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McCall's Magazine offered quite a range of mostly fancy dress styles. notice several such items in the June 1905 issue which would mean summer dresses. Includes in the McCalls patterns were a few boy or boy/girl dresses. One of those pages can be seen here with the addition of a boy's tunic suit. Two other pages were very similar. The boy dresses were much plainer than the other dresses, but some of the boy-girl dresses were fairly fancy. The child dresses were very fancy, leading us to believe that the connotation here of a child dress was a very young girl. The ad copy for the various dresses provides some useful information.
McCall's has been a leading fashion and women's domestic magazine. It was founded in the 19th century, although I have only limited details. It was founded as The Queen about 1880. It was at first primarily to sell patterns. The title was changed to The Queen of Fashion. The title McCalls was adopted about 1897. McCalls did not become a major mass-market publication until the turn of the century. The circulation peaked at 6 million in 1960. The content varied over time, but fashion was always an important element. The magazine included the work of impotant authors like Willa Cather, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gelett Burgess, Ray Bradbury, Jack Finney, Anne Tyler, Tim O'Brien, and many more. Two of the major editors were: Harry Payne Burton (1921–28) and Otis L. Wiese (1928–49). McCalls was a major company publishing home sewing patterns. McCalls because it published an important woman's magazine could easily market its home sewing patterns. We have found a few McCalls patterns from the early 20th century. An example is a tunic suit which McCalls calls a Russian suit. The patterns at the time cost 10-15 cents. Notice that there were outlets in New York, Chicago, San Franciso, and Toronto. The Toronto outlet shows how closely tied the American and Canadian economies were and helps explain similarities in American and Canadian fashions. A McCalls pattern published in 1908 is another example. We note that by 1916 that they were publishing a catalog of their patterns which appared to emphasize clothing for women and children. McCalls continues to be a major factor in the pattern and home sewing business. The McCalls webite for Spring 2002 reads, "McCalls introduces the newst designs in glamerous evening and bridal dressing. Browse through the McCalls website and you'll find a great selection of brightly colored children's and infant's wear, cozy sleepwear, fleece-wear, and women's/large sizes. You'll also find fun accesories, home decorating, crafts and even Renaissance costume patterns!"
So far we only have patterns from the June 1905 issue of McCall's. These would be summer patterns. We believe there were maby other dress patterns in other issues. They were mostly dresses for girls, but we see a few boy dresses included in with the girl dresses and a smsttering of boys' tunic suits.
This page had a mix of children's clothes, both boys and girls clothes. The dresses were both child and girl dresses. Note the fancy styling. There is no hint as to what is meant by child. The age range begins at age 2 which meant that boys might wear them. Note that the boy's suit begins at age 3. It is likely, however that the child dresses were meant primarily for girls, but the use of "child" means that mother could have used it for a little boy. This was, however, becoming increasingly common by 1905.
This page had several women's waists, jackets, and skirts along with boys' tunic suits. Only one dress was offered, a fancy girls dress (figure 1). The ad copy of the girl's dress read, "9015: Girl's Dress (with or without Large Collar, Body Lining and Fklounce, and High or Low Neck). Cut in 7 sizes. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 years. Price 15 cents."
These McCall's patterns included a few boy or boy/girl dresses. One of those pages can be seen here with the addition of a boy's tunic suit. Two other pages were very similar. The boy dresses were much plainer than the other dresses, but some of the boy-girl dresses were fairly fancy. The child dresses were very fancy, leading us to believe that the connotation here of a child dress was a very young girl. The ad copy for the various dresses provides some useful information.
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