Patterns like this offered buyers flexibility in terms of the choice of fabric and size and length of the garment. They also included step-by-step instructions for the buyer to sew the garment themselves. This particular pattern includes both a dress and a jumper in different sizes ranging from child to adult.
