In 1966, Scott Paper Company invented the paper dress, intended as a marketing tool. For one dollar, women could buy the dress and also receive coupons for Scott paper products. It wasn't an invention meant to be taken seriously, but women surprised the company by ordering half a million of these dresses in under a year.

The paper dress trend took off and companies began to experiment with style and fabric, adding other materials to the paper to make a sturdier garment that could even be washed. Mars Manufacturing Company invented a wide range of paper dresses, from a basic A-line style to a paper evening dress to a full paper wedding gown, all for under 20 dollars. Other companies followed suit, inventing such things as paper slippers, paper suits and waterproof paper raincoats and bikinis. There was even a paper dress invented that grew herbs when water was added. In their short history, paper dresses became more stylish than the original, patterned with 1960s psychedelic prints. Some paper dresses were sold that could be decorated by the consumer. Even Andy Warhol got in on the trend, creating a design based on his famous Campbell's soup can print.
The repeating printed pattern on the present dress was derived from Op art and highlights the interaction between art and fashion. This dress was
won in a fashion magazine competition but never worn.